Flowering Angsana trees

Cruising into the heart of Kuching city, I was greeted by the beautiful golden yellow flowers of the Angsana trees (Pterocarpus indicus). These trees are huge and assist to ameliorate the urban temperature by its cool shade. But at times these trees exhibit massive tiny flowers that envelope the green crown and its a real beauty to experience the golden yellow carpet on the ground. These flowers exude a strong fragrance that is short-lived. I took some really beautiful showing of these trees in Bintulu sometime ago and please follow this link to see its splendour....>>>http://alltheplants4.blogspot.com/search/label/Angsana

 (Re-post from Facebook, 2 June'19)

Orchid splendour at Taman Orkid, Kuching.

The Astana (background) as viewed from the Taman Orkid or Orchid Park

 This month of June I took a brief visit to the Orchid Park in Kuching.  Apparently the blooms seemed to be in their best.  There is much to excite the eyes not least the varying colours of the many varieties of orchids planted on the ground, in hanging pots, and on tree stumps.  The place however seemed to be surprising quiet with a handful of visitors which made me think that a lot of continuous effort need to be organised and well coordinated by the authorities concerned on marketing the garden to local as well as foreign visitors.

All images taken on 3 June'15
Orchid Park, Kuching.

May flowering trees of Kuching

Above is CU of the Goa tree flowers.

This time around in Kuching I noticed that the Cabbage tree/ Indian Goa tree ( Andira inermis) is at its best. The flowers at the car parking lot near the Padawan's Pitcher Plant center have cast their magic spell. Currently there is a heat spell in Kuching and this could have stimulated the rich flowering of bougainvilleas too around the city. The flowers are small and purplish. After the flowering season is over, the tree wil bear almond-like fruits which resemble our local ' kedundong' fruit ( Otaheite or ambarella). However, while fruits of the kedundon are edible this one isn't.

The Goa tree takes its name for the town of Goa in India. The tree is small to medium ( 5-10 m) high. It has a good compact crown shape and as such is a good candidate for shade trees. This tree is placed in the family Papilionoide of which another common family member is the Indian Coral tree ( Erythrina indica as in here >> http://alltheplants.blogspot.com/search/label/Erythrina . The best planting distance on roads is 40 meters.

Images of Kuching Today

A nice spray of the strongly fragrant frangipani ( Plumeria acuminata) which I bumped into at the Mile 10 bazaar roadside. To see newer varieties of the plumeria, please go here >>>>

http://alltheplants3.blogspot.com/search/label/Plumeria%20acuminata

Next to where I sat was this interesting water fountain which I thought was cool in its originality. With the sound of falling water, a good cup of coffee and free wifi, Mile 7 is beginning to catch up with Kuching inner city. More images of Kuching can be browsed here >>>http://mykuchingklikz.blogspot.com/

Mile 7 is on the way back home. So I decided to have a good fried rice with salted fish at the "After 7" outlet there. The "After 7" street extension had free wifi and I had a cool time browsing the Internet while observing the mixed crowd that kept on droppin' by the place.
For more Kuching's street scenes please gto >>>http://mykuchingklikz.blogspot.com/search/label/Street%20scenes

Images of Kuching Today

Flower power at Satok Sunday market

This weekend flower market is part of a bigger attraction called the Satok Sunday market. Many new varieties of plants can be bought here at reasonable prices. Besides flowers, fruit trees and orchids are available . More images of Sarawak orchids can be seen here.

Ethnic art on sliding door

At the Kuching Waterfront shop I noticed this creative use of Sarawak's ethnic design for a decorative wooden sliding door. Sarawak's diverse ethnic traditions have produced some wonderful designs ideas. To see more ethnic design art please click here.

Serikin shopping

Serikin is a popular shopping destination for local tourists from Sarawak, Sabah and more so from Peninsular Malaysia. It provides a growing market for goods made in Indonesia for the Malaysian tastes. Chiefly among them are textiles, personal accessories, rattan goods and many more. For more stories about rattan mats from Serikin please click here.

Will you love me?

The Normah Orchid ( Phalaenopsis bellina) - is fragrant and is the state flower of Sarawak.

If a pretty lady by the name of Orchid tempts you with this question, " Will you love me?", think a zillion time.

Was it not Confucius ( circa 551-479 B.C.) who said:

' The tse-lan grows in the valleys and does not withhold its fragrance even though it is not appreciated by man'.

( Note: ' tse-lan ' is the Chinese name for the Cymbidium orchid species)

She may be called the Queen of the Jungle, a Dancing Lady and blooms in colours of white to black or acquire the rarest and seductive scent of a wildly sexy lady but hold your breath. Before you pluck your bravery and sink or soar your life with her , think of these things:

" You can get off alcohol, drugs, women, food, and cars, but once you're hooked on orchids, you're finished. You never get off orchids.... never".
( Joe Kunisch,quoted in Orchid Fever, (2001) by Eric Hansen)
( Inset : Close-up of the Black Orchid ( Coelogyne pandurata)

The " Lady Slipper Orchid" ( Paphiopedilum spp.) is one of the most sought after native orchid species of Sarawak. Its resemblance to the slipper or Chinese tongs is clearly seen in the above picture. Note the labellum ( lip) which takes the form of a shoe-shaped pouch.

To see more orchids of Sarawak, click here.

Images of Kuching Today

A Yellow Flame tree in full bloom at Sarawak Museum garden.

Golfers at play

The colourful Medan Pelita - a multi-storey car park cum shopping center.

Orchids in a tropical garden

DBKU Orchid Garden , Kuching, Sarawak.

