My Asclepia incarnata

Alhamdullillah my Asclepia incarnata has begun 'shooting out' new growth.... new shoots are out....

Actually i am rather impatient to see it bloom. It is claimed to be fragrant...vanilla scented... could not wait to smell it....hopefully it will grow fast and bloom soon.... but for now i just have to be satisfied with this picture from google  :

 I was really worried when i saw even the stems were gobbled up....after all leaves were gone....gone into the making of new butterflies...and today the first butterfly emerged .... i see that the colour scheme of this butterfly is the same as the colour scheme of the Monarch butterflies... they have the same white spotted black head....but the body is not so ... still it is very pretty... welcome dear...

Monarchs or not...???

Siiggghhh... i surely do not have the heart to kill them.... but i do hope my Ascepia incarnata..which has only been planted a few months and yet to bloom as such...will survive this attack.  Google informed that Asclepias are food for Monarch Butterfly caterpillars.... and will be able to survive despite having been gobbled up by the caterpillars.... i really really do hope that will be the case here... but am not sure whether these are really Monarch Butterfly caterpillars or the caterpillars of some other butterfly....????

Gifts From Dear Friends....

On Tuesday 6th May 2014.... i went up to Kota Bharu to meet a dear friend...Experimental Garden Blogger...we went to meet another friend of mine ...a Facebooker... Din Kelate...primarily to get some Lemon Myrtle cuttings which Din Kelate has just brought back from a plantation in Sekinchan, Selangor....we spent some time with Din listening to his explanations about the benefits and commercial value of Lemon Myrtle.... made me wish i have some acres of land to start a plantation...!! (He also shared with us his upcoming project of starting an Islamic Cooperative Body of Sukuk.... which both Experimental Gardener and I hope to join... ) Din also offered several opportunities for Contact Farming of Lemon Myrtle... unfortunately i do not have land.... and my Father-in-law's land has just been replanted with rubber trees.... while CMS's ....err hubby's ..has been planted with coconuts... which he said are Kelapa Mantop... well ...dear hubby has high hopes for his 'coconut plantation'.... :))

Lemon Myrtle/Backhousia citriodora courtesy of google...

Lemon Myrtle/Backhousia citriodora in bloom courtesy of google..unfortunately according to Din Klate....Lemon Myrtle will not bloom in our climate...aaahh very sad news to both Experimental Gardener and I... we really like the blooms....

Serai Pedas/Lemon Myrtle cuttings from Din Kelate.....being rooted....hopefully successfully...!!
Again...Thanx zillions Din Klate...Jazakallahukhairan kathiiran...!!!

On the way home, I made a stop in Bachok... had a lovely dinner of Mee Kuah at Experimental Gardener's house....cooked by Experimental Gardener herself.. errmmm yummy...!!  It was about 9.30 pm when i pushed off from Experimental Gardener's house that night. Drove off with a Rosemary baby to replace the one i have lost...some Cherry Tomato babies and a full grown Black/Mysore Raspberry.... was sooo very happy...thanx zillions to my dear friend Experimental Gardener...!!  Jazakillahukhairan kathiiran...may He reward you well for your kind generosity dear friend.... 

Cherry tomato babies.... hoping they will grow fast and be productive soon....

My new Rosemary/Rosmarinus officinalis...courtesy of a dear dear friend...

My Mysore raspberry/Rubus albescens from Experimental Gardener.... hoping it will be productive very very soon...am impatiently waiting for some fruits...!!

The fruits i am impatiently waiting for...courtesy of google...