First Bloom of the Bauhinia Acuminata

I really do not want to collect plants with snowy white flowers even though white blooms  are attractive and appealing in their own way.  However when I read that the Bauhinia Acuminata gives off a nice fragrant I cannot resist adding this plant to my collection. I have seen this plant growing in abundance not too far from my house as the large snowy white blooms cannot be missed even from afar.  I did not detect any fragrance from the flowers but well, I thought perhaps I was mistaken. Picking a dry brown pod from the plant, I buried in under some damp soil under some shade.  Soon enough the baby plants came out. Leguminous plants are easy to grow from the seeds.   I decided to keep only one  plant so I dug out the other baby plants.  What I did not expect was that within 3-4 months this plant  has started to bloom ! What a wonderful surprise indeed !  When I first spied the bud a few days ago, I thought perhaps it was another new leaf shoot as it did not seem possible it would bloom in such a short period ! The plant is hardly a foot tall  right now and just one stem despite heavy with  big green leaves. The leaves are what they described as bi-lobed, shaped like an ox hoof - rather like the butterfly leaves  and very attractive by themselves.

The leaves are unusual - shaped like butterflies

Side view

See the new buds (longish) on right hand side

Other common names for this plant include Dwarf White Bauhinia, White Orchid Tree and Snowy Orchid Tree.  This plant must be one of the easiest that I have grown  so far -  fuss free,  grows  easily and  what a fast bloomer ......! 

A Green Beauty ..... (Tailed Jay Butterfly)

I was touched by "Monday Blues" - until I spotted this  "Green Beauty " !  Suddenly the day seems brighter, although the sky still looks rather cloudy and moody .......! Anyway, I felt lucky that upon spotting this flying beauty resting on my Mirabilis Jalapa ( 4 O'clock Flower), I was able to get my camera real quick and managed to take two shots before it flew away. This little one sure can soar  - it moved swiftly in a zig-zag flight, it did keep coming back, (something like - 'Hey no offense, but I hate my pictures taken) circling the expanse of my mini garden. I never get a second chance of using my camera....! Later  I did spot it stopping to sip nectar from the other flowering plants .... but there was no way I can get good shots of it...

For further reading on the life cycle of this "Tailed Jay"  butterfly, one can check out the following link which makes interesting reading.... http://butterflycircle.blogspot.com/2009/05/life-history-of-tailed-jay.html.

'Name-less' Plants

There are two plants in my garden that are rather special to me for two reasons :-

1. They have taken ages to adapt (sulking perhaps?); but some signs of growth finally !

2. They are still 'nameless' (unless some one can help me out, please), despite my surfing around on tropical plants.....! 

First there is this plant that looks like a palm plant  with tiny spikes.  I took the baby from  the foothills at Gunung Jerai almost three years ago  (yes , 3, however looking at it, one find it hard to believe) when we first went hiking.  I like it so much since it looked so adorable when it was small and tiny.   I know I am not supposed to take plants away from the hill - but I could not resist it. However I guess it did not like being removed from its natural habit, and remained dormant for a long, long time ....... and was very very very fussy ..... !

First, I placed it under some filtered sunlight, and oh ... it did not like that at all !  The leaves became burnt and it looked rather pitiful. So okay,  I placed it under more shade , hidden away under  some bigger plants for higher humidity --- it  seemed happier.  Next was the tussle over soil medium .... if the soil got too wet, it looked  like it was rotting away .... so okay, change the soil medium and avoid over watering.   Only water  sparingly when the soil looked completely dry .... yes, it worked  ! So this is why after three years and still  hardly any growth !  Yes, I did try with some fertilizer - no response !  Well, these last two months it showed a sudden spurt in growth,  new leaves coming out ..... so I became rather excited.  Note the original leaf at the bottom, so small compared to the new new leaves.  Now  I have moved  it to a spot when it can get some filtered sunlight .... hold my breath .... :- ) haha ! After all logic dictates that  plants need sunlight to grow .. if it does not like it, guess I will return it to the original location.  

This second plant I acquired almost half a year ago ( see post 4th March 2011) because it looks like a neat and unusual plant.  Even after close to 6 months, this plant showed hardly any growth as well.  Like the First plant, it did not like sunlight too much, so again it was to the shade as well. Burnt spots will appear on the leaves from  exposure to sunlight.  Yesterday  I moved it to a sunnier location to see if that will stimulate it to grow any faster.  The leaves are broader and look healthier compared to when I first bought it. Lovely foliage, don't you think so?  Imagine what a beauty it will grow into eventually  ..... :- ) ! 

Tree of A Thousand Stars revisited .....

Previous post (28th October 2010) on this plant, "Tree of A Thousand Stars" ( Serissa Foetida or Snow Rose )

 I enjoy looking at this mini "Tree of a Thousand Stars" ... (what a mouthful, I prefer calling it 'Serissa').  The cuttings  survived easily so  I got into the habit of sticking these cuttings anywhere I can find within the garden area whenever I shaped the plant.  When friends ask for a plant, I just dug them up...!  