Orchids produce flowers that can last for weeks and even for a whole month. For that reason they are being loved the world over. In a tropical climate like Sarawak where there are no distinct seasons, orchids can be grown the whole year round. They can be very prolific and vigorous provided the necessary conditions are observed when one indulge in cultivating them for home gardens. How would you display them so that you and friends enjoy its showy, exotic and lasting flowers? Imagination, love and thoughtfulness about their habits and character are essential to have them proove their attractiveness.

Orchids have many uses apart from giving us much aesthetic pleasure. Orchids are grown for medicinal and culinary reasons. The well -known Vanilla Orchid ( Vanilla planifolia) produces vanillin used to flavour chocolate, ice-cream and cakes. The bulb of Arethusa bulbosa, a Japanese orchid is a good remedy for toothache. In many countries the orchid nurseries and gardens are important places to visit for tourists and orchid enthusiasts who come from far away destinations. Orchids arrangement make delightful table pieces, bouquet, corsage or 'bridal guard'. It is a thing of beauty that always brings us joy. ( Inset: Laeliocattleya 'Dorset Gold')

An orchid garden display setting at the DBKU Orchid Garden, Kuching.

Displaying orchids in towns or residential areas require a little bit of understanding on the requirements of these unique plants. Generally, species collected from cool altitudes do not grow well in hot lowland regions. Thus the environment may need to be modified by locating them in shaded or cooler areas of the garden. Other species can be displayed in a rockery concept as shown above and below. The Spathoglottis species are terrestrial or ground orchids and growing in limestone hills they are suitable specimens for garden rockeries. The most common of the Spathoglottis species is the Spathoglottis plicata and since they have been in cultivation for quite sometime, they are now available in colours of yellow, pink, purple or mauve and white and also combinations of yellow, orange and purple.

Spathoglottis plicata in various hues - yellow and purple, placed amidst rocks and an artificial stream for its modified environment.

Cut tree trunk acts as supporting structure for the orchids to get attached .

Heavy flowering of the "Golden Shower" (Oncidium 'Goldiana' ) on a 'dummy tree'.

Orchids can de displayed on a 'dummy tree' which is constituted of a few 'branches' made from hardwood species like our local "Belian" timber which is the hardest wood in Sarawak. The belian is not subject to rot despite being exposed to full sun or embedded in earth and could last many generations.

Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi with healthy roots.

Beautifully grown light purple Dendrobium orchid on a 'dummy tree' of belian wood wrapped with coarse coconut husks.


Suspended 'Belian' posts are useful when we need to move the orchids often to various locations around the house or garden. Like planting on dummy trees, the roots are attached to coconut husks or flattened stems of tree ferns and best fastened using nylon strings. Avoid using wires for tying because they rust and could be harmful to the roots and pseudobulbs. Select suitable orchid species that are epiphytic as they have roots that are well modified to enable them to hang in the air like the Oncidium species above. Oncidiums have flowers in a spray and it is the tiny golden 'dancing ladies' that make them attractive. Now Oncidiums are hybrided and come out in many new colours of rosy pink and purple from the familiar yellow.In Sarawak the most commonly grown hybrid is the Oncidium 'Goldiana' or "Golden Shower". There are also miniature oncidiums in the market. Oncidiums perform better in bright environment and some can take to full sunlight.

Big clay jars are ideal for large- sized orchids, above and below set in an orchid enclosure. The shelter is usually lined with netting to prevent the plants being scorched by direct sun rays.


Phius tankerville

Phaius orchids have large and attractively coloured fragrant flowers. They have large plicate leaves. From its thick and erect spike which arise from the pseudobulb are a series of 10-20 flowers. Note the shady and cool environment in which it thrives. Having them in large pots make re-potting less frequent.

Once caught in the fever and depending on one's interests and willingness to be challenged, orchid growing can be life-long hobby. Through trial and error, much money and ingenuity one can very slowly become an 'expert' on cultivating them. The interest can blossom into a semi-hobby or semi-commercial pastime because you can sell orchids and perhaps the income can self-sustain the maintenace expenditure and the purchase of more orchid types.

" A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;

Its loveliness increases; it will never

Pass into nothingness; but still will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep

Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing."

( John Keats)

Blooming Kuching

Blooming bougainvilleas of the dwarf, free-flowering " Singapore Beauty " variety ( Bougainvillea glabra) at the Satok Flyover

I have indeed overstayed my trip to Kuching this time around. However I will not leave this city without putting its blooming record in writing and in pictures in this blog. The months of May and June brought in equal amounts of rain and sun and were ideal for many plants around the city. My favourite was the blooming bougainvilleas above. Next were the golden showers of the Cassia fistula. I managed to collect a few dozen of its pods to be brought to Bintulu later for propagation purposes. The purple to mauve colours of the " Pride of India" or what we call here locally as " Bungor"( Lagerstoemia indica) brightened the greenery around the Kuching Waterfront.

Finally, at my garden in Kuching I was thrilled by the naughty habits of the Drunken Sailor ( Quisqualis indica) who managed to climb over the fence and onto the front porch. Well, I've decided to make him a permanent feature to the front garden. Say Yo !! to the sailor from the Pirates of the Mediterranean ship! The beautiful mixed colours of the Lantana camara finally greet me daily at the back garden. The secret of making it flower is to give it full sun, generous manure and watering. The rest is magic.

Lantana camara - comes in various forms of white, yellow, red or pink colours. In the garden now showing a combination of all!

The golden showers of the Cassia fistula

From pink to dark red colours of the " Drunken Sailor" ( Quisqualis indica). This woody and vigorous creeper produce root suckers that are used for propagation. This climber is sometimes referred to as the " Rangoon Creeper".

Purple to mauve colours of the Lagerstroemia flos-reginae ( Pride of India)