Specially for you....

A bouquet of flowers for the most special person

and

A song I just found......

JANGAN LUPA NAMAKU

Walau aku tidak bersamamu
Jangan engkau lupakan diriku
Walau aku tiada di sisimu
Jangan engkau lupakan namaku

Kerana…
Aku mengingati mu
Kerana…
Aku mencintaimu…

Andai aku
Bisa bertemumu
Dengan senyum ku tadah syukurku
Andai aku bisa menyentuhmu
Air mata pasti deras gugur

Kerana…
Aku merindui mu
Kerana aku sentiasa
Menyintaimu oh sepenuh hati

Walau kamu
Jauh di mataku
Jangan aku hilang dalam kalbu
Saat kamu samar mengingati
Jangan aku terus kau lupakan

Kerana aku
Sentiasa mengingatimu
Kerana aku
Sentiasa menyayangimu oh kekasih hati…

Andai aku bisa memelukmu
Pasrah aku tabah diujimu
Andai aku bisa dicintai
Dengan rela menyerahkan hati

Kerana…
Aku merindui mu
Hmmm…Kerana aku sentiasa menyintaimu……

Lagu & lirik : POMPA BENSIN

Floria Fest 2011, Putrajaya (Flowers)

Rose

Zinnia (??)

Orchid

Hydrangea

Is this 'black-Eyed Susan' or what?

Floria Fest 2011, Putrajaya (English theme)

We, Mardhiah, my daughter and I, took quite a number of pictures. I've decided to divide them into a few themes. The first being the English garden. White coloured garden furnitures are synonymous with English theme garden. Three benches are placed at a corner, facing a water fountain, another must item for this type of garden. Water fountain attracts birds to the garden giving it a lively environment. Low level flowering shrubs are planted surrounding the small pond. Higher level plants are at the back of the benches screening from preying neighbours...(hehehe...)

Lovely flowering shrubs in red, yellow and white.

A white gazebo with stools inside. Strawberry plants are in the hanging pots. A different feature from the normally creepers used to adorn a gazebo.

This swan replica is rather too big for a normal home garden, I think..... But a good idea for a large scale park!! Anyway, two geese and two ducklings were in the pond adding an attraction to the replica.

A simple design that impresses me. A lattice, a large water jar and different flower pot designs. Colourful flowers indeed. At the background is the red 'bunga balung'.

New Pot for Old Bougain....

We had a WANDA's gotong-royong last Saturday and some pots were to be thrown away. Not wanting to waste these still-good pots I decided to take one to replace a broken one at home. Yes, for the bougainvillae...

So, this morning the red flowered bougain was transferred to a 'new' pot. Small stones were first put in to cover the drain hole, followed by some black soil. The root ball of the bougain was loosen up a bit. Had become harden after about 2 years in the pot. Fertilizer was then scattered around the plant. Done.... with a little help from daughter to lift the heavy pot onto two bricks.

Now, what am I going to do with the two broken pieces of the old pot? Any ideas?

I believe....

I believe after winter, there is spring.....

Plumeria alba a.k.a Kemboja Putih a.k.a Frangipani

We only have one plumeria alba planted in the compound. Its growth is rather slow, maybe due to the infertile soil. The leaves grow out from the end of the branches.

However, it did bloom now and then; giving out a sweet smell that sometimes tickled your nose. This picture shows the buds and a blooming flower at the end of the flower stalk. The flowers will then form a cluster of whites.

A white flower does give out a stronger smell than the red one. This is purely based on my own sense of smell though....

The flower is not 100% white, a bit of yellow can be found at the inner end of the petals.

Taken on : 24/03/2010

It's B for Bougainvilla....#5

Pictures of bougainvillae taken in 2010. This red species is planted in a pot and put in front of the house. Unfortunately, while working on a tree near the pot, Pakar accidently knocked the pot down and it broke. Haven't had time to buy a near one but alhamdulillah, the plant is still ok. A hardy plant indeed.

Another view...oh, i love the red colour...

Such vibrant colour.

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Posted on: 28/08/2008

Bougainvilla or bunga kertas, as popularly known, is a hardy plant. The ones that we have at home were given to us by our ex-babysitter, Kak Mashitah (or Kak Mas) from Kayu Ara, Damansara. So these plants are more than 20 years old!!

There are the whites, fuschias/maroonish ones. All are in pots. The one that keeps on flowering is the white. One plant is the verigiated species.

Have seen too, bougainvillas planted along the sides of the LEKAS highway.

