Feb 2011 GBBD

Catharanthus roseus, torenia, yesterday-today-tomorrow, blue daze

Here's my flower parade for February 2011 Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

My pale lavender coloured Catharanthus roseus (vinca/periwinkle) looks like a mixed breed. The plant had sprouted from seeds scartered naturally on the ground. My YTT plant was subjected to some harsh prunning last month and it is responding well to treatment, flowering in clusters now.

A torenia plant has anchored itself on my potted hibiscus plant. It is blooming profusely now.
Can you see a garden visitor on the blue torenia?

Azaleas, adenium, bougainvillea

The azaleas are still blooming after 2 weeks. My desert rose has just started with a single flower.


Cape honeysuckle, lantana, citrus lime, spider

I grow this orange cape honeysuckle plant to attract mealy bugs so that the bugs will leave my roses and hibiscus alone. The citrus flower is from my 3-year old plant. The spider looks like those we love to catch and play 'spider fighting' games of long ago.

“Feb 2011 GBBD”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on February 18th, 2011.

Kalanchoe, pineapple

When I purchased the kalanchoe, the nursery assistant advised me to select one that has lots of unopened buds in it. Now, it is blooming profusely. Kalanchoes do have lots and lots of tiny little flowers.

The baby pineapple is about 2 weeks old now.

Pussy willows blossoms

I can't find any petals. Can you tell which are the pussy willow flowers?

Dendrobium crumenatum orchid

My dendrobium / dove orchid does not bear flowers in clusters, but only one flower to a stalk.

Costus woodsonii

Costus woodsonii is a popular plant during this Lunar New Year of the Rabbit. When two yellow-orange flowers appear at the tip of the bright red flower spike, it looks like rabbit ears. In Chinese (Cantonese) this plant has a nickname, "hoong one tong tow" meaning good fortune has arrived.

When the flowers appear, the bright red cone also oozes a sweet syrupy liquid that attracts the ants. I wonder if we can suck on it?

Psyche (Leptosia nina malayana)

This green butterfly seems to be missing something. It may look quite weird with only the head and thorax visible, without the abdomen. But if you look more closely, you'll notice a sexy head and graceful pose. This reminds me of the legendary Marilyn Monroe and her skirt blown by the wind.

Anyone know the name of this butterfly?

Post update: I have found the name of this butterfly from the internet. It's scientific name is Leptosia nina malayana from the Pieridae family (sulphurs, yellows and whites). Common name is Psyche butterfly, also known as Wandering Snowflake, Flip Flop and Wood White. For more information, visit
a) Learn about butterflies
b) Wikipedia

Hydrangea

My hydrangea is getting too top heavy. The head almost got blown off by a gust of strong wind.

Etlingera elatior, bunga kantan

The Etlingera elatior ginger flower buds were not eaten but allowed to bloom.

Etlingera elatior, Bunga kantan

When tiny red flowers appear among the glossing pink bracts, sweet juice oozes out and a couple of ants came over for a Valentine picnic. Looks like they are kissing anyway.

A vegetable plant has sprouted perhaps from the seeds that has fallen on the ground. I wonder what is this - cucumber or bitter gourd?

Christmas poinsettia

My Christmas poinsettia has not lost all its red colour yet. Some new shoots have sprouted. I have place this plant under the shade of my palm tree.


Garden Bloggers Bloom Day is hosted by Carol of May Dreams Garden, her link is here.
This is also my entry for Fertilizer Friday hosted by Tootsie at Tootsie Time, the link is here.

Buying Plants and Flowers for Chinese New Year 2011

Ornamental pineapple plants - Ananas bracteatus 'Striatus' (nanas merah)

Chinese New Year is a spring festival (春节). Flowers and plants are significant during this season as they represent the joy of reawakening of nature after the long winter gloom. Live plants signify rebirth and new growth and first we must have flowers before the fruits can form. Therefore, when plants in our garden start to bloom and bear fruits, we believe that it is a good sign that our efforts will bring forth rewards. We have a saying "Hua Kai Fu Gui (花开富貴)", meaning, "When Flowers Bloom, There is Prosperity", hence we fill our gardens with blooming plants and decorate our homes with auspicious flowers like the lotus, chrysanthemums, peonies, orchids and plum blossoms.

This is Part 2 of my visit to Ah Chui Nursery. I am preparing this fun post for general knowlege and I hope you learn something about our culture. I myself learnt new things as I was preparing for this post.

