Inventory of my balcony garden plants.....@ Sep 2012

Thought I would write down an inventory of my plants that I am growing on my balcony in my little condo unit.

I will start with those that are still living as at 9 Sep 2012...and then a tribute to those that have since passed on :-(

First an overview of my balcony.....it is a place of rest for me. I love to be surrounded by greens.

My love at first 'sound' chime...woodstock chimes.  The one that I chose was "Chimes of Bali". It is not cheap, but the very moment i caught the sound when i accidentally hit it while browsing at a home decor shop, i was mesmerized by its melody....it is not giving out noise, it is playing music...... :-)

The website if you would like to hear the chimes of Bali that I have bought.
http://www.chimes.com/c-1-chimes.aspx?pagenum=3

I have two balconies, connected to each other. The second one, it is filled with plants at the moment with no structure or plan...it is a work-in-progress, as I have no inspiration on how it should look like. At the moment, I am using the plants as a privacy shield for my bedroom...

Now, to get on with my inventory. Listed in no particular order....and pardon for these 'record shots' photos...all were taken with an iPad... it was just so convenient.. :p

1.  Allamanda blanchetii (A. violacea) - a semi-woody, ever-flowering shrub. The common allamanda that I have seen are yellow in color. So when I chanced upon this trumpet flower in this creamy violet color, I had to have it...Found it in AmCorp Mall. Since I bought it, I have cut a stem off the mother free, and propagate another offspring. See its junior on the left side of 2nd photo. The junior gave out its first bloom a few days ago. It needs lots of water, so I may have to replant it one of these days to a bigger pot to avoid it getting dehydrated ever so often....

One has to be careful with this plant as its milky sap may irritate the skin.

2. Murraya paniculata (Kemuning)

I wanted to fill my balcony with fragrant flowers. The nursery that I frequented a lot suggested this plant. He called it - the 'seven-miles fragrant flower'. It was very fragrant. I bought two trees home. Only trouble was, I then realised that fragrant plants tend to attract "unwelcome" visitors. A caterpillar on the flower (2nd photo) - The plants have survived a nasty mealy-bugs infestation, and so I have to be very watchful. Interestingly, that caterpillar did not consume any of the leaves - not sure if its diet were the flowers (or maybe the flowers were dropping naturally)....I was hoping the caterpillar's diet would include mealybugs - i hope.. :-). Havent researched enough to understand this caterpillar's diet. It should belong to a common moth....

 

 

3. Passiflora....

There were so many hybrids to this plant that i have yet to find the exact name yet. I bought four of these plants, and have two on each side to climb up the pillars of my balcony. It has very showy flowers - this hybrid is the non-fragrant one (decided on this course after many incidents with bugs attracted to fragrant flowers). Love the look of the flowers, but sadly it could only last a day....

4. Heliconia 'American Dwarf'

My purpose for choosing these plants is primarily, a privacy shield from the opposite condominium units, and secondly, to attract sunbirds.....Eversince I planted this row of heliconia, I have twice chanced upon a sunbird visiting and singing on my balcony. Yippee, i am so delighted....My problem now is that these plants have also attracted a big hornet - everytime the hornet comes for a visit, i need to go hiding......unlike bees, hornets are more aggressive and can sting many times in one attack... the hornet even visits at night-time, i wonder why :-(

5. Cuphea Hyssopifolia (False heather)

Because of its ever-flowering nature, have planted a few of these in box planters to decorate the edges of my condo's pillars. I alternated the purple and the white variants to create some pattern/interest. As can be seen in 2nd photo, the moth caterpillar can be found on this plant as well.

6. No name yet

Cant find a name to this plant yet...it has a very long bract of yellow flowers, and very weak-stems. I tied it up high so that the flowers can be shown showering downwards....These flowers (or their bracts) are amazingly lasting....they just dont drop or fade away at all.....lasting for months...awesome!

7. Tagetes erecta (Marigold)

My latest addition - I didnt want to go for annual flowers since I had to keep replanting them, but marigolds look so beautiful in full bloom that I could not resist this time. Since my latest purchase amounted to RM37, I just told the nursery man to give me this marigold for RM3. It was sold for RM3.50 per plant or 3 for RM10. Marigolds can truly brighten up a place.....On the sideline, I have a change of heart because i have bought two packets of seeds of annuals - 'gold medal' zinnia and 'everlasting daisy'. Just trying my luck whether I have green fingers. My previous try at 'angelonia' hasnt bore fruits yet...see tiny seedlings in 2nd photo.

