Gardenia jasminoides is a shrub with greyish bark and dark green shiny leaves with prominent veins. The white flowers bloom in spring and summer and are highly fragrant. They are followed by small oval fruit.

I have been waiting for it to bloom again after her last bloom in 2007. There were many times that I’ve seen buds coming out but none manage to make it to bloom until last week. I’ve read somewhere that “bud drop” is the common problem with gardenia.

The most irritating problem encountered with gardenias is “bud drop,”when flower buds abort just before blooming. Common causes include low humidity, over-watering, under-watering, insufficient light high temperatures, rapid temperature fluctuations, cold drafts or change in plant locations. In other words, gardenias are temperamental!

From Gardenia Plant Care,

A fertilizer designed for azaleas will also fill the nutritional requirements of your gardenias. Be sure to prune older gardenia stems right after the flowers stop blooming. This encourages new growth as well as more frequent blooming.

This was the first gardenia that bloomed last week. I was too busy to take picture and when I managed to find the time, it was withering away. Hopefully more buds will coming out soon. Next time when I go to ACE hardware, I will check for azalea fertilizer.

I am linking up the fact sheet about Gardenia care from University of Rhode Island Landscape Horticulture Program in case I need to read about common problems in planting gardenia in the future.

Gardenia - Bunga Cina originally appeared on Laman Hati on September 2, 2010.

I can see that this particular pink one does not have as many petals as the other cabbage rose I have.

I still couldn’t find the correct type of this pink rose. Have been reading through many pages online but yet to find a correct variety and type. But one think for sure it has the sweet, rosy fragrance. And it is a thorny rose plant as well. Oh, even the leaves are scented as I can smell everytime I pruned it.

The next day when I peaked from my living hall curtain, I noticed it has bloom to its full size. I quickly grabbed the camera and snapped its picture. How lovely and big it was compared to the small plant it comes from.

True to my prediction, it only has few petals, but big ones. I am not sure how long it will last. I hope it will bloom again soon!

Pink Rose In My Garden originally appeared on Laman Hati on August 20, 2010.

After changing its spot from one place to another, I think it finally finds a good place to grow and bloom again. The plant has been climbing around other plants around it, so I bought 2 coated sticks from ACE hardware to help it creeps. Later I found a cheaper set of such plant holder in Daiso (which I have used for my rose plant, will write about it later).

This picture with the budding flowers was taken in the middle of June 2010. It took about 3 weeks for all the buds to finally mature and bloom to their maximum size. Yesterday since it was raining during night time, I noticed those flowers fell on the ground…huhu!

I picked them up and kept them on the key tray. Its pandan-like fragrance smells very nice every time I need to pick up my house key, a reminder of what a wonderful home and garden I am blessed with.

Kesidang Revisited originally appeared on Laman Hati on July 11, 2010.

Date: 10th - 18th July 2010

Venue: Waterfront, Precinct 2, Putrajaya

Theme: Tropical Splendour

Opening Hours: 9am – 10pm (Monday-Thursday)
9am – 12midnight (Friday-Sunday)

Admission Fee : FREE

Finally, the floral event that I have been waiting for is coming back to Putrajaya. This time there will be 45 booths open for the whole duration, which hopefully will have more greens and plants to choose from. I have been hoping to buy new plants to add into my garden collection.

Quoting from Malay Mail:

Some of the main attractions at the event will be the display of collections of the heliconia species, floral and garden landscape presenting more than 400,000 flowers; four contests of florals like heliconias, orchids, bonsai and annuals; Photography contest and coloring contest for the young, as well as an indoor pavillion displaying 50 decorative landscapes and floral arrangements of flowers like the celebrity musical garden, the special courtyard garden, tropical paradise and the twillight garden.

Floria 2010 originally appeared on Laman Hati on June 25, 2010.

Well, I don’t have the time and I didn’t repot the orchid. But I did spray the liquid fertilizer as often as I can remember.

So, when last week I noticed the purple flowers, my heart just sang..hehe!

You see, the leaves are not really in their best condition but still they managed to bloom a great bunch of flowers for me. This is why I love gardening, just as you thought the least expected happiness will not emerge anytime soon, it surprises you amazingly!

The Purple Cattleya originally appeared on Laman Hati on May 27, 2010.

When I moved to the new house, I brought the henna plant in the pot along. It grew quite well until up to a point where all the leaves dropped and day after day it showed the sign of dying..huhu!

After about two months ago of not showing any sign of reviving itself, I decided to relocate the pot from its current spot and was thinking to dig out the plant from its pot. But I was busy and kept on postponing the plan to uproot the henna from its pot.

And then one day, while watering the plants, I noticed this..

See those tiny leaves, it was such a joy to see what a miracle of growth could bring to a garden..

I was so glad that I didn’t uproot the plant when I first thought that there was no hope. That’s the thing with plants, just as you thought you have exhausted all the effort to bring it to life, it surprises you with new leaves.

