The Kuching garden in November'15

Pink to light purple bracts of the Congea velutina

Red relative of the Penda at the front
porch

 I feel very contented with the progress of the Kuching in November.  The curtain of pink to purple bracts of the Congea velutina provides a permanent wash of appealing pastel colours to the garden. Most plants have matured attaining heights that provide shade and home to the birds.  The latest regular visitor to the garden amazingly is the Pink-necked Green pigeon.  I saw a pair of them perching at the Poui tree (Tabebuia rosea) and then to the Eugenia oleina tree to collect the twigs from the latter for making its nest.  The front side garden is forever perfumed by the scented white flowers Great Frangipani (Plumeria obtusa).  The three Foxtail palm(Wodyetia bifurcata) have grown taller than me and begin to display its characteristic 'foxtail' fronds.

Scented white flowers of the Great Frangipani (Plumeria obtusa) at the front side garden

Foxtail palm (Wodyetia bifurcata) - with leaflets arranged in a spiral to resemble a soft brush or foxtail
Location : Back side garden

Pink-necked Green Pigeon at the Poui tree branch

Flowers after the rain

Plumeria acuminata

Bignonia magnifica

 The weather is Kuching on this visit has been rainy for most of the time.  It rains in the day as well as at night, though not as heavy as during the end of year monsoon rains.  As a result working in the garden tends to be cooler though the grounds are kept wet or damp most of the time in March.  There are many varieties of flowers that are featuring themselves now of which a few have been covered in the last posting.  To continue the series of flowering plants at the garden this month of March are the following.  Enjoy their beauty!

Senduduk (Malay) - Melastoma malabathricum

Ixora coccinea

The Malaysian garden defined

View of Kuching Kambatik garden looking north-east
25 March'15

Long purple
sprays of
Congea velutina

 The side garden is attaining the image of the Kambatik garden now.  The cascading network of long violet or purple sprays of the Congea velutina is a crowning glory to the Malaysian garden.  This plant has been trained to climb the tall 'Lumok' tree with its leaves providing broad shapes in the garden landscape canvas.  The flowers are actually small but it is the four petal-like bracts of the Congea velutina that provides the colour.  The garden too is a grove of various palms and columns of trees with attractive colours when in flower.  Striking foliage colours provide permanent colours to the garden in many hues from  pale yellow  to red .  The thick greenery around the house is home to a growing list of many nesting birds and fruiting trees.  It provides an inviting passageway to visiting birds, butterflies and many other representatives of the insect world by day.  This is the garden character that is definitive of the Malaysian garden which I have researched over a decade and defined as the Kambatik garden.  It is a garden sanctuary of wildlife, a micro world of the original forest once gone, a place in the sun where shade creates a micro-climate conducive to many passive and active recreation under the tropical sun and a source of edible fruits and medicinal herbs within an arm's length.  What more could Malaysians ask?
For those interested to know the full list of plants suitable for the Kambatik garden can check the plants lists which I have shared online in the following blogs shown below:-
( Note: The page views indicated below are as at 26 March'15.)
All the plants (4th Ed.)  -  10,608 page views
All the Plants (3rd Ed.)  -  203,442 page views
All the Plants (2nd Ed.) -   30,913 page views
All the plants (1st Ed.)   -  54,258 page views

Groove of palm trees makes the garden tropical and exotic.
View of side garden, looking north.

Common garden birds (Part 2)

Spotted-necked Dove or "Tekukur"  in Malay

 The trees at the Kuching garden are now nicely maturing.  Their column of green volume provides shade to the garden and home to many of the garden birds too.  The bamboo clumps are home to the Spotted -necked Dove and the Chestnut Munia.  The Eugenia oleina trees are home to the Olive-backed Sunbird.  Other birds are mainly day trippers. They include the Yellow-vented Bulbul, Brown-throated Sunbird, Oriental Magpie Robin, Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker, Asian glossy Starling. Plaintive Cuckoo, Eurasian Tree Sparrow and Zebra Dove.

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Chestnut Munia

Common garden birds

Asian or Philippines Glossy Starling.  These are adult birds. Resting on the branch of a Tabebuia rosea tree.

 The last two days was interesting.  I saw many common garden birds visiting the garden.  Chiefly among them were the noisy Philippines Glossy Starlings that gathered at the Tabebuia rosea trees and the Eugenia oleina trees.  They were kept busy by the fruiting Eugenia oleina trees.  The crowd of starlings were joined by many other species.  Others in the line-up were the Brown-throated Sunbird and Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker.

A female yellow-bellied Flowerpecker with a ripe Eugenia oleina fruit

A juvenile Philippines Glossy Starling

View of Kambatik garden, Kuching.
17 March'15

Kuching garden in 2015

Red Cat's tails in the garden.  Garden is maturing.

Brown-throated Sunbird

Dragonfly

Back in Kuching for the year 2015.  The garden looks matured. More stories and pictures to come...