8.Orthosiphon aristatus (Cat's whiskers - Misai kucing)

Another of my latest addition. It is still in its nursery pot. Supposed to have medicinal value (java tea). A monk told my family to eat the young leaves which can help those with gastric problems. I have bought the purple colored variant...frankly speaking, i really dont have any more space to grow plants but i am truly weak-willed when it comes to plant...haha. Anyway, I look forward to seeing this plant thrive on my balcony.

9. Pentas lanceolata - have both the white and pink flowers variant. These propagate very easily by cuttings. But oh boy, they sure attract mealy-bugs..... :(

10. Juniperus Chinensis ( Christmas Tree )

Always love the thought of having Christmas trees on my balcony. Started off with two plants, one each at the corner edge of my balcony. Later I got overboard, and purchased three more plants. Now I have a row of Christmas trees as a shield to my bedroom. These pines have a very nice fresh green smell, but its leaves are quite prickly and can cause me to 'jump' each time I accidentally brushed against it...Wish Christmas trees can grow faster....I measured them against my own height each time I walked by....well, I am pleased to notice that only one was shorter than I, all the rest have grown over and above my height already. I wonder how 'Christmassy' it can be when all these trees are lit with lights....my next wish list, solar christmas lights....... :D

11. Podocarpus macrophyllus

This tree attracted mealybugs quite easily, especially on its new shoots. I hope I win in this war against mealy-bugs.

12. Ficus Benjamina - supposed to be a slow growing tree, but i purchased it anyway as it has already grown to a good height already and it only cost me RM20 per plant. I got two, one each on the corner of the balcony.

13.My favorite nursery man from Sungei Buloh gave me this plant as a gift after I had purchased those additional Christmas trees and Ficus Benjamina....It is also a small tree/big shrub, and it is growing pretty fast...

14. Nephrolepis cordifolia

Fell in love with it the moment I lay my eyes on the plant...problem with my over-enthusiasm is that once, i brought it home (bought two pots), i realised it didnt fit into the rest of the plants outline/design. So, in the end, the plants ended up on my front doorstep...

15. Adiantum trapeziforme - another one of those trip to a nursery and you cannot leave without getting a plant....

16. Aspagarus densiflorus 'Myersii'

- got four pots of these from a nursery in sungei buloh. Love it so much that I bought another two more....

17.Nephrolepis falcata - (fishtail swordfern) all these ferns frame the top layer of my balcony room...seven pots in total. These leaves forked at their tips. Second photo is in a similar family but without a forked end. I found it growing amongst the forked ones and so had removed it and planted it in another pot on its own.

 18. another fern, but i am lazy to find its name....these looked better looking from the top so had used them as ground border cover instead

19. Aglaonema

20. Dieffenbachia - dumb cane. After i had purchased 5 of these plants. i checked about them on internet and only then found out about its poison.

21. Chlorophytum bichetii

22. Chlorophytum comosum - oh ya, this is also a "could not resist to get something" when i visited a nursery...

23. Not sure of its name, but slowly and surely, it has grown quite a bit since. I didnt want to get a grown one because the nursery man qouted RM40....got myself a tiny one for less than RM10 i think...but one has died on me due to mealy-bugs.

 24. Money plant

 

 25. Spathiphyllum

26.

27. calathea makoyana

28. Pelargonium graveolens (mosquito plant) - heavily scented leaves, supposedly to ward away mosquitoes.

29. Easily propagate by cutting....

30. Rosemary - supposed to deter mosquitoes, but I can spot mealy-bugs on it sometimes... :(

31. Pandan leaves from home....from one pot, now i have propagate additional three pots.

32. Parsley

33. Succulent plant - propagate from leaves dropped off from my sister's purchase from Cameron Highlands.

34. Tradescantia zebrina - got these from my 2nd sister

And now, a tribute to those plants that have died under my care...all victims to the nasty mealy-bugs boo hoo hoo hoo....... :(

35. Gardenia

36. mussaenda flava

37. Lantana camara

38. These are grown from cuttings i brought from home....cant remember how they died, either over watering or dried out... :O

39. Siow Pak Choy - this one died not because of any disease or pest, but because I harvested it for my instant noodles....ha ha.



The end.

It took me so long to complete this entry - i started to blog this on 9th Sep and today is 23 October. I just thought I need to post it rather than spending more time with their names, so you will find some of the names of the plants missing....maybe i can edit them in the future. Main reason that i want to post this fast is because I have added a few more plants since, and so my inventory is increasing....maybe next month, i will add the October inventory, so until then, i just want to express my gratitude to God for creating all the wonderful plants for mankind to enjoy and appreciate. Thank you!

Flipzles

I have an amazing and creative friend, Vicki....she is an artist...she created this toy called flipzles

This is copied from her website:
"Flipzles are unique wooden puzzles that encourage children to use both sides of their brain. Kids love to flip the pieces and use the people and objects on the back side for creative play. Then they flip them back to solve the challenging puzzle. Flipzles’ double-sided puzzle pieces are made of thick wood so that each individual piece stands on its own. This puzzle game is sure to provide your kids hours of entertainment. "

http://www.flipzles.com/

Want to help to spread the word around of this beautiful creation to all the world..