The above is a picture of ornamental pineapple plants bearing fruits. If you look closely, you'll notice that the pots are covered with gold wrapping. There are also no thorns on their leaves. The pineapple is called "ong lai" in Hokkien dialect which translate to mean the arrival of good fortune.

Sometimes, bromeliads such as guzmanias are used for the same purpose. Guzmanias are nicknamed "pineapple flowers" in Chinese.

Poted pussy willows

These are Pussy Willows (Salix caprea) grown in pots. They signify the arrival of prosperity and growth in prosperity. We grow them for their catkin flowers. You can buy those with lots of unopened buds and place them in the coolest area of your home, e.g. under the shelter of the porch or verandah. The silky soft blooms are silvery grey in colour. The blooms elongate as the tiny flowers open in cylindrical clusters but they don't seem to have any petals at all.

Pussy willows are called "Yin liu" (银柳) in Chinese which sounds like money flowing in. They are also sold as cut stems tied in bundles. We can place the stalks in beautiful porcelain vases and decorate them with auspicious ornaments to turn them into mythical money plants.

We want the pussy willows to bloom and send out green shoots as an indication that spring has arrived.

Mini pot of mandarin orange plant

This is a mini potted mandarin orange (tangerine) plant. The fruits look like gold nuggets. Notice that the leaves are allowed to grow upwards and not pruned off at the top, perhaps to denote rising succcess ( 歩歩高升  or bu bu gao sheng) ?

“Buying Plants and Flowers For Chinese New Year 2011”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on Jan 21st, 2011.

Cherry Chilli - Solanum pseudocapsicum

This is Solanum pseudocapsicum which we call the cherry chilli plant. Its other common name is Christmas cherry, winter cherry or Jerusalem cherry. The fruits which are inedible and poisonous, changes colour from pale green to yellow to orange to red which make them look like precious gems of jade, gold and rubies.

Ornamental red chili (Capsicum annuum)

These are ornamental chilli pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants. The fruits are firery red when ripe. Red is the colour of prosperity and happiness. Chilli is 'la jiao' (辣椒). 'Jiao' sounds like 'zhao' in the New Year wishes for wealth and prosperity 'zhao cai jin bao' ( 招财进宝), so it is used to ursher in wealth and prosperity.

Jade Plants

These jade plants (Crassula ovata) are symbols of wealth and abundance. They are also called money plants as the leaves resemble precious jade.

Kalanchoe pinnata (Setawar Kampung)

This looks like a Kalanchoe pinnata or Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi?
Do you remember our school days when we would use a leaf as a bookmark? We called this "Lock Day Sung Kan" (Roots will grow out when leaf touches the ground). Kalanchoe pinnata is called Setawar Kampung in Malay.

Kalanchoe is a genus with hundreds of species, the most common here being Kalanchoe blossfeldiana with masses of tiny star shaped flowers in red, purple, orange, yellow and white.

In temperate countries, Kalanchoes bloom in late winter / early spring.

Kalanchoes are called "wan zi qian hong" ( 万紫千红 - million purple thousand red) which translates to an abundance of wealth and prosperity. In Cantonese, 'zi' for purple colour also sounds like money (银纸 - ngan zhi) and son (子 -zi). The pronunciation of "wan zi qian hong" also rhymes with "a million offsprings, a thousand fame and honour".

Azalea

Azalea is called  映山红 (ying shan hong) or 满山红 (man shan hong) which means a mountain of red.

Azalea is the symbol of happiness, harmony and balance in life. It is used to foster and strenghten relationships. Azaleas are warm temperate plants that bloom in spring and the flowers last a few weeks. They like the shade and acidic soil. Choose one that has lots of unopened buds but before that you need to view 1 or 2 opened blooms to choose the colours that you like, e.g. pink, red or white and pink. However, as the new year day draws near, you can choose those partially open ones. It takes about 2 weeks for azalea buds to open fully, otherwise your plant may only start blooming after the first 15 days.

You will  notice that during the Chinese New Year season, some temperate plants like narcissus, hyacinths, azaleas, chrysanthemums, pussy willows are brought into our warm equatorial country of Malaysia. For cut flowers, we can find many varieties of the scented and lovely asiatic lilies or star gazer lilies too. This is the time to try them out. I do enjoy my once a year love affair with these gorgeous temperate plants, even though they do not last long.

Do you wonder why the gorgeous roses are not the highlight of this season? It is because most of them have thorns which is regarded as poison arrows which we wish to avoid.

