Merdeka Day Give-Away :-D

Thursday, August 28, 2014

What is ahead, Malaysia? I thought one plane crash was bad enough. We had two!! No more, please!!!

Perhaps it is time to just forget about the sorrows for while now that our dear country is turning 57 on 31 August. As we celebrate our Merdeka (Independence) Day, I have something to make you happy :-)

The pictures that I have included in this post are snapshots of my garden and plants this week. In bloom below is my Green Ice Crossandra (Crossandra infundibuliformis 'Shamrock'). I thought of pruning it yesterday, good thing I didn't!

Green Ice Crossandra




















It is always not easy to keep up with blogging a lot of time. But because I know there will be always readers, followers and sometimes newbies on the blog, I am motivated to keep writing/posting. Thank you :)



Mini Hot Pepper





















The Gypsophila below was past its prime but still actively flowering and seeding. Hmm... I wonder how the plant vendors could make it grow till so densed at the time I bought it?


Gypsophila

















My garden is always changing. For the past two weeks I have been cleaning the floor and rearranging all my plants (dozens if not hundreds of them!!), thanks to several new racks that I have saving up to get for a while now. I am glad that they do make a difference -- tidier, yay! 


Black Black Flower




















I have rooted a few miniature rose stems and Mexican Flame Vine into this pot. Now why did I do that?!


Miniature rose and Mexican Flame Vine

















In the foreground is a Osmanthus fragrans. I pruned most of the foliage away to make a standard. Hope it will works.


Tea Olive





















This Gardening in Malaysia Volume 2 written by a group of practising gardeners of the Selangor and Federal Territory Gardening Society brings you a wealth of knowledge on practical information on gardening in the hot humid tropics and also how you can grow 40 plants which include annuals, ground covers and herbs successfully.



In conjuction with Merdeka Day, I am giving this book away. To win it, here's what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post as you would normally do. Don't worry if you are from overseas. This book comes in a booklet size only and quite lightweight, so I can send it to you... anywhere ;-)

2. To increase your chance of winning, add me to your Google circle: Stephanie Choo (click box 'Follow' under 'About Me' on the right side of my blog :-)

3. And to further increase your chance of winning, 'LIKE' my Facebook page: My Green Finder :-)

I will draw lots to decide and announce the winner on my next posting, hopefully by first week of September.


Passiflora





















Meanwhile have a blessed weekend and for all my Malaysian friends, Happy Merdeka Day :-D

PS: Sorry no hibiscus (our national flower) to show. I saw a orange one yesterday but didn't cross my mind to get a shot of of it.

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18 comments

  1. That's a beautiful passiflora,I have never seen before. It looks so stunning. A nice garden. BTW the book must be so interesting. How lucky if I can get it. A special present!

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    1. Endah, that passiflora has never fail to make me happy. I like the colour and the bloom seems bigger than other passiflora (maybe due to the brilliant colour) I have seen before. Btw since we are already connected via google, I will write your name another time to increase your chance ;-)

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  2. Hi Steph!:) Happy Merdeka Day! Well this is an interesting post! Lots of new things to see, and a very spruced up garden, ... so neat and tidy. I also like the Passiflora, who wouldn't it's gorgeous, but your poor Gypsophila, well it's seen better days.I love them in flower arrangments, so pretty, and delicate amongst other blooms. Good luck with the Roses and M.F Vines.:)
    Have a good day !:)

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    1. Thank you, Breathtaking! Sprucing up the garden is fun but tiring also. Still, I have some more work to complete before I could say I am done with the tidying up. Thank you for leaving a comment here. Yes I really hope that that rose and MF vine will give a good display. Happy gardening!

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  3. Happy Merdeka Day! Oh that book looks very interesting, there are not many books written about gardening in a hot humid climate. I love your new plant stands, and that passiflora flower looks very pretty - mine are white with a purple center.

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    1. Thank you for the Merdeka wish, Africanaussie! Actually, my latest plant stands are all under the pots, they can't be seen... as in pic with olive tea ;-) Re book, I like it as it has simple planting instructions and other good information to know. Yup not many books are about gardening in hot humid climate. We need a lot more. Good luck :-D

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  4. I love those new racks you bought :) Looking at how neat your plants are, I think I should start saving for some too. My garden is a mess now since I hardly have time to do a proper gardening everyday (with a 5m.o baby, certain day, it's just impossible) and updating my gardening blog as well. BTW, really hope I am lucky enough to win the book. Selamat Hari Merdeka to you.

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    1. Just got back from your wonderful site, Hati! Those racks you see clearly in one of the pics were bought off the shelf from the nurseries. I have to custom make some to suit my preference for other parts of my garden. It is good to to have the racks. Besides the neat appearance, it will deter pot clogging during rainy season. I wish you good luck and happy gardening with your little one :-)

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  5. Hi Steph, Happy Merdeka day to you too! Just happened to bump into your website while trying to read up for more information regarding different type of flower species & how to grow 'em!
    I've just started planting not long ago with couple of easy care Vinka & Petunia for the start at my balcony and have visited the nearby nurseries pretty often on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to have more plants planted; and to learn how to trim flowers and other basic skills from the kind seller, which I've just done trimming for the first time yesterday! It's hard to believe that I'll need to trim and let go on the beautiful flowers to help preserve the life of the plant from getting into over-seeding with more blossom to come ;)

    My next mission is to further grow plants from seed which I've enquired online that could repel mosquito such as English lavender, catnip & lemon mint which will be definitely on a different learning curve which consist of germinating the seeds and later planting them. I will be going through your informative website & to discover what else I could possibly better utilize my both balcony and to decorate it as my little flower / herb garden. So in this context, appreciate if I can get a hand on the book :P

    Btw, do you have any idea if we can get hold of French lavender seed in Malaysia rather than the typical English lavender?

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    1. Hi Justin,

      Happy Merdeka :-)

      That's right! Annuals need to be trimmed regularly to prolong their life span.Only cultivars of Lavender (potted not seeds) are sold here which you can sometimes see them on sale at the nurseries. Btw annuals are sun loving plants. Hope your balcony receives at least six hours of sunlight daily.

      I am sure your balcony will be filled with flowers and aromatic herbs very soon. Happy gardening and do keep in touch. Love to have a peek of your balcony :-)

      Re book, keep your green fingers crossed ;-)

      Stephanie

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  6. Happy Merdeka.. Stephanie..
    I've been busy gardening lately..
    And found that the gardener's work quite had not finished..
    There is.. and always something new to do..

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    1. Hello James, hope you had a good break. Like work, in the garden is business as usual... watering, feeding, weeding etc. Not doing any of those means no growth or blooms haha...

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  7. Hi Stephanie,
    Your garden is looking great! I like your new rack! I have seen one similar to this at a nursery, but thinking twice about gettting it, as there really is no space to add that to my garden. :(
    I have been lacking in my garden blog post too. Anyway, will be posting something soon.
    That book sounds really interesting, keeping my fingers crossed!

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    1. Hi Joyce, yup those you can see are from the nurseries. Unfortunately they are only good for lightweight pots and have gaps that are far apart. I have to custom make some for the bigger heavy pots that are outside. Will check out your garden blog after this. Yes keep your fingers crossed :-) You have an amazing week!

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  8. Your plants seems to be doing very well regardless of the weather! You really have green thumb!

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    1. So do you Malar! Miss seeing your garden this week. Will do that next. And draw the winner for the book soon... Have a great week!

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  9. I like the re-arrangement of the plants. I know how potted plants can quickly add up and take up a lot of space.

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    1. Yes they do take up space. I had to discard some old plants to make way for new ones :-(

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