Monthly Archives: August 2008

Variegated Cheilocostus speciosus in Bloom!

Posted on August 11, 2008 | Leave a comment

The colony of variegated crepe ginger that I have planted along one side of my community garden late last year has flowered for the first time. I have chosen to include this rather gaudy spiral ginger into the landscape so as to break the rather uniform green colour conferred by other tropical landscape plants grown around it.

The crepe ginger, now named as Cheilocostus speciosus, is quite a common landscaping plant in Singapore, especially for the non-variegated version. Some people probably avoid growing the all green version in their gardens because it can be seen growing in large numbers in some of the rural areas of Singapore. I have written an article which was published on the Green Culture Singapore website on how one can grow the crepe ginger in the garden and it can be accessed by clicking this link.

Clumps can get quite large if left to grow on their own. I felt they are quite nice to look at especially when they are flowering – the white, trumpet-like blooms produced at the tips of the tall stems are quite showy – this makes the crepe ginger a suitable backdrop plant candidate. Unfortunately, this floral show would be ruined if there is heavy rain. After a downpour, the flowers would collapse and look like a mess of wet tissue.

It was an experiment to plant the crepe ginger in a full sun location that can get quite waterlogged at certain times of the year. I am now quite pleased to find out that the crepe ginger actually grows quite well in its current location. It doesn’t seem to mind the soggy soil conditions that occur during the rainy season.

Even when the weather is very hot and dry, the crepe ginger plant does not appear to react to it too adversely as seen in some gingers where their leaves become bleached and roll up. Most gingers are understorey plants and many cannot take the glare and heat of the direct, searing tropical sun.  The crepe ginger plants I have had produced numerous, thick and sturdy stems and the height of the stand of variegated crepe gingers averaged now around 1.2 m. The plant should grow taller with time.

I am happy to see my variegated crepe ginger flourishing and blooming for the first time. However, I admit I have almost this floral show put forth by my variegated crepe ginger.  The white flowers that were produced by my variegated crepe ginger are similar in every aspect as those produced by its non-variegated counterpart. Unfortunately, their beauty seems to be obscured by the striking variegation of the leaves. I thought perhaps the crepe ginger is better grown as a foliage landscape plant?

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Posted in Flowering plants, Tropical ornamentals

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Root Awakening (9 Aug 08)

Posted on August 9, 2008 | Leave a comment

Happy National Day everyone! Today is Singapore’s 43rd birthday and the Root Awakening column makes its debut in the latest, revamped format of Straits Times Life!.

This week, answers to three gardening questions were published. Topics covered were how to get rid of moss that grows on the surface of flower pots, how to effectively keep caterpillars off a jasmine bush as well as how to attract bees to fruit trees in one’s garden.

Also featured as a  short story was Far East Flora’s winning design in the Fantasy Garden category in this year’s Singapore Garden Festival.

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Posted in Root Awakening in ST Life!

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Article on Growing the Butterwort in Home Concepts Magazine

Posted on August 7, 2008 | Leave a comment

The article which I wrote on the growing of butterworts (Pinguicula) had just been published in the August issue of the Home Concepts magazine. This interesting genus of carnivorous plants used to be so uncommon that enthusiasts who want to grow them need to buy and import them from overseas. I still remember the tiny little plant that I receive via mail-order which was about the size of a Singapore 50 cents coin.

Just only recently, we were able to see some hybrid butterworts on sale in Singapore nurseries. These were probably tissue-cultured and grown in large-scale nurseries. Hence they can be considered as relatively new introductions to the Singapore plant market and I reckon many people are still not aware or know much about them. This is the reason why I decided to pen this article for Home Concepts this month.

 

The plants that we can get from local nurseries are amazingly large, up to one’s palm size at one time. But bear in mind that unlike many other carnivorous plants like the Venus Fly Trap and American Pitcher Plant, the butterwort likes to be grown under semi-shade and not full, direct sunshine.

In addition, one more point to note which I have not been able to write in the published article due to word number limit is that if one is to grow the butterwort under ambient room conditions, do expect the plant to shrink a bit in size. Originating from cooler temperate and subtropical areas, the butterwort has been reported to be able to grow to a large size in air-conditioned offices in Singapore.

