Jade Vine

common name:Jade Vine
Botanical name:Strongylodon macrobotrys
Family:Fabaceae/Leguminosae
Other name:Tayabak(Philipine),Jade climber,
Origin: Philipine

A special evergreen vine with jade to blue flower. one thing uniue about this plant is the color was so green blue that you could hardly find in a plant.The structure also really looks like a artifial flower, at first i thought that they purposely hang the artifial flower to the vine.

Jade vine is a native plant in Philiphine and grows in wild in the tropical forest. It prefer neutral to acidic soil. in term of light we can grow jade vine in full sun with some shade in the mid day. Jade wind nomally grown over a pergola or trellis where the upper part is facing the direct sun and the lower under the shade.

a close up of Jade vine flower. This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and birds. it can be propagated by stem cutting and seed.

Other link:
Jade vine at melur.com

Aster

strawberry

strawberry is definitely not from malaysia, only can be found grown at highland in Malaysia that has a lower temparature climate such as Cameron higland , genting higland and Ranau in Sabah

Jasmine aka Melur

original post date: Thursday, August 24, 2006

Jasmine is one of my favorite flower.Jasmine or Melur in Malay language is a sweet smell with flower belong to a shrub herbs.

I have 2 var of jasmine at home. duke of tuscany and maid of orlean. Between those 2 the latter has stronger fragrant than the former.I plant jasmine in pots in my front garden.Jasmine is actually quite easy to grow. you must make sure water is sufficient and to ensure it blooms more expose it to the full sunlight. I'm living is a tropical country so sunlight all year round is not a problem. I give the jasmines flower inducer once a months. I cut the old stem ( where the flower drop) once a month so it will turn bushy.And to encourage it to produce more flower , harvest the flower frequently ( this is my tips and my own belief...:) you can call it mitos)I believe if we appreciate the plants, they will know how to return the favour back.... hahaha...I pick the flower every day after coming back from work and put it in a bowl of water. This can make the flower release it scent throughout the night.

And jasmine is good for your heart too. You can make tea from jasmine buds the same way as lavender buds. Pick the buds before it blooms and let it dry naturaly. After 2 or 3 days your can keep the buds in air tight container. Just add 2 or 3 buds to your cup of tea. It will strengthen your heart plus it can cool you down from a stress day.

Malay old folks always keep the jasmine flower in there 'bedak sejuk' container so the 'bedak sejuk' will smell goooooodddd...Bedak sejuk is a traditional malay cosmetic made from rice.The rice will be soak in the water for months before the water will disolve it into a tick paste.The tick paste then will be drop on daun pisang and left to dry under the sun. When it was fully dry, bedak sejuk will be kept in air tight container. the water have to be change regularly until the rice start to disolve ,so it will never produce a stink smell ...which is very2 stink. when i was a kid i try to make my own bedak sejuk but i forgot change the water for almost a month, and i can tell you i'm almost vomit when i open the container. That's my first and last attempt to make the bedak sejuk.

To aply the bedak sejuk , dissolve in a few drops of water and apply it on the face.The cooling effect of the bedak sejuk is very soothing to our face. You have to try it to beleve it. It also can eliminate excess oil from our face hence prevent the acne.

alamak...why i'm talking about bedak sejuk now. I'm suppose to talk about my jasmine.better stop now.

Bunga kesidang

original posting date : Thursday, March 01, 2007

my kesidang (vallaris glabra) is blooming. Every night when i reach home, the rich sweet pandan smell is in the air. Some people who like the pandan smell will really love it.My mother hate the smell, infact she said the smell will trigger her migrain. The smell of the kesidang flower is said to be resemble to the rice smell, describe why in nothern region of Malaysia it is called kerak nasi which literally means rice leftover.The flower also known in western as bread flower, perhaps because of the white color? hahh... just my wild guest.

Kesidang is a climber which make it a very nice companion to your trellis or pergola.It can be easily propagated by layering technic.Layering can be done by pull the branch until it touch the ground or the medium , then put something heavy , like a brick on the branch to make it always touch the ground. after +- 2 weeks, new root will come out for the part that touch the ground. Cut the branch and plant it somewhere else. It can be grown in a pot too...Other way to propagate is grafting. although stem cutting will grow into new plant if you are lucky, by the chance to stem cutting to root is quite low. A little help from root hormone might increase the chances to survive...:)

The leave is quite big, from a far it look like mango leave...:) the leave surface is shiny.Kesidang leave can easily turn yellow and drop if you give not enough water, esp in dry season like now. This the kesidang photo from my garden... Really love the clean white flower with the unique petals and the smellll.....so refereshing....My mother will hate me for this. Next time when she come to visit I'll make sure no buds is allow to bloom....:)

p/s: kesidang is said to be the symbol of malay folks, whic always rich with adab, budi bahasa dan kesopanan.

Corn tree

original post: 2007

Corn tree,sometime knows as iron tree or botanically known as Dracaena fragrans is a very popular indoor plant.Infact we can always stumble with it in almost every office.The behaviour of the plant that need less attention compare to other indoor plant make a perfect choice if you are not a plant lover.