Always remember, you do not need to overspend. Many choices are availble to suit your budget. It is not advisable to spend lots of money on a new plant with an auspicious sounding name invented by the growers. What's the use if we are not familiar with the new plant and it dies soon under our care. Even if you do not buy any, it is important to keep your plants alive and healthy, the garden lush and green.

Just to let you know, I have purchased 2 calamondin lime trees, a pot of budding pussy willow, a Kalanchoe, a flowering jade plant, 2 pots of azaleas and a bunch of lucky bamboos. I intent to buy some chrysanthemums as the New Year Day draws near.

Auspicious Plants for Chinese New Year

“Auspicious Plants for Chinese New Year”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on January 25, 2010.

Artificial Peach Blossoms

On February 14th, 2010 marks an important date to many people around the world. While many happy couples celebrate their romance on Valentine's Day this year, I'll be having a double happiness celebration because this same date is also my Lunar Chinese New Year!

It is indeed a very busy time for all of us who celebrate the lunar new year. First, we will refer to the almanac or consult the astrologers, geomancers or feng shui masters to check what the coming Year of the Tiger has in store for each of our family members. We will select the auspicious dates for spring cleaning our homes and offer prayers to welcome the new year.

It may sound complicated, but we refer to 3 calendars i.e. the Hsia (Solar) Calendar, the Lunar (moon) calendar and the internationally accepted Gregorian Calendar. For example, I celebrate my birthday twice a year, according to the lunar and gregorian calendar. This year I celebrated New Year Day on Jan 1st, and I will celebrate New Year again on Feb 14th.

My first important celebration this year will the the day of the Lichun on Feb 4th. This is the day we welcome Spring because according to the Hsia (solar) calendar, that is the day of the begining of spring season. On this day, we pray to the gods and welcome the God of Prosperity to our homes at an auspicious hour.

We have a saying "Hua Kai Fu Gui (花开富貴)", meaning, "When Flowers Bloom, Prosperity Comes". It is important that gardens are green & blooming and homes are decorated with healthy, vibrant plants. Care is taken to remove all dead, dying and decaying plants from sight. My post today is about auspicious plants and flowers for the Chinese New Year season.




1. Pussy Willows (genus Salix) have white, silvery buds called catkins that look like silk and emerald green shoots and leaves. They symbolise the arrival of prosperity and growth in prosperity. They are usually sold as long stalks tied in bundles. We put the stalks in tall beautiful porcelain vases to decorate our homes. We also hang auspicious ornaments to make them into money plants. Nowadays they also come in flower pots. It is a good sign if we can get the pussy willows to sprout new shoots and leaves.

2. Plum blossoms (Prunus mume) are native to China where it is known as "mei hua (梅花)". They symbolise beauty in adversity, good fortune and longevity. Plum trees flower in winter and bloom vibrantly admist winter snow after most plants have shed their leaves and before other flowers appear. Plum blossoms are symbols of winter and the harbinger of spring. Plum blossoms together with the peony are the most beloved of flowers in Chinese culture. They are the subject of many Chinese paintings, calligraphy, art and poetry. In China, the plum blossom is the Flower of Winter.

3. Peach blossoms (Prunus persica) are flowers of peach trees. Peach is a symbol of longevity. Peach blossoms are popular during Chinese New Year among celebrities in Hong Kong where it is used to enhance relationship luck and popularity. It is also associated with sex appeal, love and romance.

What's the difference between Plum, Peach and Cherry blossoms?
Plum blossoms (mei hua) are the flowers of the plum tree and they bloom in winter, between Dec-Jan. Peach (tao hua) trees bloom naturally in spring around March. Cherry trees bloom during spring as in Japan's sakura flowers season from late March to early April.

Cherry Blossoms is also a term used for trees from the Prunus genus which are cultivated to produce lots of flowers rather than the fruit. During Chinese New Year, florists in Malaysia will give you pussy willows when you ask for live cherry blossoms.

Update: 
1. View real cherry blossoms in Joanne's Cottage Garden here (April 2010)
2. View real plum blossoms in my January 2011 post here.  

3. Celosia argentea

Their Chinese name is feng wei (凤尾) or Phoenix Tail and they represent harmony and good fortune. Celosia blooms come in reds and yellows. Red blooming plants are grouped in pairs at doorways or gates to signify double happiness and bliss for the family and home.

4. Chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemums symbolise perfection, optimism and joy, and on a more spiritual level, longevity and meditation. In China, the chrysanthemum is the Flower of Autumn.

