A Newcomer arrived the very last day of 2013.....

...a Masui Dauphin (Ma Si Yi...?) from a FB friend Redland-FigCarica-Pokok Tin.... complete with a small fruit on it.... may this newcomer grow to be productive fast....

Arrived 31st December 2013...to be transpnated 1st January 2014...this afternoon when i get home from work...in shaa Allah....a big pot is all ready to receive it!!

A little sadness in late December....

My long awaited Passiflora/Giant Granadilla was DOA...dead on arrival...well it sure looks totally dead... but i am not going to throw it away yet...still hoping for a miracle...hoping that down in the growing medium ...err wet growing medium...it is still alive....

From the box i noticed it was posted on the 10th December 2013 ...released by Malaysian Customs on  the 17th... but it reached my hands on the 29th December 2013....  aaahhh so very very sad...!!!

Echinacea update...

Two more blooms are open ...but the first bloom is still holding on...!!

Friday 131213 update....

Alhamdullillah...my Echinacea Sunrise has started to flower.....

....and the Garlic Vine is also blooming prolifically....flaunting its lavender purplish beauty for all to see.....

...and i am very glad to see my LSU Purple fig perking up after dropping the one-brown-spotted-leaf it came with.....

May you grow fast dear....can't wait to see and taste your fruit......!!

My Apple Tree....

My little apple tree today 27th November 2013.....planted about 2 days ago.....

May you grow strong and healthy...and productive....FAST....for i am impatiently waiting....!!

Olive and LSU Purple fig....

...arrived and immediately planted today.....and a cherry plant...barerooted arrived last week a few days before i got home...was away from 16th till 22nd November... first to present a paper at ICELT 2013 (18 - 20th Nov) at Equatorial Melaka...then had to attend a vetting session at UiTM Shah Alam on 21 and 22nd...23rd drove home.... the Cherry must have arrived on the 21st...when i got home there was some whitish stuff on the bare roots.... probably fungus or mold...? Nevertheless i still planted it.....on Sunday 25th Nov 2013.....and i pray for His help....may my cherry plant survive.....amiiin.

Olive from Portugal...looks like there is good potential as a bonsai.....

LSU Purple from Hawaii...looks a little 'unhealthy' with some brown spots on its one and only leaf....hopefully it will recover ...survive and thrive..... in shaa Allah...

Chrysothemis pulchella

I kept forgetting its name...so i decided to post it here... am sure after this i will not forget the name of this beautiful-carefree plant......very easy to grow...no pest problems...errmmm like it very much!!

Here is an interesting write up about this plant :

http://www.rhythmofnature.org/2012/12/chrysothemis-sunset-bells-flower.html  

Diospyros blancoi...

Diospyros blancoi/Mabolo(Kamagong-tree)/Velvet Apple/Butter Fruit/Buah Mentega......

It is a dioecious tropical tree that grows well in a diversity of soil, from the sea level to the 2,400 feet above sea level. Seed trees are normally planted 30 or 45 feet from each other; this one can be planted from 25 to 30 feet from each other. It needs a good distribution of rainfall through the year. Trees that were planted by seeds could take 6 or 7 years to give out fruit, but trees that were propagated by cuttings produce fruit in 3 or 4 years.
source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_Apple

...and i have just received my baby plant....from an ebay seller 7_heads (8885 )....thank you again 7_heads....have looked for it for some time...but not able to get it locally....I  had eaten the fruit when i was much much younger.....errmmm though some people may hate it.... i do like the taste.... here is a pic of my baby.....

At this late age I doubt i'd be able to taste its fruit....siiigghhh....but never mind...am planting it for my children and grandchildren....may they like this rare-not-available-in-the-market fruit....!!

