A fruity lunch to enjoy

 On this August'17  escapade to Kuching, we found the garden in good condition with the Starfruit tree or Pokok Belimbing (Malay) bearing some fruits. So we thought it's time to be creative and fruity about our lunch.  We had previously bought some fruits along the journey to Kuching, such as the Soursop, Pomelo and Bananas. With a little bit of help from the Ketchup (soya bean) and hot chillies a simple sauce is created to enjoy the fruits with. Sometimes it's good to have a fruity lunch. Little pleasures of life that's really worth tasting!

Ripe Starfruits from the tree.

Wildlife in the garden

Back garden

Red Dragonfly

 It has been about a week since we arrived Kuching.  The garden looked pretty tidy and little urgent works seemed necessary.  My focus  thus changed to detecting the various wildlife that make their way to the garden.  Two species of dragonflies were seen, bulbuls as usual, a grasshopper and the multi-coloured Brown-throated Sunbird dropped by at the flowering coconut tree.  

A dragonfly species

Carpenter bee balancing itself at the tip of the terminal shoot of the Foxtail palm.

Yellow-vented Bulbul resting on the Poui branch.

Brown-throated Sunbird  perchingat the coconut terminal inflorescences

A grasshopper.

Lively is the garden

Pink-necked Green Pigeon

 As if by appointment the common garden birds of Kuching were there to greet me early this morning.  The brightly coloured  orange breast of the Pink-necked Green Pigeon roped in my attention to its natural beauty.  Not to miss the show two other birds that are part of the Kuching garden showed their presence too.  The Long-tailed Shrike and the Pied Triller make the garden busy with their unique calls making the garden lively.  I hope our stay in Kuching this May will see more of them closing in to the garden.

Long-tailed Shrike

Pied Triller

Zooming in at the Pink-necked Pigeon

I saw one Pink-necked Pigeon perched on the tall "Poui" tree (Tabebuia rosea) at the back garden this afternoon.  I was about 50 meters away.  I heard its whistling call and soon another male bird joined it.  I did not see any female of the species at today's sighting.  Now it seems customary for them to gather at the Poui tree at the start of day and in the evening before sunset. This is one beautiful bird that decided to call the garden its home.  Over the years I noticed that its preferred areas  for making nests are on the branches of the 'Ong Lumok' (Artocarpus odoratissimus) tree and Yellow Bamboo clump nearby the Poui tree.  The planting of tall trees in the Kambatik garden is essential if you want to attract these lovely birds to make home in your garden.  This fact has been proven many times over at the Kambatik garden here in Kuching.  This is one of the highlights of gardening the Kambatik way.   Here wildlife is most welcomed.

Chestnut Munia are abuzz

Chestnut Munia  roosting atop the Yellow Bamboo clump near the front porch.

  They zoom in and out of the bamboo clump next to the front porch hurriedly.  I noticed a small group of about 5 - 6 birds are currently busy building nests in the safety of the bamboo clump. These Chestnut Munia birds year in and  year out have found three such bamboo clumps in the garden as natural habitat for their nests.  I love these birds for their black hoods and well-groomed feathers.  Their deep brown body is very delightful to watch for the colour resembles tasty chocolates. Their stout, short and strong beaks are a great contrast to its black hood.  The beaks are apparently made for eating grass seeds.  These birds has been a permanent feature of the garden.

A garden oasis at home.

The Kambatik garden is an oasis of love and care, heritage and survival.
View of back garden, Kuching, 21/3/17.

 Columns of greenery. Colourful foliages. Flowers of all shapes and colours.  These are the characteristics of a Malaysian garden.  Bonuses come in the form of edible fruits, wildlife, shade, and many exercise.  There's unending agenda of change and renovation to be carried out as the garden grows.  What I love about the garden now is its maturity.  All the previous efforts culminate in today's joy, the pleasure of cool comfort, the natural touch of leaves, trunks and branches, inspirational and quality time working or walking in the garden. The Malaysian garden is a living oasis of love and care, heritage and survival.  Every Malaysian can do it as I have done.  Remember the word "IMPOSSIBLE" ? No, but....I'm Possible.

The Cassia alata shrub at the foreground.  Behind is the Carpentaria palm.

Front garden - Colours from flowers, trunks and leaves

Front garden, 21 March, 2017.

Kuching escapade - Mar'17

Scented flowers of the Drunken Sailor (Quisqualis indica)
Syn: Combretum indicum

 Checking out the garden early this morning.  Woke up to the surprise calls and whistles of the wild pigeons up on the Tabebuia rosea tree branches.  They have not left the garden.  These Pink-necked Pigeons have accustomed themselves to living in the garden.  Since the last visit in January this year, many were seen building nest at the Yellow Bamboo clumps and the Ong Lumok tree. Thank goodness this visit has further confirmed that these pigeons find safety in the garden. Some plants worth noting this morning are the beautiful variegated leaves of the Cordyline terminalis, both in red and cream/green variants, a spray of purple orchid and the scented flowers of the Quisqualis indica (Drunken Sailor).

Cream/Green variegated leaves of the Cordyline terminalis in the background, with new pinkish leaves of Pawas (Litsea cubeba) at the foreground.
For images of the Daun Pawas please watch them at the Kambatik Park in Bintulu here.

Cordyline terminalis 'Fire brand'

Common birds in greener Kuching

White-breasted Waterhen

Pink-necked Pigeon

 On this trip many garden birds came to visit the garden with a few building homes. The Chestnut Munia, White-breasted Waterhen and the Pink-necked Pigeons are already claiming the status of permanent resident of the garden.  The environment must have been very conducive lately to have influenced them to make the garden a place called home.  On the sidelines, the daily visits of the White-breasted Woodswallow, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Brown-throated Sunbird, Peaceful Dove  and the Long-tailed Shrike are a constant reminder that the common garden birds of Kuching are here to stay.  Sighting these garden birds makes gardening in urban Kuching a delight and purposeful or meaningful.  Residential areas will become more appealing places to live as they help restore the natural environment for birds.  In this manner, a little step of creating home gardens come a long way towards building a greener and lively city jungle environments.

Long-tailed Shrike

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Brown-throated Sunbird

Peaceful Dove

Chestnut Munia

View of the Kambatik garden, Jan'17

View of the Kambatik garden, Jan'17