September is here.....

Best I pen some words down before the next Christmas is here.. ;)

Too much happening, and nothing at all about birds this time. Well, there was one. MNS wanted to do a study on harriers and my favorite spot was chosen. I am excited to wait for their reports. As for me, I have not done any birding for a long while, so my 'twinkling' today is about my new home.

Got myself a small unit condo here in KL. nothing much to shout about other than these subjects I love-
1. Beautiful water features of the condo unit

 2. Wonderful breeze into my unit; and











3. A long balcony that on my first viewing, I could already imagine how many plants I could have to make myself a balcony garden. So for the past 6 months or so, this obsession had filled my days.....

Numerous trips to sungei buloh nurseries, the laborious work of carrying the stuff up into my condo unit on the 5th floor.

Some of my memories-
 1. Own home balcony grown vegetable, for my instant noodles

2. My lovely lantana, but was later destroyed by mealy bugs.

 

3. A caterpillar's visit

All is well, I love my new home, especially my balcony garden.
Will post more photos as my plants grow......it has been very therapeutic watching these plants grow.

A row of heliconia gracing the edge of balcony.

Merry Christmas !!

Sharing my thoughts for this Christmas season with drawings.....

My first attempt using SketchBook Express

My second attempt with geometry theme...also using SketchBook Express.

Time to get serious :) . Final attempt using Photoshop CS4

Christmas decor for home this year was simple and concentrated over a corner of my apartment.

Love to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate whilst watching the lights

At the dining table

Thank you Lord, for Christmas.

October has gone.....

ok....so I did need more than 5 months before I can catch my thoughts here...... :-)

In some sense, many things had happened, and in another sense, I would say, nothing much had happened....Well, you will be the judge......:P

First, I did a birding trip in July 2011, driving all the way south to Panti Forest in Johor to catch the nesting of the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher.

It was an exciting time for me, hitting out at 2am - driving on my own in the night, taking a few breaks and snoozes now and then in rest area stops, in order to make it to the forest in the morning of Friday, where another photographer, Paul Wu, has agreed to bring me into the forest. He was truly a great bird guide, knowing all the nooks and corners of Panti. But on hindsight, I would not do again such long drive in the wee hours of morning that was followed by a full day of shooting!.......too much strain on my old body! haha.

Me eating while waiting for action to start....
(thanks to Paul for the sneak view!)

Another embarrassing moment 'captured'. Haha!,
Target appeared but I was distracted away from post by a flighty flowerpecker.

Both parents were ever busy bringing food for their young

I went to the forest again the next day on my own, keeping to the main trail for safety and was very happy to meet some old acquaintances from NPSS...

Wow, the chick would be jubilant with this diet!

A week later after the trip, I came down with a headache that lasted throughout all these months and finally gave me a break in October/November. Dont think it has anything to do with the trip or my groan about my old body, but whatever it was, it was no fun at all. With my computer and camera out of bounds, it was my most boring time!!!...so, the reason for my earlier statement and spirit that "nothing much had happened". The doctor said chocolate and cheese would trigger an attack - in some sense it was true as I did feel worse after a chocolate drink or bite, but recently, when I gave in to my chocolate-cravings, i felt OK!.....yippee!!.......it would have been a dreadful world without chocolates... :-)

I joined my company on a team outing to Club Med in Cherating in July 2011...Because of my headaches, I rested most of the time....nevertheless, I did some shots of the morning sunrise and the swirling waves around the beach. Without any filters, I could not stopped down enough to create any impact, so if I want to venture into these kind of photography, i need $$$$$..... :(

With my latest habit of going to bed early (which habit didnt last long after i recovered from my headache), it wasnt too tough to drag myself off the bed to catch the morning sunrise

I got sea-sick dizzy after filling up my 16GB card with waves splashing in and out

In October 2011, I used my Singapore Air Frequent Flyer points to get me an air ticket to Hong Kong so that I can visit my church temple in Hong Kong. I am extremely grateful for this blessing - it was a wonderful time for me to forget all my cares of the world and work and health, and just to put my thoughts on the Lord and his words. I was also very grateful to meet and interact with other members of my church that came from Thailand, Mongolia and other countries. A humbling experience. Wishing to clear all thoughts, I didnt even bring a camera...good and bad decision...doesnt need to worry about my stuff but no images to share! :)

What lies ahead of me? I dont know but I have received news that harriers have flown south passed Chumphon Thailand in early October....now I am waiting for them to reach my paddyfields playground, and hopefully I will get to see all of them swirling in the dusk again....time to head home and to my lens and camera again........