Originated from West Africa, the plant has made its way around the globe. Belong to agave family give corn tree an advantage as it is very strong can tolerate a wide range of climate.the plant prefers low light and high humidity.

The wide leaves are long and arc gracefully from the stalk.The huge and strong stucture of the stem and leave turn it as an attractive green furniture to your room.Dracaena fragrans belongs to Agavaceae family, the same family agave, yucca and joshua plant.Same like others in agave family corn tree too can stand the dry zone.Though in its optimum condition the plant can grow until 20 feet tall, but normally as a houseplant the normal height of this plant is between 4 to 6 feet tall.Ovet time the plant loses lower leave revealing bare stem.D. f. ‘Massangeana’ is a popular cultivar that features a wide central yellow stripe on each leaf.


In tropical climate , it is quite difficult to see corn tree blooming. the flower somehow, very attarctive with the special fragrant any flower lover will treasure.To flower, the plant must be a very mature plant.It should be at least more that 6 feet in height.The flower stalk s emerge out from the center of tthe leave whorl and will extend untill almost 3 feet.the The fragrant is very strong , you can smell it even it is more than 100 feet away, especially in the evening. The fragrant normally will last more than 1 week or even longer if it is keep in the office or well protected environment.

Some people believe that the plant will die after flowering.Well, it is not true as the plant will keep on growing.Cutting the flower stalk when it wither is a good idea to boost up the groth rate.Propagation is simple, it can be done through stem cutting.Eventhough the plant bear fruits(berries type) , normally it is propaged using stem cuttings.If you notice that the leave turn brownish it could be because of to much or too litle water.Eventhough it is a tough plant, sometimes mites can get attracted to it.

Single layer gardenia

Monday, January 08, 2007

Hi...
it's me again...Last few days was really hectic for me...My eldest first days in school. going back to my hometown on the 2 past weekend and not sure whether have to go back again this weekend...Hmm... it's have been some time since i want to talk about my single layer gardenia. Well... most people know gardenia, the white fragrance flower that resemble the roses. But i bet not many people ever see this single layer gardenia. It's really a gardenia, with the smell and everything except the flower only has single layer.Normally we keep on looking for multi layer flower. but for me, single layer gardenia is even more pretty and unique( i like to use this word to describe it...:))

The behaviour, propagation, sun exposure is the same like multi-layer gardenia. It can keep on crazilly blooming if you expose it to the full sun light. Just don't forget to water it sufficiently. Here's the picture of my single layer gardenia. Enjoy it...!!

From Nor's Paradise

Monday, December 11, 2006
Nor's Paradise
my eldest daughter nursery is having a school holiday program and ask me to teach those young fellow how to garden. She's so excited that mama is going to tech her friends so she keep on talking about it the whole week until saturday when my second daughter infected with conjunctivitis. Then , she became so frustated and scare that me and her will get it too. Luckily we are still safe when the day came and she's so happy and eagerly help me with all the pots and garden tools....:) Proud of her mum....hehehe...i still remember when she's small when somebody ask what's her mother occupation, she would always said that mama grow plant...:) some even guess that i'm a gardener...:)

I hope that my daughters will enjoy gardening as mush as i do and as much as my mother do.well.... it's a trait in the family i guess....:)

Blanket Flower-transfered from my old blog: www.norsparadise.blogspot.com

original entrance date: 1/30/07


Haaa....at last i manage to find out the name of the flower that my husband brought back from US.This one is better known as gaillardia(nice name and it suite her...:)) I use to mention flower as her as i feel that 'it' is too harsh.The scientific name is gaillardia aristata. The name is drive from a french botanist name , Gaillard de Marentoneau. This plant is easy to grow in any variety of soil, provided that it is free draining

Daisy on my balcony- transfered from my old blog: www.norsparadise.blogspot.com

Date of original entrance: Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Before move to this current house we stayed in a 15 floor apartment. I'm quite like it, the balcony is facing the hill and before the hill is a shooting range. Very green and eye soothing except it can be very noisy once a week when the army practiced at the shooting range.During rainy season, i can still see the mist covering the hill bringing the cool breeze to our bedroom.I kept quite a number of plant there, on the balcony. plants like mini roses (4 vareties) gerbera daisy (3 varieties), money plant, violet, japanese rose etc. I even grow a grape vine on the trailis that i hooked up to the wall.The balcony is quite big. It's actually 2 balconie linked by a planters box before we combined it into one big balcony.

I enjoy planting on the balcony. But when you gardened at a very high place from the ground few thing that you must consider are, the weight of the pots + the soil + water.So i never use terracota pot as it can be very heavy after you loaded it with soil and water.I have one terracota pots for my aquatic plants, and that's the only one.

