Progress of Back Garden in May, 2020.

Back garden as at 24 May,2020.

 The works at improving the back garden has been done gradually over the extended holidays due to the COVID-19 lockdown. There is plenty of time.
One interesting feature is the use of small boulders around the planting beds.  These boulders are moved from other places in the garden.
I intend to plant more vegetables inside the planting beds at the back garden e.g. Kangkong, Cekur Manis and some useful herbs like Serai.

Reds in the garden

Ripe fruits of the Carpentaria palm at the front garden

Red Hibiscus at the back garden

Red Ti or Cordyline 'Firebrand'

CU of Red Cats' tails (Acalypha hispida)

Red hot Cats' tails

Red Ixora at side garden

Enthralled by the colours of nature

One can be easily enthralled upon seeing a multi-coloured hibiscus

 I am extremely enthralled to see the flowers in the garden.  They come in a diverse range of colours and the tones,contrast, tint and combinations of all these makes me delighted to observe the workings of nature.  Even in a small garden space in town nature seems to offer unlimited wonders, albeit with a little effort from us.  The orange tinted hibiscus with an inner core of pink shades surrounded by a glorious variation of orange to yellow colours gives a soft but happy image. This is in contrast with the strong red colours of the ixora that dot the garden with brightness and vivid life.  The composite bluish purple colours of the 'Seribu Bahasa' gives a royal and mystic  touch to the place.  The long drooping curtain of Congea velutina purple bracts connects the ground with the top canopy of trees making the garden space look like a wall painting that never cease to stimulate our senses and intellect.

Ixoras dot the garden with vivid life

Pink to purple bracts of the Congea velutina

The long and drooping curtain of Congea velitina makes the garden space like a wall painting

Olive-backed sunbird and hibiscus flower

Nature heals

View of Side Garden, looking south as seen today.

While doing a bit of gardening work this morning I was pleasantly surprised to discover a a robin's nest with two tiny chicks in it. This gave me so much pleasure, satisfaction and happiness. It has been about three years now since I started to create a garden around our home here in Kuching. When we first moved in here there was not a single plant growing except for wild grasses and weeds that grew naturally on infertile barren ground that was provided by the housing developer. There grew an opportunity to bring nature back close to our house and I set my mind to gradually make the garden as a labour of love. One of my criterias for a successful Malaysian garden is that it should be able to procreate wildlife and nothing proves it better than to see the birds coming around the garden to build their nests. It showed that nature is slowly healing itself and that I should do more to encourage its diversity. Thus from now on I'll try to plant more fruit trees besides flowering shrubs to attract other birds species to call our garden home. It has been my belief that gardening is a workout for the soul. Moments spent in the garden have much positive therapeutic influence on one's moods , emotions and pysche. When I see nature heals with a little help of my hand I feel I have not wasted my time gardening even on a tiny garden plot in Kuching.

( Note:  This is a re-posting.  For full story and images, please follow this link...>>>http://mysarawak2.blogspot.my/2010/05/nature-heals.html )

Two yellows and a Penda

A maturing garden - attracting attracting the 3 B's ( birds, butterflies and bees)
Note the Golden Penda yellow flowers at the top centre of the picture.

 What's interesting on this trip (44th trip to Kuching) is to see the garden gradually maturing.  For one thing the trees are getting taller and giving out much shade and shelter to the birds. The lawn is steadily thickening and spreading out to areas that were lately developed.  Three yellow flowers caught my eyes today.  They are the flowers of the Yellow Bells ( Tecoma stans), Cassia biflora and the Golden Penda (Xanthostemon chrysanthus).

 The sights and sounds of a maturing garden are evidenced by the presence of 3 B's - birds, butterflies and bees, not forgetting other insects that would like to join in the list like the grasshoppers and  beetles.
The flowers that bloom for the first time are Golden Penda ( Xanthostemon chrysanthus) and we felt rewarded now by our effort to introduce this plant in the garden nearly two years ago. 

( Note: This is a re-posting.  For full stoy and images, please follow this link...>>>http://mygardeningprojects.blogspot.my/2013/08/two-yellows-and-penda.html )

Kuching Garden Project

The white ginger lily has been producing good blooms recently,which I used as cut flowers.

Soft Landscaping

I am pleased to see some good improvements on the soft landscape of our house garden at Kuching.

On this Kuching trip I am pleased to note the good results of the soft landscaping works done on our last visit here. Below is the picture taken when we were at Kuching last June showing the ixora coccinea in orange blooms.

( Note:  This is a re-posting.  For full story and images, please follow this link ...>>>>http://mygardeningprojects.blogspot.my/2008/08/kuching-garden-project.html )

December '08 Update

The orange ixoras are in their best blooms. I notice that the other plants in the background are taller .

( Note: This is a re-posting.  For full story and images, please follow this link...>>>>http://mygardeningprojects.blogspot.my/2008/12/december-08-update.html )

The Kambatik garden in Pink Deluxe

Front gardenThe Kambatik garden in pink deluxe

 It is indeed a pleasure and beauty to the eyes to watch theIxora coccinea  bush flowering  well at the front garden.  There are many varieties or cultivars of this species.  There are hardy flowering plants for the Laman Kambatik or the Malaysian garden.  The ixoras belong to the Coffee family (Rubiaceae) and they produce lots of berries.  The best thing a gardener could do is to just let the plant grow naturally without too much pruning or 'shaping' or 'boxing' it.  One species that should be grown in the Kambatik garden is the Ixora javanica because this species like the open sun, grows to a moderate human height and having brilliant orange as well as red flowers.  It is also easy to propagate from cuttings.  Check out more plants for the Kambatik garden belonging to the Coffee family here.

( Note: This is a re-posting.  For full story and images, please follow this link ...>>>http://mygardeningprojects.blogspot.my/search/label/Kuching%20escapade%20-%20Mar%202016 )