My serissa (s) have started to flower - they bloom on and off as they please !  The small perfect white blooms fascinate me so much that I cannot help but take pictures of them.  However since the flowers are so small, it is hard to get good pictures using my simple camera ... sigh !  Some of the flowers are multi-petals but most are single petals. The blooms looks like those satin flowers sewn on to clothings ... very pretty. indeed. Unfortunately they do not have any fragrance --- so minus one point !  (pls click on the pictures to get a better view on the flowers, a second click will enlarge the picture further)

Well perhaps it is time I experiment around on the  art of Bonsai.  

Getting Measured !

My daughter is rather attached to this caladium. Perhaps it could be because she dug it out from the fields some years back and took it home.  Those were the days before I started gardening. So the plant actually went to my mother's garden, until we took some baby plants  to grow here.  A friend had told her that this plant was known as  "Horse Face"  (Beh Bin - in Hokkien) as the leaf resembled the face of a horse.  Since then she had always been fascinated by the plant.  

Somehow with the rain the caladium seems to thrive ...... ! My daughter said she had never seen the leaves growing this big - must be a record ! So the next thing  I know, she was running around with a ruler and camera. These are the results.

Horse Face Caladium

Water lily - these are fragrant too .....

St Christopher's Lily

Jatropha Podagrica

Cardwell Lily or Christmas Lily

Blooming Season for the Murraya Paniculata ?

This morning as I walked around the neighborhood, I cannot help but noticed that the Murraya Paniculata (aka lakeview jasmine, orange jasmine, Chinese Box) that I spied  were blooming in abundance ! One can detect the fragrance of these blooms from a distance away even before the plant was seen.  Just follow the scent.  The fragrance of the blooms is really beautiful especially coupled with the early morning fresh air.  Although the murraya paniculata actually blooms all year round,  I have not noticed that they bloomed in such abundance at one go this time !  This is why I am thinking  perhaps there is a blooming season for this plant or is it to do with the weather which of late has been blowing hot and cold ? One day scorching hot, the next raining cats and dogs !

These are some shots of the lovely and fragrant blooms taken from my garden.  

 I have these murraya p. grown on the ground and in pots as well. The blooms from the potted plants are smaller.  These plants take to heavy pruning, and seems rather robust. - grows back fast.  When the new shoots appeared they are light green and what a contrast to the dark green mature leaves. 

   

Five Days of Rain .......

Strong Winds !

I want to record the continuous rainfall that went on and on non-stop, for the last 5 days straight. I read in the papers that some places were flooded and families needed to be evacuated.  Sad especially when I think of how cold it was (about 26 Deg C, cold when the  normal temperatures always hover around 30 deg or so). How these people must have suffered  the wet and cold discomfort, aside from worrying about safety and other matters.  For those of us not affected  the cold is a luxury to savor as we  snuggle under warm blankets in bed at night,  without the air-conditioning or ceiling fan on for a change .....! Nice for a change from  the usual blistering scorching sun and heat .... Aside from a temperature drop, the strong winds or at times just  gentle cool breeze  does serve to flush the stale polluted air away .... somehow the air feels cleaner and fresher and generally one feels so good, if not for the restless that comes from  being house bound !

Crinium Jagus (St Christopher's Lily) revisited ...

This bulb plant (see post dated 25th March 2011) is becoming my number  1 favorite ... the scent is captivating, the blooms are snowy white but best of all it seems to be blooming regularly once in 3 months ....The flowers are a joy to behold being so prominently large and showy.  This is the 3rd time since it first bloomed in March, then mid June this year.  So this time I decided to capture its progress from buds to bloom over a few days .... do share  my delight.....!

And what is this ? Looks like a floating rubber toy, doesn't t it ?  I found it this morning in my watering can ......
 

Puffy Toad .... !

SELAMAT HARI RAYA  and HAPPY MERDEKA  ! Have a wonderful holiday break ....!

Flying Visitors ....

"Flying Visitors" to the garden are always a welcome sight  -  I never tire of watching them 'play ' in the garden whenever they visit.  It is especially delightful to hear the birds singing merrily when announcing their arrival  and to follow the flash of  bright colors of the butterflies when they appeared.  Their movements are fast,  but once or twice I get lucky when they paused long enough for me to get my little camera to 'shot'  at them ..... ! Take a look at these recent visitors ... 

I tried to capture this butterfly when in flight as its wings were so beautiful, but alas it was  too fast for me....!  It looks like it could be the Lime Butterfly, but I cannot be too sure ....

These small birds are dropping by frequently these  days - seems like there must be  a season for birds as well ....! They often come as a group ---- and always chirping merrily away. 

Feeding on Sunset Bells

' Pole Dance' 

Am I turning into a bird-watcher ? Another fascinating pastime .......