Found some more interesting info about this 'almost-extinct-fruit-in-Malaysia' from these sites...it seems not only is the plant rather ornamental but it also has medicinal values as well...errmmm great....

http://theindianvegan.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-about-mabolo.html  

http://www.philippineherbalmedicine.org/mabolo.htm

Acidanthera/Gladiolus callianthus - second generation

My  Acidanthera/Gladiolus callianthus is blooming.....though not as proliferous ....not as prolific as those in the pics advertising or featuring it....i m very thankful!! I thought i had lost it....when i saw its leaves coming up and growing rather vigorously...i was attacked by doubts....was not very sure it was my Acidanthera making a come back after all the time that has lapsed.....since the laeves are vey similar to glad leaves....however i suspected it was it because though similar...the leaves are not exactly the same...glad leaves are thicker while Acidanthera's are thinner....only when it produces flower buds was i sure-for-sure...!!

Yes i m very thankful although today only 1 flower has bloomed...well a few more buds are waiting their turn....errmm the fragrance..? Not as strong as claimed ....again i suppose it may be due to soil and geographical conditions...

Wednesday Blooms....

When i walked into the garden this morning i smelled a strong perfume in the air. Looking around i found the source of the strong perfume....my Brunfelsia Yesterday, Today Tomorrow is in full bloom....

....and my old rose plant is also blooming...really love the fragrance.....

and some newer rose plants are also blooming....but these are not as fragrant though...nevertheless they are as beautiful.....

Other non-fragrant plants-but-still-beautiful-nontheless.....

errrmmm...this Begonia is not very happy now there is such a lot of rain....have lost the other one...Alhamdullillah this is still striving....!

All considered...this Wednesday is a beautiful day....Subhanallah walhamdullillah walaaillahaillallahh wallahhuakbar!

Rosemary and Lavender....

Both....and some more other plants...bulbs and seeds are gifts from a very generous friend....blogger Experimental Garden....thanx zillions again dear dear gardening friend....!! Here is a little update......

The Lavender....has grown a little bit more...hasn't it dear friend...?

The Rosemary is a little slower...but Alhamdullillah there are some new leaves ...errmmm think it is also showing good progress....?

i tried to plant some cuttings from both....the Lavender cuttings seem to be doing well....they are now about ..err nearly 3 weeks old or a little over a fortnight...but the Rosemary...err looks like it is not gonna make it...!!

well...will try again later when the plant is ready for a good trim..... :))

woops...i forgot to take a pic of the growth made by the zantedeschia calla lily...well the growth was still rather minimal..... just little shoots protruding out of the soil...but what excites me is....there are more than one....!! Errmmm thank you again dear friend.....!!

Non-Stop Begonia....

My non-stop begonias have been very badly hit by a lot of heavy rains lately....and aahh they certainly are not happy about that..!! One of the two seems to be about to stop...!!

This poor darling has deteriorated further from the time this pic was taken.... 

This darling is still going strong....in fact there are signs of new growth....still flowering non-stop...!

Aaah i will be very sad if i were to lose any of them....have sprayed  Impra anti-pest and anti-fungal...am praying it will survive...... and while waiting for my non-stop begonias to recover i take solace from the other blooms.......

My purple Passiflora...very fragrant .....from late afternoon onwards...

.... my 2 new roses...white and soft pink... which i very nearly killed....left them in a rectangular plastic container i have just bought along with them....this container has a plastic plug covering the drainage hole... i did not take it out... it has been raining a lot lately.... thus my 2 roses were standing in water for some time before i noticed the situation.... quickly took them out and transplanted them in the pots they are now.... both are now budding... though not as prolifically as when i bought them....

This is the pink one...the white buds have not bloomed yet....

This is another member of my garden community which really cheers me up...ahh how i love looking at itz  very soft
pastel pink blooms.....

So while waiting for my non-stop begonias to recover i take solace from the other blooms.......

New Plants in my garden....

Today 8 October 2013 .........a few days away from awa n kamal's wedding.....and quite a few days after i planted the fig plant ....this time in a large pot...to avoid a repeat of what happened to the other 2 fig plants bought from US through ebay....i got this Tiin or fig plant from En Zahir Omar....thus it should have acclimatized well ....planted it immediately..... because it was wilting and  most of its leaves were about to turn black......had me really worried that i might lose it ....today most of the leaves have wilted and fallen off...but thankfully...i think its gonna make it...!!

Today also......the package from a faraway friend Dmitri arrived.....some of the plants sent are still fine...sadly the yarrow...Achillea Saucy Seduction has turned all black and mushy....

