Rest in peace, my plants

A collection of plants that I have sent to heaven...this was in my draft box ages ago...by now, i would have more photos to add to this collection...haha

My balcony garden

the dancing ladies orchid in full bloom ...

A gift from a friend - hope it can turned out into a great bonsai tree

One side of my balcony, minus the glass table which has now gone indoors...

These plants thriving well in ikea boxes....

They do well in the shades under the pine trees

Cant seem to fit this red flowers into the theme of the garden but the flowers looked so pretty that i could not resist buying...

Am proud of how this little one has grown

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!