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Posted in Contributed Articles, Flowering plants, Tropical ornamentals

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The Sengs’ Corridor Garden

Posted on August 6, 2008 | 3 Comments

Mr and Mrs Seng are very keen and supportive members of my community garden at Serangoon North. I paid their home a visit some time back after Mrs Seng told me how nice some Costus species and some other plants that I have passed her some time back have grown. The Sengs’ apartment is one that is located along a corridor and because they do not have a balcony, they could only do their gardening along this public walkway outside their home.

Corridor gardening has always been a challenge to apartment dwellers who love gardening. Security is often a problem as pots of nicely-grown plants can get stolen or damaged by greedy and inconsiderate neighbours. Besides that, the lack of light and overly windy conditions can limit the choice of plants that can be grown.

The corridor where they grow their plants is very well-lit when I visited them and during certain times of the year, they told me the area can receive direct sunshine for almost half of a day. Hence I was not surprised to have noticed that many light-demanding flowering shrubs that their neighbours grow, such as the Bougainvillea, are flowering profusely.

Costus ‘Green Mountain’ – Look at the big lush leaves! The plant’s obviously happy and very well-fed! The plant even flowered successfully when it is grow inside a container.

Another healthy and robust-looking spiral ginger (C. arabicus ‘Variegata’) from me that started off as a small baby that emerged from a stem-cutting.

Look at the juicy and succulent-looking sand ginger (Kaempferia galanga) plants that are grown inside a long trough! It is an unlikely plant to find in a Chinese home! I have seen this plant mostly being grown by our Malay friends.

The few pots of yam plants are also doing very well. Despite the fact that they are full sun lovers, the plants grown in this corridor garden where light is available for half a day or less are colouring up very nicely. The purple plant is Colocasia esculenta ‘Black Magic’ while the bright green one is Xanthosoma ‘Lime Zinger’.

Some of the passionfruit vine trimmings from the community garden were also taken back home by the Sengs where they have planted in a large flower pot. I was amazed with the rate at which the vine in their care grows. It has reached the ceiling already and it surely helps to disguise the ugly-looking drainage pipe it is now climbing on for support.

Another plant that is not commonly seen being grown inside a container and in a corridor garden is the Job’s Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi). The seeds have a very hard shiny seedcoat and are made into jewellery. They are also used in Traditional Chinese Medicine as well. Mrs Seng love this plant a lot and growing it fondly reminds her of the days where she lived in a kampong where this plant was growing in large numbers in her backyard.

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Posted in Flowering plants, Gardening People in Singapore, Gardens I visited, Herbs, Tropical ornamentals, Vegetables

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Borneo Exotics’ Season of Mist

Posted on August 3, 2008 | 3 Comments

The Singapore Garden Festival (SGF) Awards is a world-class competition showcasing award-winning floral, landscape and fantasy gardens created by local and international designers. Borneo Exotics is the world’s leading nursery for tropical pitcher plants and for the first time, they participated in this year’s SGF Awards.

Their work which was displayed on level 6 of the Suntec Convention Center was one that members from the Green Culture Singapore (GCS) discussion forum, especially those who are carnivorous plant enthusiasts, was looking forward to see. Many members wanted to know what new and rare species of tropical pitcher plants Borneo Exotics would be using for their garden design.

Named the “Season of Mist”, the work won a Silver Award under the Fantasy Garden category of the SGF Awards 2008. Diana Williams and Robert Cantley, founders of Borneo Exotics who are based in Sri Lanka, are already frequent participants at international flower shows even before they took part in the SGF Awards.

Diana and Rob are winners of the London Flower Show in 2004. They have also won a Silver Gilt at the 2005 Chelsea Flower Show and Gold Medals at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2006 and 2007. They are also winners the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Anthony Huxley Trophy for the best display of tender ornamental plants shown to the RHS in all the flower shows in the United Kingdom during 2006.

The Season of Mist is a rainforest fantasy garden that featured a dome-shaped enclosure, which housed some of the most rare and spectacular examples of tropical pitcher plants (Nepenthes) in cultivation. As written in the SGF official show programme booklet, the designers of this fantasy garden dedicated it to G. E. Rumphius (1627-1702) of Dutch descent who was the first to document in botanical terms this genus of carnivorous plants. At the age of 42, Rumphius lost his sense of sight and might have well dreamed of his days as a youth in Germany.