I hope the henna will live a long life as it is the marker of my wedding anniversary. May you grow old and stronger, henna!

Henna - Revisited originally appeared on Laman Hati on April 20, 2010.

So after searching and reading through a few orchid websites, I am pretty sure that what I have here is a Vanda.

Taken from how-to-grow-orchid.com:

“The genus Vanda contains many species represented by large handsome plants and a wide variety of beauty in the flowers.

By some growers considered difficult to cultivate, their charm is well worth the supplying of their particular needs and the studying of their habits.

The plants are pseudobulb-less, the leaves distichous (dis-tik-ous), or disposed in two parallel lines along the heavy, erect stem.

The tendency of the stem is to grow up toward the sun, as the surprised amateur finds when his plant reaches the roof and has no more room to grow. The lower leaves frequently drop off.

Thick aerial roots form along the stem and, when smooth, green-tipped, and fat, indicate that the plant is progressing. When they become shriveled and ringed, something is drastically wrong with their culture and vanda orchid care”

I think I’ve had this pot of Vanda for more than 2 years now, can’t really remember where do I get it in the first place.

“This type of plant is a slow grower and needs to be very large before flowering, so that any kind of propagation is a slow and tedious process at best.”

When it comes to vanda orchid care, they are considered sun worshipper. Among the sun-worshipers are the Vandas, natives of India, the Philippines, and some Pacific islands.

They will not thrive without adequate sun, and they must have corresponding amounts of heat and water. Care must be exercised to keep water from remaining in the growing crown.”

As of today, I am still able to enjoy the dark purple flowers. Not sure how long the flowers will last, but from what I read, some says it could last for a month or so.

The Purple Vanda Orchid originally appeared on Laman Hati on March 31, 2010.

What do you think?

I am reading the guide from the American Orchid Society and it says here:

Potting is necessary when the rhizome of the plants protrudes over the edge of the pot or the potting medium starts to break down and drain poorly (usually after two to three years). It is best to repot just before new roots sprout from the rhizome, after flowering or in the spring.

Mature cattleyas are usually potted in coarser potting material than are seedlings. Until a plant has at least six mature pseudobulbs, it generally should be put into a larger pot and not divided.

If dividing a plant, three to five pseudobulbs per division are required. Select a pot that will allow for approximately two years of growth before crowding the pot. Pile mix against one side of the pot and cut off any dead roots. Spread the firm, live roots over the pile, with the cut rhizome against the side of the pot. Fill the pot with medium, working it around the roots. Pack firmly and stake if necessary. Keep the plant humid, shaded and dry at the roots until new root growth is seen.

Hmm…now I wonder when will I ever get the time to repot the plant..huhu!

Should I Repot The Cattleya? originally appeared on Laman Hati on March 6, 2010.

In my current home, the lawn that I have is so small that I could only grow 2 x 10 feet cow grass on it..huhu!

But for those with ample space of lawn, do you know how to mow your lawn? Check out the video shared as it could help you save some money by doing the job yourself.

Previously in our rented house, we hired a freelance lawnmower to do all the hard work once a month. Actually I used to mow the lawn every now and then using a mini handheld lawn mower, but after some times it just become such a hassle for me to do the work.

A lawn mower with brand such as Black & Decker is a great investment for those eager to maintain their own lawn all year round. The video shared above is designed for homeowners and includes a variety of useful tips. It shows how to prepare your lawn and mower for mowing. It gives tips for mowing, edging and trimming to give your yard a well manicured look…something like a professional gardener does! It also demonstrates how to maintain and store your mower.

I hope one day I would be able to live in a house with a big, great lawn and drive a lawn mower to mow the lawn every morning like Forrest Gump did in the movie..haha!

Do You Have Lawn To Maintain? originally appeared on Laman Hati on March 5, 2010.

It is a crime to neglect all my plants, I know that..but alas I have no time and opportunity to lavish any one of them with the old tender loving care.

The cattleya I brought from old home seems to be doing fine until I moved the pot to a new location. Little did I notice that the new position got so much direct sun light during day time..huhu! Thus the sunburned leaves..sigh!

Despite that the purple cattleya still wanted to cheer me up with her blooms.

I am yet to prune the sick leaves since my gardening shears are rusty (see? I have been abandoning all my gardening tools for so long..isk!)

Taken from the page on Problems With Orchids:

Sunburn

Description

Black or black-edged patches on leaves can indicate sunburn. The leaves of some of the Odontoglossum purebred hybrids can become red during the summer.

Causes

Black patches occur when the sun has shone directly on a portion of leaf for too long; it takes less than an hour for the sun to burn the leaves. A little redness in odontoglossums is acceptable, but if they receive too much sun, the leaves will suffer and be prematurely shed.

Cure

Once burned, the mark will remain. Prevent sunburn by sheltering plants from the sun. particularly in spring, when the plants are still in their winter quarters and the sun is becoming increasingly bright.

My Sunburned Cattleya originally appeared on Laman Hati on January 27, 2010.