Vertical Planting is the Word

#1: Planted with vegie seeds which I can't remember the name... ;-) Bought the seeds at Giant, Nilai. The troughs, at a hardware store (and I leave that to dear Paka) in Pajam. Green, leafy vegie...

# 2: Same seedlings. Pegaga leaves can also be seen here. Oh yes, I use the plastic spoon the scoop the soil etc. Yeap, another use of the spoon.

Another shot of the vegetable and the leaves looked good, without too many insects' holes!!

And here's our vertical planting box (courtesy of hubby). The cost? That you've to ask the other half.

First Pineapple...

This is our first pineapple (ananas comosus)!!! Excited is the word no doubt. Harvested when the fruit was still green, and was left to ripe for a week.

We ate it fresh, the taste was sweet and juicy. Bought the original pineapple from a stall along Pasir Mas - Rantau Panjang road. Mak planted the crown first and gave it to us after a few months. Alhamdulillah, it grew well.

The pineapple taking a peek about 5 months ago.

From another angle of an amateur's eye... the unripe ananas

Further away..

And the whole plant... Planted under the shade of a mango tree. Not too sure if it helped but the soil condition there is on the wet side. As far as I can remember, fertilizer was seldom used on this plant. Just leave it on its own to grow.

A Succulent

A succulent is so easy to grow. New plant will grow from its dropped leaves. I chose to have it in a small container making it easier to control its growth. Want to have a bigger succulent, then plant it in a bigger pot.

Notice the outside pots? They are all reused containers. A mug and a 'bunga telur'!! Now, one can have a good piece of house warming gift for the next host ... To make them more attractive, put in small stones or marbles to cover the soil.

Muscat Grape (Updated : 26 May, 2011)

Pic taken in Mac/April 2010

According to the nursery man, this is the Muscat grape plant. Not sure of its origin though. We bought one, for about RM40 and he lectured us on how to have the plant bore fruits!! So, finally after about 12 months with us, the fruits are here!!!

Pic taken in March 2011

They are still in infancy stage.... But according to friends, grapes planted in Malaysia will turn out to be sour. We'll just see about it :-( . A tip that I followed was to prune the plant, leaving just a number of leaves on it. After about 3 to 4 weeks, the fruits came out.

Grape plant too is good for giving shade. Try planting it at your pergola and you'll find the plant creeping almost instantly with its large leaves.

(NOTE: Grrr...the grape turned purplish in May 2011, but luck was not on our side. Hubby took a look the next day and the fruits were gone!!)

Plants, plants and more plants...

Located at Sukhumvit Highway, between Pattaya and Sattahip is the Nong Nooch Tropical Garden and Resort. A very large area to cover in a day indeed. It was the morning of Boxing Day 2010 but tourists had started pouring into the Garden. Since it was already time for the cultural and elephant shows to begin, the staff directed us to park our car nearest to the show area (after we paid the entrance fee that is!) What greeted us first was of course the elephants that were to perform shortly.

The Thai cultural show showcased dances from most of the Thai provinces (above picture depicts the Southern region dance which uses the bamboo), short sketches in which the elephants were brought in, and also muay thai (Thai boxing). The five of us sat in a theater-like area.

Lots of elephant antics here. Ball game, bowling, dancing, tricycle ride and painting. The paintings by the elephants were offered for sale. Bananas were also sold here for tourists to feed the elephants. On our way out, after the show, a tiger cub was spotted on one of the rocks held by its keeper/trainer. Some took the opportunity to take pictures with it.

And yes, after this, it was a long walk... However, the plants and flowers kept me going though I do admit it was tiring. So, garden lovers, this is one attraction you should not miss when in the area of Pattaya-Sattahip. Based on the leaflet, the garden covers 652 acres! Variety of plants here which include the bromeliads, palms, cycads and other tropical trees and flowers. The garden is segmented to a few areas such as the French garden and the bromeliads. Water spouts coming from big, colourful vases further enhanced the serene and beauty of the areas. Walkways were also built to make it easier for visitors to walk and enjoy the garden.

Vertical planting was used extensively in certain areas (as in the above pic - background).

The French Garden. For more pictures, click here.

There was also elephant rides but we already had one in Damnoen Saduak before. Replicas of flamingos adorned an area. Other animal replicas include colourful birds and frogs. Oh yes, there was also an area where fish were kept. Arapaimas were also in one of the large ponds and smaller fish in the aquariums.

After that long and tiring walk, we headed back to the car park. Next, we ventured to Sattahip town.