The garden aimed to illustrate the variation within this extraordinary genus of carnivorous plants, whilst depicting the life of Rumphius and the disastrous event surrounding the completion of his monumental life’s work, “Herbarium Amboinense”. The use of dramatic events emphasised Nepenthes as true wonders of evolution and the necessity for their conservation. All Nepenthes used in the exhibit have been artificially propagated by the designers themselves in their Sri Lankan nurseries.

I have been told that the dome structure was designed and constructed in Sri Lanka but it was dismantled again so that it could be transported to Singapore for the SGF. The structure was re-assembled upon its arrival at the Suntec Convention Center.

The dome is octagonal in shape and visitors to the SGF were treated to a “framed” picture of the beautiful gardenscape as they peered into each of the seven faces of this polygon. The one other facet of the octagon featured several foldable door with glass windows where one can look into to see a wax statue of Rumphius.

The interior of the dome is periodically shrouded in fine mist that conferred a magical and mysterious aura to the exhibit. It also help to increase the ambient air humidity for the plants, which can crash to a level that is too low for the comfort or even harmful to the plants that were planted in an air-conditioned indoor environment.

Diana used a variety of tropical plants to decorate the interior of the dome and naturally, being an exotic plant enthusiast, I began my hunt for uncommon plants used in the exhibit. One of my first finds were some small-growing sun pitcher plants (Heliamphora spp.) that were tucked at one dark corner. These temperate-growing carnivorous plants originate from the South American continent.

The other interesting find was a huge and handsome specimen of a dark red Nepenthes truncata. The gigantic pitchers found on the plant measured about 50 cm in length! As one can easily expect, the plant is extremely rare and there are only a few of such plants in the world.It was perhaps the most popular plant in the SGF! It attracted a lot of attention from the visitors to the SGF. Since people cannot bring the plant home, many visitors took pictures instead. I can still remember the uncountable number of camera lights that flashed before it.

Did anyone notice an overgrown Bucida tree that had broken through the roof of the dome? I believe some people might have missed this interesting addition to the exhibit as they have been mesmerised by the exotic array of plants that Borneo Exotics had brought for the SGF.

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Posted in Events, Tropical ornamentals

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Edible Plants Galore at the AVA Booth!

Posted on August 2, 2008 | 4 Comments

Another exhibition area in the Singapore Garden Festival 2008 (SGF) that attracted much attention was the one put up by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority Singapore (AVA). The AVA this year showcased a range of vegetables and culinary herbs that can be grown under local conditions. All the edible plants were displayed inside fluorescent light lit, modern-looking, plastic troughs.

Many of the elderly folks who passed by the AVA exhibition area were fondly reminded of the days when they lived in the villages in rural Singapore and were involved in vegetable and herb farming. Many were seen sharing their experiences with both the AVA officers on duty and fellow visitors.

The younger crowd were intrigued to see the living specimens of the herbs and vegetables that they encounter their dinner plates. Some were inspired to grow and asked where they could buy the seeds so that they can try to grow some at home.

Besides the vegetable and herb showcase, the AVA also offered “a Plant Passport Service” which gives the necessary phytosanitary certification for plants that are bought during the SGF by our overseas visitors. Plant doctors were on duty in the “Clinic Botanica” section where visitors can ask and learn more about the pest and disease problems they face in their gardens.

In one of the sections of their display, the AVA offered some ideas to public on how they can showcase our edible plants in their home gardens. The first involved the planting of vining vegetables such as sweet potato vines or the Ceylon Spinach inside window boxes that is shown below.

Another example the AVA showed was how one can incorporate edible plants into a landscape – look at the clever use of the riot of colours that ornamental sweet potato vines and the nice contrast they can offer!

Various common leafy vegetable were on display and the most striking and beautiful one was perhaps the Chinese Flowering Cabbage. The dainty, bright yellow flowers that were produced high above the plants are highly decorative and difficult to miss!

The succulent-looking Chinese Kale, Chinese Mustard, Loose Leaf Lettuce and Red Chinese Spinach plants also attracted a lot of attention! Many visitors wondered how did the AVA managed to grow such healthy plants using containers!

Chinese Kale

Chinese Mustard

Loose Leaf Lettuce

Red Chinese Spinach

The selection of fruiting vegetables also “wow-ed” the visitors to the SGF. The fruiting vegetable plant that particularly got the most limelight were the corn plants that borne white shiny kernels. In the market, we often see the ones with yellow kernels.

Many visitors who saw the hot chilli plants were surprised with the high yield of fruits. Many of them asked the AVA how they managed to grow such healthy plants that did not show any signs of blemish.