My Achillea Saucy Seduction...but i still planted it ...well m a believer of miracles....
I pray my Saucy Seduction will survive....that only d upper part has died...but the part down in the soil
is still alive...and will perk up soon......amen...

Fortunately my second-top-on-d-list-of-wanted-plants...the coneflower Echinacea Sunrise... is still very OK...and my first on d list of wanted plants...gojiberry...errnmmm a cutting sent by Dmitri...was also looking fine......

Echinacea Sunrise.....looking fine despite the long journey from the US here ...in Besut Terengganu

Gojiberry or Wolfberry...a plant i have long wanted to have...thank you again Dmitri
 for sending me this cutting...!

Dmitri also sent a lot of extras... a cherry tomato plant, some very interesting succulents and a guanabana sapling....thanx zillions again Dmitri!!

ahhh...i forgot another newcomer in the garden ...a Navel Orange citrus plant...also from Dmitri.... seems to be doing fine at the moment...it has been exactly a fortnight in my garden now....received and planted it immediately...on 26th September 2013....no new growth yet up to date....will post a pic when there is new growth....

Lornicera/Honeysuckle and Non-Stop Begonia

My honeysuckle is blooming....but not as prolifically as the plant we had left when we moved to this house we are staying in now..... nor is the fragrance as strong...well this is an immigrant from England which a friend took home when she completed her PhD there..... i thought that it would acclimatize quickly.....since i used to have the same cultivar which usually bloomed so much more prolifically.... but up to date i have been disappointed....ohh the growth is vigorous...i am just disappointed that it has not been a prolific bloomer....YET.

Actually this friend of mine brought over 3 different cultivars....one is this one that is blooming, another refused to acclimatize and has died...while another i very nearly lost ...but managed to save a 'cutting'....it is the Goldflame honeysuckle.... which is slower still to acclimatize.... i am not sure if it ever will.... i am just thankful that i have not lost it completely...though the original 'immigrant' died...the cutting i saved...it is not really a cutting...it was a division of the original plant...a division with some roots which i cut off from the original and planted in another pot.....anyway it is a very slow grower.....will it ever bloom...only time will tell......

Meanwhile, my two non-stop Begonias have not stopped blooming... really love their bright colour....

Adenium obesum and Vitex-agnus

in celebration of 50th Malaysia Day....my new AO ...well i do not know the name of this cultivar....nor do i know the name of my red AO....thus i will just call her Ms White.... and Miss White ...despite being new in my garden...is blooming well....

..the one with brown spots....is a spent bloom whose time is very limited... just waiting to wilt n fall ...well when time is up...there is no way to delay it....!!

...and my Vitex is blooming again...well it is only slightly over a year with me....planted it somewhere the end of June 2012...or was it early July...?  errmmm ...i can't quite remember.... thus m very thankful that it has started to bloom despite the fact that there was only one stalk at a time...... furthermore the flower stalks before this one were rather short... today's is a much longer flower stalk.....

Hopefully soon.... in not too far future...my little Vitex may bloom like the one in this pic....

my first ever Paphiopedilum...

or Slipper Orchid..is already wilting....after only a few hours reaching home from the local nursery where i got it from... it was only upon reaching home that i noticed all was not well with the plant.... it did look as if it had fallen out of its little plastic pot and put back... well at that time it was simply a suspicion... but now that the plant is wilting....and on the verge of dying... i think my suspicion may have been right in the first place.... m rather disappointed that the nursery proprietor had sold me a plant that may be dying..... and on top of that  it was expensive too!! Well...it was partly my fault too...i was so taken in by the single bloom on the plant that i wanted it so much...despite seeing the bloom was actually on the verge of wilting though the leaves were still looking fine at that time.....

...the wilting beauty

Now...today...the whole plant seems to be wilting...and the roots are hollow...siiiiggghhh....

It's finally blooming....

while one has been spent and is wilted.... this bloom is not fully open....

 yet another is waiting its turn to unfurl its petals and flaunt its beauty.....  aahhh now that i know for certain that Lousiana iris can bloom here...m yearning for other colours...the blues and the purples...and whatever are in between.....