To close off, thanking Paul Wu again for this shot of me....!

My ever-trusting leech socks!

From paddyfields to concrete jungle.....

What shall I write....I have not penned my thoughts since January!!

Most exciting time I had was finding the roosting site for harriers in the paddyfields not too far from my home.

Whenever opportunities arise, I would take my 4-wheels to watch the harriers coming in from all directions and congregating in one plot to roost for the night.

There would be plently of squabbles amongst the harriers, probably trying to fight for the most "comfortable" or "prime" roosting spot...there was no such thing as "early bird bookings".Would stay to watch until 8pm, when darkness crept in and all harriers' activities died down. Time to head for home - luckily, mosquitoes were not plenty there. Photography was tough as most actions happened at dusk in low light. Actions peaked at around 5 mins before all activity died...when hundreds of them would circle low over the roosting spot. Some experienced birders have attempted to count them and reported numbers over 250! I got dizzy with them circling and wouldnt be able to count :-(

apologizing for the little dark dots - this was shot with a 24-70mm
(in late February where numbers have dropped significantly)

By late February, the numbers had dropped pretty significantly, but it was still a delight to be able to spot the Pied harrier amongst the more common Eastern Marsh harrier.

I hope I can find their roosting spot again next year when these harriers make their winter visits again.

That's my life up to early March....

In March, I accepted a job offer, packed my bag and headed for KL city....(well, more than just bags...it was a whole lorry-load of my stuff brought home from Singapore!) Thanks to my family (more particulary, my eldest and youngest sisters, who between themselves, got most of my furniture and other stuff down from the lorry, onward to the lift lobby and then up to my rented apartment, without the use of trolleys or moving-equipments! How did we manage it? It was a miracle! I am not kidding about the miracle - my stuff were large and heavy - and include a piano, a full-sized long office table, book shelf, cabinets and the heaviest of all, boxes loaded with books. I hope I am not due to shift again any time soon....or else they would kill me........ :-)

I missed my paddyfields. There were always some surprises for me in each of my trip.

But I am now nearer to Fraser's Hill, and so, I could do day-trips to Fraser's on Saturdays.

Long-tailed sibia

Hope to find other good birding spots within KL that I can spend my Saturdays.

I made a business trip to Labuan in May - my first trip.

Financial centre - Labuan

I didnt spot many birds (of course it being a business trip, I wouldnt be able to go out searching for birds). Anyway, some that I have seen around the hotel grounds and during bus excursions - swallows, woodswallows, some egrets in the mud shores and an unidentified 'pied' 'kingfisher-sized' bird that flew too fast for me to id - maybe a pied triller. Most exciting time was watching the display of lights from the setting sun at the UN beach.

Fingers crossed for more keeper shots of birds. And two more fingers crossed that I wont take another 5 months before penning in here again :-) .........

Barn Owl in Ulu Dedap

Spotted an owl today perched on a low branch of a tree dotting the Ulu Dedap paddyfields while driving home along the Teluk Intan-Sitiawan road at about 10.30am. Upon reaching home, mind was still deciding whether to head out again with my camera stuff and try my luck - lighting would be harsh, the owl may have flown, I've loads of chores to do..... After a moment of "persuasion" from a special friend, and not wanting to regret it if i didnt do anything .....I did head out again. reaching the spot at about noon..........Did the owl wait for me???? YES!!!! and it was a barn owl - juv, i think.....first time ever my camera "captured" an owl.

Startled by my presence, it flew to a nearby pole before flying further away to get to a shade....
Knowing that I wont get any good keepers on this cluttered tree and bright sunlight, I left the bird to continue its good-day sleep.

Why did I want to head out today and not wait till tomorrow? Last Sunday, while driving on the same stretch of road, I saw 5 carcasses of birds - road-kills, all within less than one kilometre distance from each other. Two on the right side, two on the left side and one in the middle of the road. Only one of them was whole and not flatten by tyres, and it was a barn owl. From the feathers of the others, I believed the rest were all barn owls too - could be one or two birds torn into many different pieces, I dont know - but it is sad that these magnificent birds ended up dead on the road. Used my cellphone to take photos of them, but I dont know how to download the images from a cellphone to computer (alamak!!). The image below was taken on 13 Dec 2010 - also within the same vicinity of paddyfields...Bet it was a barn owl too...

Sad ending.

This stretch of road is popular for night-traveling lorries transporting goods from south to north and vice versa - toll-free. Have seen lots of road-kills on this road - apart from birds, snakes/reptiles and other small mammals....I saw a huge cow/buffalo dead by the roadside just last Christmas too......:-(