Chillies!

My chilli plants have bloom and bear some chillies for second time! Unfortunately the plant doesn't look so good anymore. White pest constantly attacking them! I'm not so sure of the pest name...White fly /mealy bug may be.... 

I use to wash away the pest with soap solution but they keep coming back! These might be my last harvest of hot chillies.......!

Anyway Happy New Year 2011 to all gardeners!!!!

Aster

The name Aster comes from Ancient Greek, which means star! This is another plant from my trip to Sungai Buluh the other day. In my younger age i always think that Aster and Chrysanthemums are the same. Luckily i never brew any drinks with Aster!

I took the photos after heavy downpour last week so they look in a little mess.......




It seems that the yellow center of Aster comprised of many tiny flowerets!

I find in Internet that this plant love sun but not soggy soil. It's raining heavy most of the time and my garden soil is clay type. I added some good soil to improve the texture. Hope it will strive well.   

Balsam seeds...anyone?

I have many balsam seeds on my hand now. I think few are enough for me. Therefore i would like to give the seeds away to fellow gardeners. Please e-mail me if you are interested with this plants!

Okra

The other day i transferred all my Okra seedlings to the ground. There were about 8 healthy seedling but now few of them look so unhappy. I do not know the reason. It can be the new fertilizer that i used or the heavy rain. I just keep my finger crossed that few of them will survive and bear fruit for me!

in the row

Starfruit tree

Starfruit is making way in my garden. I bought this starfruit tree from S.Buluh during my trip few weeks back.

I like to eat ripe starfruit which has sweet but not overwhelming taste. It's blended with tart and sour taste too! The unripe or green fruit is generally sour. I read somewhere that it takes 3-4 years to mature and set fruit. It's a long wait but worthwhile i guess!

The soil in my garden is clay type. I have add fertilizer and mulch to improve the soil. Hope little starfruit grows well!

Lipstick Palm

I have 2 Lipstick Palms in my house. Those are my husband's favorite actually. I seldom care for them but they are care free plant!

Lipstick Palm is from Arecaceae family. They are also commonly known as Red Sealing Wax Palm. Some belief this is good feng shui plant.

There are many types of palm around but lipstick palms are outstanding due to their vibrant red crownshaft and leaf arrangement! They really do add colour to a green garden.

The best part of this plant is that , they love water. Their origin is coastal swamp area. therefore they can tolerate flooding and can be grown in standing water! I know who are happy during Monsoon now......

Collection of Seeds

It was such a joy to receive many seeds from Diana (kebunmalaykadazangirls) . She have send many home saved seeds nicely packed in small packets!




nice card





with some sweet words





many seeds!

 With so many seeds on hand, i wish the monsoon season will go off soon! I was planning to buy coriander seeds the other day after reading MKZ post on Coriander but now i don't have to! ;-)

Costus Woodsonii

I have a pot of Costus. At early stage it was putting up so much of it's spiral stems but now the stalks have slow down. May be this is due to place constrain. Or may be due to rainy season?

I kept it under the shade. I read somewhere that the flowers on the bract are edible. I never tried it before. This plant is really exotic and i really hope it will grow vibrantly again!



the bract with flower




Looking not so healthy.....



This plant also known as french kiss or red button ginger

The history of this plant is really interesting. It was first found in 1941 on old bank island in Panama. It was renamed again in 1972 to honor Dr.Robert Woodson who dedicated most of his time on this plant! I was still not born at both these years!

Green beans towards ending....

beans getting small and in odd shape(aphid attack)

My single green bean vine have provide me generous amount of beans! Now it's showing the sign of deterioration. The leaves are yellowing. Beans are getting smaller and in odd shape. The other day i saw few aphid on the beans. 

i will sow new seeds soon and see how the seeds work out! Previous attempt only let to 1 successful vine!

yellowing leaves and small bean

Ornamental Shrub

I have another ornamental shrub that i just bought in Sg.Buluh nursery. The leaves looks so lush and green. If I'm not mistaken, this leaves are used in flower bouquet preparation! Now i can prepare my own flower bouquet!

I do not know how to care for this plant. Anyone have idea?

the leaves

don't they resemble Christmas tree? I wish for snow now....

 To tell the truth i went to Sg.Buluh due to the temptation arising from the juiciness of mulberry that i saw in  p3chandan blog. I thought i can get a seedling there. Unfortunately i could not find any. In fact the nursery guys do not know what mulberry is....... may be it has some other name that i do not know.....sigh!

Anyway i end up buying so many other plants! This is my first trip to Sg.Buluh nursery and i was really crazy looking at the plants! I wish I'm rich enough to buy all! ;-)

Amaranth

I can find this type of bayam everywhere in my garden! I browse through Internet and came to know that this is Amaranthus dubius. It's famous in India and known as Mulai keerai . It's also called Chinese spinach or red spinach!

Usually it's ruderal species found in disturbed land. Oh yes my housing area is totally new place. previously it was plantation plus jungle area.

I found them in an empty pot at first but now they have invaded many pots!



in rose pot



with bunga kertas

another rose pot

close up

As it's edible, I transferred some of it to the ground. Let's see how it grow!

Sunflower

I always admire sunflowers whenever i see one! They really have cheerful and bright flowers!

The other day i sow 4 sunflower seeds. These seeds was given to me by J.C.

3 of them have germinated. Now sunflowers are making way in to my garden. At the moment they look so tiny. I hope they will grow big and give me their beautiful bloom!

Frog or toad?

I don't really know what is the different between toad and frog! The only different that i know is that the toad have warty appearance and frog's skin look smooth! Am i correct?

If i'm correct then this is a toad . This Mr.Toad always lays eggs in my water plant pot! Look at the colour! It suits the environment colour. Nature's way to protect itself from predator!

This place is below a shady plant and very wet place. Suitable for this guy!

OK. Let me end this post with something beautiful for the eyes!

Do i need a rose bouquet today?

What's blooming to cheer up me today for my Wedding Anniversary??



two together




lovely single rose




shall i call it rose bud?



pretty bloom

so many roses!

close up. Some petals already dropping...



Orange and rose mix variety

I don't need a bouquet of roses today i guess!

Neem

Azadirachta Indica or commonly known as neem is a drought tolerant plant! I planted it outside my house. The soil is absolutely bad with many rocks. It's been planted a year ago. Neem is fast growing plant but due to the soil condition it's growing very slowly. When the condition is not suitable, it will drop most of it's leaves to survive. That is what my neem tree doing i guess! I add fertilizer and mulch to enrich the soil.

All part of this plant have medicinal properties!

Dragonfly

Dragonflies are beneficial insect for the house! Sounds interesting and strange? I'm telling you this as it kill mosquitoes and mosquito larva!

I have a pot of aquatic plant. The plant is not in good condition due to the location, but usually it's a breeding place for tadpoles. I always worry if there will be any mosquito larva but now i can rest in peace as i have many dragonflies who are mosquito predator!

I have 2 findings on them. First they have incredible flying ability which include flying backward which is impossible for many flying insects!

Secondly they have compound eyes. This means they have up to 50,000 lenses which help them to see around! No wonder i have hard time catching them when young!