Let me share with you a few tips of balcony or roof top gardening:

Euphorbia

Fuschia

Lantana

chrysanthemum

Dahlia

common name:Dahlia
Botanical name:Dahlia spp.
Family:Asteraceae
Other name: Tenjikubotan(japanese),peony of india.
Origin: Mexico

Dahlia is a special flowers that has been cultivated since Aztec time (The Mayan tribe). It was not just cultivated only because of the beauty of the flower but more for food and ceremonies.

Nowadays there are approximately 36 species of hyrid dahlia grown as decoratie ve garden plant. Among them are dahlia Dahlia coccinea,Dahlia juarezii. The hybrids commonly found in planted are Dahlia 'Adelaide Fontane',Dahlia 'Appleblossom', Dahlia 'Arabian Night',Dahlia 'Art Deco',Dahlia 'Aurora's Kiss',Dahlia 'Dahlstar Sunset Pink',Dahlia 'Asahi Chohji' and many more.

Dahlia can be propagated from the bulb or the tubers.Normally after flowering the plant will die, leaving the tubers behind. The new plant can be derived from the tubers by digging it back, wash it properly , preferrably with fungicidal solution, dry it for a few days . Then , it is ready to be planted again.Somehow dahlia also can be propagated by late cutting.

The picture here i captured couple of years ago in Cameron Highland.

share your story about this plant by writing the comment

Flame violet

common name:Flame violet
Botanical name:Episcia cupreata
Family:Gesneriaceae
Other name: Episcia
Origin: Columbia and venezuela


The vibrant flame red color of the flower.




a superb plant for hanging basket. make sure that water is enough as keeping it hanging make the water drain faster

Reference:
1. Flame violet at melur.com

Cape honeysuckle

Common Name : Cape honeysuckle
Botanical Name: Tecoma capensis
Other Name : Orange cape honeysuckle
Family : Bignoniaceae
Origin : South Africa, Mozambique

Cape honeysuckle is a flowering vine and climber. Somehow it can be grown independently without any support provided that the branches is prunned from time to time to control the growth.It can be propogated by cutting and seed.The cutting propagation method is much preffered as the germination rate is slightly low.

the plant is a fast growing shrub that can grow up to 3 m in height and spread around 2.5 m area.

See also:
Cape honeysuckle at melur.com

crossandra

calalily

zebra flower

Spider lily

Gerbera Daisy

common name:Gerbera Daisy
Botanical name:Gerbera jamesonii
Family:Asteraceae
Other name:common daisy,Bunga sawi,African Daisy
Origin: South Africa, Africa, Tropical Asia




The plant is really easy to grow, just that some people dont dare to keep it because they feel that the plant as beautiful as this sure ask for a lot of attention, but the fact it, you just water it, feed it it will be enough for it. And the best part is, it is very easy to propagate, the seed will come from the dry flower, and you just sow it and you will get a lot of new plant. I did that last time and i got more that 10 pots (actually i can have more if i have more pots) which i gave to few friends.


Red Daisy in My garden

and it can be use as cutting flower for your dinner table flower arrangement. With proper care it can last for almost 2 weeks. What i did was i cut the flower, then fill a glass with tap water(filtered, no more chlorine...:) then add 2-3 table spoon of sugar...yes... normal sugar. Put the flower in the glass for a very simple but beautiful flower arrangement. you can add fern leave or few strand of ivy to make it nicer.

Rain Lily

Common Name : White Rain Lily
Botanical Name : Zephyranthes candida
Other Name : bunga bawang, bunga lili, white rain lily, fairy lily
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Origin: South Africa

Rain lily is a common garden plant in Malaysia and can be found widely planted as ground cover. The name rain lily initated due to the habit of this plant which normally produce more bloom after the rain. The most

common type grown in Malaysia ia the white and pink flower. The plant can be easily propagated by the division of its bulb.Rain lily does not require much attention. It will die if left without water for a few days especialy in Malaysia hot wheather , but the bulb can be live again after ample watering.

See also:
Rain lily at melur.com

orchids

myriads of orchid

White Mussaenda

common name:
Botanical name:Mussaenda sp
Family:Rubiaceae
Other name: Janda Kaya
Origin: Native

This plant has a funny name in malay language. Janda kaya literally means Rich widow, most probably because the plant alway rich in bloom.

Marigold

White Butterfly bush ( buddleia)

common name:White butterfly bush
Botanical name:Buddleia Asiatica Lour
Family:Buddlejaceae
Other name: Buddleja, buddleia,white butterfly bush, Butterfly bush, Dog tail, winter flowering lilac
Origin: Native

This plant is he Most attractive plant in butterfly bush family.White butterfly bush is a native to eastern asia.The plan is a perennial that can easily propagated by cutting. the most special characteristic of buddleia (sometimes call buddleja) or commonly known in western as dogtail is the heavenly fragrant white flower.

Reference:
1. Buddleia at melur.com

White Plumbago

This f lower is cool. It looks classy and pretty in my eye. Genus plumbago is commonly know as ceraka to the locals in Malaysia. Generall 3 types of ceraka can be found grown or in wild in Malaysia. Ceraka biru or plumbago

Lantern Flower

Bromeliad

Blue Wigs