The AVA also exhibited two types of Chinese eggplants – one bears long and green fruits while the other produces round, purple fruits. I have grown these before and I got the seeds from Known You Seeds Distribution previously.

Long, green Chinese Eggplant

Chinese Eggplant with round, purple fruits.

Last but not least, the display of culinary herbs was also equally impressive. For the first time, I saw Globe Basil plants with my own eyes. Although it is not a basil that I am not familiar with, I saw these only on pictures found on the Internet.

Chinese celery was one of other culinary herbs being showcased. A specimen was seen flowering and visitors who have never seen this herb flowering learnt something new.

The AVA also had some highly ornamental Purple Ruffles Basil plants on display. These plants are very difficult to grow nicely under local conditions. For reasons not known to me but I speculate that it could be due to the heat of the tropics, this variety of basil has a high tendency of its leaves to revert totally green and also losing its ruffled leaf margins.

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Posted in Events, Vegetables

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The Last Day of the Singapore Garden Festival

Posted on August 1, 2008 | 1 Comment

The Member of Parliament for my constituency, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, visited the Singapore Garden Festival (SGF) early today afternoon. Mr Simon Longman, Mr Ng Cheow Kheng from the Community in Bloom (CIB) and I were there to welcome her when she came to Level 4 of the Suntec Convention Center. Mrs Lim was first brought to the CIB exhibition area and then introduced to various community groups. She then also visted the booth of Green Culture Singapore (GCS) as well!

Later in the evening, GCS members who held the exhibitor’s passes were invited to attend the SGF’s Appreciation Party that was held in the Hospitality Pavillions on Level 6. As one can easily expect, due to the large number of people who were involved in one way to another in the Festival, the area that was cordoned off for the Party was filled with people!

Before the Party started, the Guest of Honour for the Party, Mr Mah Bow Tan and Mr Ng Lang (CEO NParks) went on stage to give their respective speeches where they also thanked all participants as well as partners who were involved in the SGF. Mr Mah’s speech can be read via this link while Mr Ng’s is available here.

The Party was officially started after the speeches and we were all treated to a sumptuous dinner. I was glad to see that the effort that the SGF organisers had actually put in to ensure waste production was minimised while we enjoyed the plants, flowers and landscaping at the Festival. The crockery and cutlery used at the Party are all made from corn and yam and hence they are totally bio-degradable. But does that mean they can be eaten as well?

Many thanks to my friends who were involved in the GCS booth this SGF, namely, Phillipe, Lily, Teresa, Richmond, Chong Ren, Xuan Hong, Lynnette and Eng Ong posed for a picture. Your contributions have been valuable and without them, the GCS booth won’t have been so impressive and interesting. The booth’s exhibits have been educational and particularly attractive to the crowd who visited the Festival. The beautiful decor at the GCS booth has an important part to play as well. I gave them all an SGF collar pin to express my thanks.

After we were done with the SGF Appreciation Party on Level 6, we were back to the GCS booth on Level 4 for yet another celebration. It was a much smaller potluck party and gathering which was initiated by Teresa which was attended a handful of GCS members. My sincere thanks to Teresa and those of you who took time off to attend our mini-gathering!

I must thank Herb Lover, Karen79 and Jolantu for being present to help entertain the crowd who visited the booth while the rest of us were away on Level 6 for the SGF Appreciation Party. I have noticed, to my surprise, that even after our little party had started, everyone could still be seen standing around the booth multi-tasking away. I watched with amusement as members were seen introducing the GCS website and the exhibits to the SGF visitors, chatting among themselves and enjoying the homemade snacks that were brought for the potluck, all at once!

Our gathering continued until 10 pm which was the time that SGF was officially supposed to close. All of us stopped our merrying soon after and we reluctantly started to take our exhibits at the GCS apart. With the effort put in from members who were present, we managed to take down all the posters and decor by 11 pm. Everything was consolidated and put in one corner so that we can cart them off easily later on.

The SGF was fun but a tiring time for those of us who were involved. I must say the chemistry between the members who were present was great and we got to know each other better from this event. I believe we all look forward to visit the booth each day during the Festival so that we can meet and catch up again. With the end of the SGF, I have to admit that I suffered from the ‘SGF hangover’ because I felt quite uneasy for not returning to Suntec Convention Center and I know I am not alone.

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