Lantana Bonsai (Grafted)

Grafted lantana flower in full bloom yellow,orange and red colour. Others colour include white, pink and beige. This grafted plant also called as 'Lantana bonsai' and  flower all year long preferred in full sun with watering twice a day. This potted plant is imported from Thailand.

75 cm overall height

The Lantana flower release the smell that will repel insects and is recommended to display a few plants at your garden and you will find it really works. This plant is low maintenance and easy to care. There is less worries about disease, bugs or fungus as insects will not get near to the plant.

Flowers in cluster can last for weeks

In hot climate, it takes 4-6 weeks to flower

Lantana in full blooms

New growth may be slow to appear. Once the temperatures
warm up though, they will grow and flower abundantly

Lantana is an excellent low maintenance plant  where it blooms all year long. Flowers come in several colors, including yellow, red, orange, pink, purple, white etc. This plant can tolerate extreme weather. The growing  of is easy as the flowers have been famous for their extended bloom time. Lantana plants can be treated as annuals or perennials depending on the region and type grown. Lantana needs well-drained soil and will tolerate a variety of soil conditionsbut it doesn’t  adapt well in a wet soil condition. Plant in full sun, apply fertilizer occasionally and you will experience this plant blooms amazingly. No serious problems with pests or diseases as the smell of the flower repel insects. Choose to grow lantana in the garden is a great way to add color and interest.

Introducing 10 best air filtering indoor plants

Indoor plants is not only serves for decoration purposes at home but also plays an important role against indoor air pollution. Some of us might thought that in order to enjoy quality clean air at home or office,  we need to fork out few hundreds dollar on expensive appliances. If fact there is an alternative ways of achieving it by decorating indoor plants. Indoor plants can purify air by absorbing dust and other particles. Thus creating a cooling effect and release more oxygen into the air.  Air pollution at home could be caused by Carpets, new paint, glue and adhesive or poor ventilation causing allergies, cough, headaches that come from airborne particles around. Indoor plants can absorb pollutants or contaminants in the air like formaldehyde. It can reduce  the so called 'Sick Building Syndrome'.

The plants is our mother nature that able to absorb harmful particles and emits fresh oxygen in the air. Here are the 10 plants that could give the most effective air filters .

Ivy (Hedera Helix)

Money plant (Epipremnum Aureum)

Boston fern (Nephrolepis ExaltaBostoniensis)

Dracaena (Dracaena deremensis)

Bamboo palm (Chamaedorea elegans)

Dragon plant (Marginata)

Peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisi)

Monkey palm (Raphis excelsa)

Spyder plant (Chlorophytum)

Tiger leaf (Sansievierra)

Vertical planting

For those who lives in the city and thought of starting to grow your own vegetables but find it difficult because of limited space. This might be a good suggestion for you to plant a vertical vegetable garden and is as good as growing in a conventional way. Growing your own vegetables in a condominium or apartment with space constraint sounds difficult but with this new ideas it could be worked out. Growing your own vegetable with  this method is very rewarding. You will enjoy tasty vegetable,  free from chemical pesticide or compound fertilizer. Air quality in the surrounding is improved, it supplies fresh oxygen  and you will feel the environment is so much different with this live plant as it able to calm down your mind too. 

Vertical planting of vegetables

Flowers arranged in vertical manner

Alang-Alang and Atap Nipah

Alang-alang is made from dried leafs collected from the forest, mountains or island. ‘Alang-alang’ derived from Indonesia language which means weed , in Malay language is called ‘Lalang’. Alang-alang grows wild in some of the forest by nature and is above 3 meter height sometimes. When this ‘alang-alang’ is matured, it is cut off from the stem at bottom. The moist in the alang-alang will dry out under full sun exposure for few days. These dried leafs will be tied and stitch to a long bamboo(which has been wedged to small piece)  by using string (Ijok).

Alang-alang

Alang-alang come in a size of  300cm (L) x 60 cm (W). It is used to lay on top of the roof of a gazebo with the alang-alang overlap at a distance of between 3-6cm. It provide a cosy environment for relaxing under the gazebo.

Balinese Gazebo with the alang-alang roof

To build a gazebo in your garden is a great idea and certainly you will be excited as what design of the gazebo will have in your mind.  Are you thinking of constructing a customized gazebo or getting a ready-made gazebo?  Constructing a customized gazebo is more on a personal choice because it is designed in accordance to your personal requirement .

How do you decorate with a garden gazebo? There are many landscaping techniques and options that you can use for creating a beautiful backyard garden with a garden gazebo.

Alang-alang thatched roof done by skilled workers 

6 meter L x 6 meter W gazebo by the lake

Authenthic Balinese Gazebo

Gazebo built by the pool

Gazebo at the entrance of guard house

Alang-alang roof structure  in front of a restaurant 

Alang-alang roof provide a cooling effect at the restaurant

2meter L x 2 meter W mini gazebo at the beach side

Atap nipah

Atap nipah is another type of dried leave can be used to lay on the roof. 