We like to buy cut chrysantemum flowers, put them in vases for used as prayer offerings. We also buy them in flower pots to decorate our homes. The preferred colours are yellow and orange.



5. Orchids

Together with the peony, orchids are Flowers of Spring. Orchids are also popular objects in Chinese art and culture as they are emblems of love and beauty. Their fragranced flowers represent virtue, moral excellence, refinement and reputation. They also symbolise good family luck and plenty of progeny. Violet coloured orchids are said to be the most auspicious.

The peony or mudan (牡丹) is the flower of riches and honour, romance and beauty. However, in Malaysia, we can only get the plastic ones to decorate our homes.

6. Azalea

Azalea is the symbol of happiness, harmony and balance in life. It is used to foster and strenghten relationships.

7. Four Seasons Citrus Lime Trees

The fruits look like gold nuggets. A pair of blooming lime trees are placed at doorways and living room to bring abundance, good luck and wealth for the coming year. In Malaysia, local nurseries have perfected the art of getting the plants to flower at precisely the right time so that during the New year, the fruits will ripen.

Two types of lime plants commonly used here for this purpose are the Calamansi lime (吉子) and kumquats (金吉). The chinese letter, "kat" - 吉 means auspicious. Calamansi in chinese carry the meaning 'little auspice' while kumquat means 'golden auspice'. This is a plant that has bloomed and is now bearing golden fruits. It is like saying that your efforts have brought excellent results. These are evergreen plants, so the words "Four Seasons" are cleverly added to signify everlasting auspice. Now, can you see why these citrus plants are so saleable during Chinese New Year?

I have written a post titled, "Calamansi, The Multi-Purpose Plant" on its off-season uses.

8. Pitcher Plant

The pitcher plant (Nepenthes) is zhu long cao (猪笼草) in Chinese, meaning "pig cage plant". Some people also call it 'Monkey Cups'. The pitchers are said to attract and accumulate all the good luck and fortune that the New Year brings. The more pitchers a plant has, the more luck and fortune you are likely to accumulate!

Update: To view more pictures of these plants, please visit Aaron's blog here.

9. The Crassula ovata or Jade Plant is a native of South Africa. Its emerald green succulent leaves look like jade, a precious stone highly valued by the Chinese for its many good attributes. This plant is regarded as a symbol of prosperity, continual growth , wealth and fortune. It can also be grown as an indoor bonsai. We regard this plant as a wealth or money plant.

These plants are placed near the entrances to restaurants to create success luck for the business. You may also find them at the cashier's counter. At home, we place them at the Southeast to energise money luck. Sometimes, other species of succulent cactuses are used as a substitude. Their thick leaves are loaded with water, so they are used to attract money and wealth luck. Water is frequently associated with money luck. However, cactuses with thorns are considered not auspicious as these thorns are like poison arrows.

10. ZZ Plant and Lucky Bamboo

The Zamioculcas zamiifolia or ZZ plant is native to Eastern Africa. It is also know as the money plant Jin Qian Shu (金钱树) or 'gold coin plant'. Its dark green juicy leaves are neatly arranged on opposite sides of a long petiole, therfore it looks like a string of ancient Chinese coins. Just like the jade plant, the ZZ plant is also used extensively in business shops, offices and homes to attract wealth luck. It is also commonly called the fortune plant in the west.

The Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) is a native of the West African (Cameroon) rainforest. It can be bent and twisted into auspicious shapes, e.g. circles and figure of 8. It is used to bring prosperity, fortune and happiness. The plants in the picture above has been decorated with red ribbons and lucky ornaments.

New plants are given auspicous sounding names and constantly introduced into the market to attract more buyers and cash in on the festive occassion . For example, the pitcher plant N. ampullaria 'Brunei Red' was named "zhu long cao" which literally translates into "pig cage plant" in the Year of the Boar back in 2007. The above are only some examples of the many many auspicious plants we can buy or grow for this occassion.

My post today is dedicated to Di from the Pacific Northwest of Voice in the Garden blog. She has a lovely and interesting blog about gardening and beautiful scenery. Occassionally, she will include a good recipe and once in a while, she also gives tips and good advice on blogging.

This is my last post for January 2010. I will be taking a break from writing. The rest of the week will be spent visiting blogs and commenting to clear my backlog. My sincere apologies for not visiting as often as I'd like to. I hope you didn't fell asleep reading my strange stories here.