Courtyard Garden

It was a beautiful morning when, accompanied by the photographer, I reached my assignment in Pantai Hills. Nestled at the foot of a hill, the house had a large wooden gate that opened into the parking area. I was briefed that this house has an Islamic concept garden, so it was not a surprise that there was no sign of the garden. I presumed that it would be a secluded garden.

As we walked through the gate of Encik Azizan and Puan Zarinah's home, there was a welcoming sound of water that broke the stillness of the morning. Walking up the small steps of stairs towards the main door, I cannot help but admire the water feature on the wall spouting water into a small pool below. A fishtail fern hangs above the water feature and the entrance to the main door had luxuriant greens such as the philodendron and macathuri palms in pots and containers.

Vandalism

Vandalism, it seems like it is the 'in' thing now. Everywhere we go, we vandalism: a spray paint here, a broken telephone there. The Government has spent so much to give us the luxury of tranquil picnic parks and easy to use telephone booths. It has spent millions to maintain these parks and to clean up other people's mess. Some think that vandalism is caused by teenagers; some say young adults who have no appreciation of the environment create these messes. In truth, no one knows. I have a sneaky suspicion that both groups of people are responsible. Anyway, going back to my title, can vandalism be an act of boredom? I strongly believe it may be so. Some teenagers and young adults have a little too much free time. Or can it be a cry for attention? Is there a need to express oneself to the world? Is vandalism a result of peer pressure that requires one to prove that one is a 'raging rebel'. So many possibilities!

Lawn Maintenance

We continue our maintenance series with our Lawn maintenance. When starting a garden a proud houseowner would normally have a lawn in mind as part of the garden. To ensure that the lawn require minimum amount of maintenance apart from cutting the grass we ought to know what grass we are planting. I started my first garden with a little lawn planted with 'cowgrass', of unknown origin. For the next one-year we had to constantly pull out weeds especially the mimosa that hurt the little feet running around the lawn. Dr. Shukor gives us the various grass options. Although these are mainly grown for the greens in golf courses they would surely give us a lovely lawn.

Hanging Basket

At my last visit to my daughter's apartment she produced a package she bought at a garden centre. It was a complete set of a kit for a hanging basket! Her aim was to have a kitchen garden and since her flat is a studio apartment she only has a French window leading out to a small balcony. A hanging herb garden is indeed a good idea and the kit came complete with compost...