Hanging Plants

Are we aware that the air we breath in everyday is actually produce from the living plants like trees, grass, green plants and flowers. It is like a factory supplying oxygen everyday to cater for our needs and to balance the eco system in our surrounding. Plants play an important role nowadays and we knew that decorating some plants indoor could provide a cooling effect at home, purify the air and filter the pollutant particles too. Hanging plants is one of the option to be considered especially for those who are living in the condominium with space constraint. There are varieties of hanging plant to choose from green leafs, flowers or creepers and is depend on how you want to decorate it.

Green leafs eg. money plant, fern, ficus variegated, spyder plant, peporomia, English ivy is certainly easy to maintain, you can consider this option if you don’t have much time to care for the plants. Choosing hanging flowers eg. Pertunia, vinca rosea, lipstick, torenia is more challenging as is need to care regularly like trimming, apply fertilizer and pesticide. Flowers tend to attract insects too. Hanging flowers will make so much different as it light up the atmosphere at home. Hanging creepers eg. mandivillea, morning glory, madagascar jasmine blends well if you have a mesh wire or a small pergola.

Mandevilla or also called Dipladenia

Morning glory

Morning glory belongs to vine category, it could climb faster (15-20cm overnight) than any other creeper. It climb towards the direction of  sunlight. It is known as 牵牛花 (Qiān niú huā) in Mandarin.The purple flowers glow when it bloom every morning and close in the afternoon. Flower all year long and grow wild in the tropical weather.When this plants become established over the fencing or pergola, you will notice it blooms almost every week in sequence. It is advisable to trim it when overgrown in order to be neat and tidy.

 English Ivy

The leafs look unique like maple leaf and is variegated. Need extra care for the roots can't take too much water and indirect sunlight is good enough. I have seen this plant growing healthily in high land like Cameroon Highland and it blends well in English garden .

 Common name: Monkey Cup

Tropical jungle plant and is eating insects from the top of the cup. Grow under the shade area with moisture  is most suitable. Need not apply any fertilizer as the instinct of the plant is to catch insect to feed itself. Recommended for using moss as growing medium.

Torenia fournieri

Common name as Bluewigs. Colors of the flower dark purple and pink. Can grow in full sunlight or half sunlight. Flowers all year and can display as hanging plant or grow on the ground.

Money plant

This is another evergreen plant known as 'Wan Nien Ching' in Mandarin. The leaf with a little yellow color patch is always misunderstood as insufficient nutrient but if fact I personally think it makes the plant more interesting rather than green leafs.

Fern

Leafs is dense and bushy. Suitable for indoor or with litte sunlight. Water this plant alternate days will be good and for re-potting recommended to use compost soil as to enhance the roots system.

Scientific name : Chlorophyton

Often called 'Spider plant' and it multiplies easily as the bottom of the leafs hanging with the offspring tiny leafs can be cut and re-pot for propagation. Easy to care for this plants with moderate water once to twice a day direct or indirect sunlight.

Peporomia

Looks standout from other peporomia species the leafs give a 'cooling effect' and grow at normal room temperature. Use this plant to brighten the office environment or at home. Water once a day and spray on leafs to look fresh.

Outdoor Plants

If you have an outdoor garden and ready to start a landscape from scratch, you can get ideas from magazines about gardening, sources from internet or visit to any landscape nursery in vicinity to get advice. After collecting all the information, you could decide how is the design of the landscape and to choose the type of plants you want to blend into your garden, stepping stones, pebbles, water fountains, garden lights and others garden decoration items such animal character, figurine can be considered. It is entirely up to you and can add on progressively to enhance your garden. 

To make your garden beautiful, it is not an overnight work. Patience is important and effort to beautify it from time to time, regular maintenance like watering, trimming, fertilizers, pesticides to repel insects, bugs is a must. Each type of plant has its own character in terms of taking volume of water, sunlight, soil condition and nutrient. The more time you spend on gardening, you will be able to study the character of each plant. This is important as careful nurture of each plant will produce amazing result. When the flowers bloom, lush of healthy green leafs will make your garden looks beautiful.

Loropetalum chin. var. rubrum

The color of the leave turn red under full sunlight, pink color flower throughout the year and need to trim the leave regularly in order to bloom. It can be cultured into a bonsai from early stage and it looks great.Native to China, Japan and South-eastern Asia. Wikipedia

Christmas tree

The most sought after tree during the Christmas season and the size range from 30 cm - 3 meter available. During festive season this tree might be slightly costly as shopping centre, commercial shops and residence use as a decoration.

Synonym : Eugenia oleina

Scientific name : Syzygium Campanulatum origin from Indo-China. The leaf color is reddish and yellow as regular trimming will  promote new leafs turn to those colors. It can be trimmed into any shapes from hedges to triangles shape like christmas tree or bonsai type.

Alocasia Black

Leafs look like elephant ear and can grow up to at least 2 meter from the ground. Takes on full sunlight and moderate water will do once a day.

Ficus variegated

Imported from China and the leafs is variegated. This three is grafted with trunk height 3 meter. Full sunlight and it can survive without water for many days.

Jasmine dwarf bonsai

Regular trimming needed to maintain its shape, blooms all year and size of this bonsai 80 cm. Recommended for bonsai enthusiasts beginer. Though the flower is not scented but it looks nice like a 'star' shape and it blooms over the plant.