Aryani, A Garden By The Sea

I have always wanted to visit the resort in the East Coast, a little hideaway called Aryani, built by the well-known Malaysian architect  YM. Raja Dato’ Kamarul Bahrin Shah Bin Raja Ahmad Shah. When the resort was first built we heard that the owners planted serai wangi or Cymbopogon nardus  around the chalets to deter mosquitoes from disturbing the guests. It sounded really eco friendly and I wanted to see the effect. Since we have not featured a beach garden before, this resort would be interesting for us to see how a beachfront garden would look like.

It was not easy to spot the entrance to the resort as the signboards and the entrance gate from the main road were rather muted compared to the glaring signboards of the other beach resorts. We made it through the road to the main house after missing the entrance and turning back again.

Sansevieria - The Plants of the Future

Sansevierias have a rich history of folklore and new science. We know this plant as the Mother-in-law’s tongue plant or Lidah Buaya (crocodile’s tongue) in Malaysia. The name refers to its very long snake-like leaves (hence, it is commonly referred to as the Snake Plant) and sharp pointed tips.

Sansevieria has a large number of unfamiliar but very interesting species. There are apparently approximately 60 species indigenous to Africa, Arabia, India and Asia. The identification of the genus has changed from family to family over the years, starting out as Liliaceae, then Agavaceae, and finally (at least for the moment) showing up in the fairly newly established family Dracaenaceae.

Tenom Gardens - Assemblage of Floristic Beauties

Sabah is blessed with many natural heritages that are worthwhile a visit. In the heart of this “Land below the Wind” lies a small town called Tenom that boasts of various agricultural products with its orchards and vegetable cultivation. Here is also the home for the Muruts, one of the diverse ethnic groups of Sabah that live in communal longhouses and carry out traditional hunting skills using spears, blowpipes and poisoned darts. About 15 km from  Tenom town is an area of about 1,500 acres that holds a remarkable collection of plants from many parts of the world.

My first visit to Tenom Agricultural Park or better known as Sabah Agricultural Park is through a field biology course. The park is one of the visiting sites during the course excursion in Sabah. Through personal experience, a visit to the place is truly a life-enriching one. Indeed, the development of such park was initially inspired by the national agricultural park at Shah Alam. It took about six years of development before it was officially launched on March 25th 2001 by the former Prime Minister as well as the patron of the Society, Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Since then, the park have showcased Sabah’s rich agricultural heritage and served as a training and demonstration centre with respect to agriculture, horticulture, apiculture, seed technology, forestry, fishery and animal husbandry.

Balcony Orchids - Some Useful Things to Know 

Orchid growing should be fun, and more so, when your garden is confined to a balcony. Though the growing conditions are rather different from those found at ground level it should not be too daunting a task growing beautiful orchids in a highrise environment. So here are some tips to get you started.

Be Observant
Before you start putting your plants out, determine the direction the balcony is facing, and study the passage of the sun. Observe how much direct sunlight you get on a daily basis, and where exactly does it fall. Is your balcony fairly bright throughout the day, or is it well shaded by a high wall/trees/neighbouring buildings, etc? If your balcony is on a high floor, does it receive lots of strong wind? Is it close to major roads, and thus subject to some pollution? Is it well ventilated? The answer to all these questions would determine what plants you can grow – and more important – flower, and flower well.