Views of the front garden from outside

Looking beyond the Kambatik garden

Bringing nature outside the bedroom
View from main garden, looking west.  Note the mountin range in the far horizon.

View from front garden, looking south

Occasionally we need to re-focus our sight.  Beyond the Kambatik garden (Malaysian garden defined) I see the distant hills, with bluish green cover.  Further still the mountain range seemed a formidable soft barrier of blue.  The expanse of sky and open air beyond reminds me of nature's kindness, giving life and hope in an encompassing universe that needs to be conserved for the future generation.  It prompts to ask 'What have you done to your country, if you say you love your country?'  Closer to home, I see the football fields and the green open spaces of the neighbourhood.  There are trees that adorn the streets and the fields.  It is a connected world.  The Kambatik home garden is but a tiny sanctuary in urban green lung.  The prime idea however is its role in the passageway of nature's big corridor of wildlife and the plant kingdoms we needed most to be alive and kicking.  We need to build home gardens to provide transit and temporary home to some of nature's wildlife species as they travel and forage for food.  Without plants and wildlife human will naturally die.  With nature humans prosper.  Do a Kambatik garden if you are a Sarawakian, and soon.  Very immediately you'll partake in nature's power and glory.  Look beyond the Kambatik garden!

View towards the the streets and open spaces.
View from front porch,  looking west

View of back garden, looking south

View looking east
Note the distant hills and forest

Tidying up the garden

View of main side garden, looking west.

Clippings as mulch

 It has been a very healthy morning.  Been doing the grass cutting of the lawn.  One of the benefits of a good lawn when cut low is the by-product of the cutting operation  called clippings.  Here I re-cycle the clippings as mulch.  Nothing should go to waste.  It took me a good 30 minutes job to cut the grass with the mechanical bush cutter.  The clippings are swept with a rake and then placed around the bases of plants.  Only when I have excess clippings do I use them as burning material for burnt earth.  I am showing below the list of basic  equipments for this morning's grass cutting operation and garden maintenance works.  The list includes the bush cutter, rake, hoe, hand pruner, 'parang' (Malay to mean matchet),  basket, saw, ground chisel and safety spectacles or goggles.

Seedling of the Foxtail Palm (Wodyetia bifurcata) with grass clippings  placed around its base.

I have planted three seedlings of the Foxtail palm (Wodyetia bifurcata) which I raised from seeds at the side garden facing the porch.  They have been planted early in the year,  They seem to be growing at a slow pace which is quite alright for me because I have already some tall palm trees in the garden.  These Foxtail palms will add to the variety of palm collection  in the garden.

Tools and equipments for grass cutting and general garden maintenance job

Outside looking in

Poui tree starting to flower - view towards house, looking north
Kambatik garden, Kuching.

Pink to light mauve flowers
Poui - Tabebuia rosea

 It was magic when I stepped into the garden this morning.  Looking south from the car porch I saw columns of light mauve and pink washes.  The Poui tree (Tabebuia rosea or previously known as Tecoma pentaphylla ) has began to flower.  I am always excited to see this tree everywhere I travel around Sarawak.  This is because of an envelope I received from Singapore that contained the seeds of this tree and from which thousands more trees originated in Sarawak.  The link to the story is here   .  At this stage the tree is not yet in full flowering, probably in a day or so it will.  The large bell-shaped flowers may be white or pink  depending on the form.  'Tabebuaia rosea' when it is pink and 'Tabebuia alba' when white.  In any form the colours are pastel and impressionistic and touching to the soul because underneath the tree you can have party (picnic) and consume the beauty of nature and its enriching qualities. Try.

Looking east

View looking west

Inside, looking out

How the years have gone by...

Front garden - 2009

Front garden - 2014, 16th August.

Front porch garden - 2009

Front porch garden - 2014, 16th August

Front side garden - 2008

Front side garden - 2014, 16th August

Gardening workout

View of front side garden, looking south-west.
Taken on 6 August'14

 One of the great fun of gardening is the exercise you get from doing some physical workout like cutting the grass, pruning leaves and branches, digging, sweeping the garden floor and burning the debris.  On this 49th trip to Kuching, we managed to clear a considerable portion of the garden.  One activity that is helpful in the clean-up is the burning of garden waste and debris for the preparation of burnt earth.  Burnt earth is a natural way to re-cycle garden waste to good use. A minimum two hours workout a day would be splendid for maintaining one's good health, something I treasure as we progress in life.

Burning garden debris, etc. for burnt earth is an effective method to re-cycle garden waste

Sunset to enjoy after a hard day's workout.

The Belimbing fruits are starring

Ripe starfruit a plenty

On this 49th trip to Kuching, the Belimbing fruits are giving us the best surprise.  There were many ripe ones to be juiced or blended.  However, we prefer to eat them raw, freshly plucked from the garden.  The Kedondong tree is also bearing some fruits but not as plenty as the starfruit tree.  The Pinang palm (Areca catechu) is bearing its first batch of fruits.  This tree was brought over from Bintulu.  There were many flowers that paraded themselves in the garden and a few were brought in to the house for a simple floral arrangement.

Kedondong

Pinang palm ( Betel nut palm) starting to bear young fruits

Flowers taken from the garden

The Mango tree is fully harvested

 At the side garden, the mango tree that bears hundreds of fruits are ready to be harvested.  I stripped the whole tree of fruits using a pole and a ladder.  I would bring most of them to Bintulu to be shared with family members and friends there.  Friends and relatives in Kuching have been given the fruits today.   It is the joy of sharing the mangoes that makes today meaningful and gratifying.  It is one of those moments in life when giving is done freely and heartily.

A delicious looking tree

View of side garden, looking south west
The Mango tree bearing lots of ripening fruits

Fruits is the main topic on this 48th trip to Kuching.  The Mango tree is full of ripening fruits, bringing much joy and hearty conversation.  It's a gardeners's well-paid labour in kind.  In the Kambatik garden fruit trees are an integral part of the edible landscaping or 'Sara lanskap' in Malay.  There are more fruits to be harvested and they will appear in the next few posts.

Colours in the limelight - Feb'14

Colours in the limelight...Red Ti (Cordyline terminalis)

Lipstick palm (Cyrtosctachys renda)

On this trip to Kch, we found that the garden is gradually maturing.  The abundance of colours are a real treat to the eyes.  Here's a few views that showcase some of the great colours into the limelight.

Yellow Bamboo (Schizostachyum brachycladum)

Red Cat's Tail (Acalypha hispida)