A Garden in October

Its mid October now and it rains almost every late afternoon. The plants grow so quickly that my little garden is becoming almost a mini jungle! I really have to prune and cut back many of the small trees that are threatening to be big trees!

The Bunga Cina or Gardenia bushes were really growing quite tall, so I had pruned back the branches, which is a good thing really, because soon after, the new branches sprouted so many beautiful and fragrant white blooms. Pity they only last a couple of days before turning yellow, then brown, and then wither away. You can multiply the Gardenia plant simply by putting the cut stems/branches in water where roots will sprout and you can then grow them on the ground or in a container. Easy peasy.



The beautiful and fragrant Gardenia (CNB 2011)

The Pink Crown of Thorns have been flowering profusely and they add a bright colour to the garden. The pink bracts display varying shades of the colour, ranging from a pale to a shocking pink!

Pink bracts of the Crown of Thorns (CNB 2011)

 

The Crown of thorns in a container (CNB 2011)

The Kemuning or 'mock orange' is another white flowered plant. The flower exudes a beautiful perfume. I had left one plant behind in Pulau Pinang when we transferred here, so I had to buy one as a replacement from a garden centre outlet in the SACC mall of Shah Alam.  It never disappoints with constant blooms.



The white blossoms of the Kemuning (CNB 2011)

A profusion of Kemuning blossoms (CNB 2011)

The Plumbago never fails to bloom, sometimes very profusely indeed. I now have three spots of plumbago; one in a pedestal container (see below), one on the ground at a corner of the garden and one in a very large pot. Constant pruning ensures that they continuously bloom.


Plumbago in a pedestal container (CNB 2011)

The Plumbago up close (CNB 2011)


The other plant, or rather tree, that never fails to disappoint in its show of flowers is the Straits Rhododendron. Constantly flowering and fruiting, it continues to attract the birds and the bees, etc.



Straits rhododendron blooms (CNB 2011)

The pink Petunia that I bought from a garden centre did not last long. It was attacked by some sort of mealy bug and the branches started drying up. Petunia hybrids come in so many vibrant colours that deciding which to buy home is quite difficult. I had decided on the shocking pink because it is the colour of 2011, right?



Fashionably pink petunias (CNB 2011)

The wrongly commonly named Thai jasmine is actually the Sri Lanka Wrightia (Scientific name: Wrightia dysenterica). Whatever its name, it produces beautiful star shaped white flowers all year round. This was first given to me by my good neighbour Wati, and I have succesfully grown another two by propagation of some cuttings.


Thai jasmine, I mean Sri Lanka wrightia close up (CNB 2011)

The Tristellateia australasiae or common name Maiden's jealousy, is another vine given to me by the same good neighbour. Whereas hers are crawling all over her fence with abundant yellow inflorescences all year round, I have restricted mine to just going around the branch of  the pink frangipani plant. (My other next door neighbour would not take too kindly to yellow confetti constantly raining on their cemented-over lawn area!)


Maiden's jealousy (why this name?) This is a very late evening photo,
hence the yellow is rather pale. Just experimenting! (CNB 2011)

The actual vibrant yellow of Maiden's jealousy (CNB 2011)

The Episcia cupreata (the scintific name being hard to remember, so I personally call it the Red trumpet) is yet another trailing free flowering herb given to me by Wati. (In exchange, I have given her the Gardenia, Frangipani, Straits rhododendron and some foliage plants).



The pretty 'red trumpet' (CNB 2011)

The Melati or Wrightia religiosa has very fragrant small white dangling flowers. It blooms all year round. This is the favourite plant to 'bonsai' (dwarf). But I do not really approve of 'bonsai..ing' any plants, because then the growth is so very controlled. I merely prune back to encourage more new branches (thus more flowers).


Melati flowers and buds (CNB 2011)

B's friend, who gave me a Desert Rose plant with very dark pink (almost purple) flowers, thought that it was my favourite Frangipani. But it is a close relative and the flowers are so pretty, anyway. It is doing well now after the initial attack by caterpillars. (Thank you JA, for the kind gift.)

The beautiful dark pink blossoms of the Desert Rose (CNB 2011)

The Desert rose in another light (CNB 2011)

Finally, below is a view of the garden from inside our house. Melati is in the foreground, and Plumbago plus some foliage plants (Red Jenjuang included) at the other end. As I said before, mine is a very tiny garden, but what can grow in it is just short of a miracle!

View of a garden at SA,SA (CNB 2011)