Showing posts with label Philodendron Imbe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philodendron Imbe. Show all posts

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Sansevieria trifasciata- Mother-in-law's Tongue

Sansevieria trifasciata, commonly known as Mother-in-law's Tongue or simply MIL is a popular houseplant. Its thick succulent leaves can withstand prolong period of drought.

MIL leaf blades against a background of Philodendron Imbe


Whether planted in the ground or in a container, MIL thrives happily. Sometimes they revert to a form where the yellow edge is not present as seen in the single clump in front.


A Pygmy Grass Blue (Zizula hylax pygmaea), with shreded wings perched on the tip of a blade. 


 Sometimes the leaf blades lose its yellow margins as in this particular one.


A pair of sparrows attempted to get in between the succulent leaves for reasons still unknown to me. Are they getting into a tryst or attempting to build a nest?

Crossing borders from sharp leaf blade to leaf blade was not an issue at all.


This is the dwarf version with the leaf blades arranged in a rosette. I cheekily gave it the moniker, 'Daughter-in-law's tongue'.


This is the plain Jane, "Daughter-in-law's tongue' with no yellow stripes.


These Daughter-in-law's tongue are used as landscape plants with an ixora hedge at the back.

It is my favourite indoor plant as it can stand neglect. This is placed on the first floor landing where it can get sunlight streaming in from the staircase window.


This pot of MIL's Tongue has being at the same spot on the staircase landing for around 3 years and badly needs to be repotted and spruced up.


Tasha likes to scamper up the staircase ahead of me and turn back to watch my slower ascent. I have to find a way to indicate to her that there's no competition, as I do not wish to fracture any bones in my body.


Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Impatiens walleriana - Buzy Lizzie

My last post which on Argyreia nervosa (Elephant Vine), where I follow it skywards as it scrambled up the wall. For this post, I've decided to be more down-to-earth and shall feature one of my favourite bedding plants; Impatiens walleriana. It is extremely easy to propagate from cuttings. We simply pinched off any leggy stems and stick them into some potting material. Within a few days, it produces blooms as fresh as ever.

The moniker 'Busy Lizzy' for this plant is most apt as they flower almost non-stop. Masses of flowers are produced at low height, making them good bedding plants and excellent for use as ground cover.

Here in the tropics, it tends to wilt a little by late afternoon, so I plant them under the shade of taller plants such as this shrub of yellow Pachystachys lutea (Lollipop Plant, Golden Shrimp Plant). Here they thrive happily on partial shade and fitered sunlight. The Philodendron Imbe at the back slowly encroah on its space.

Peachy orange with dark green leaves.

Some have lime green foliage.

A variation is Powder pink flowers. This has sprouted in between some Caladium leaves.

A tiny Zizula hylax pygmaea (Pygmy Grass Blue) reposed contentedly on a leaf.

A juicy caterpillar of the Common Lime strangely ended up on this flower.

A grasshopper on Alpinia purpurata stem overlooking a bed of Impatiens.

 The Magdagascar Periwinkle complement them as low border plants for a grassy pathway to the pool.

Monday, May 27, 2013

The Sunbird Thief and the Denuded Stake

The Olive-backed Sunbird (Nectarina jugularis) or Kelichap Bukit in Malay are very bold birds that freely build nests in my garden. One day while photographing some flowers I heard rustlings nearby. As I moved towards the source of the sound, I discovered the mystery of my denuded plastic stake used as a support for the Philodendron Imbe. The covering of coconut fibres was frayed.
 
A female sunbird was so absorbed at plucking the fibres that she was totally oblivious of my presence. In fact I was only about eight feet away from her. The upperpart is dull olive-green while the underpart is all yellow.


With flapping wings, it jerked some fibres out of the stake with ...


its long, slender, decurved bill.

It then flew off and

 

landed on another part of the stake.



to tug at more fibres.

After more inspection and pecking, it flew off.  I suspect that it would come back later to pick up the fibres that it dropped.


 These unstaked Philodendron Imbe simply just sprawled invasively all over the flower bed, killing off the competition from other flowering plants.

 
The male sunbird appeared contented to leave nest-building to the female [as in humans, always so good at multi-tasking ;)]. Here, it's perched on a Thunbergia Grandiflora vine to take in the garden view. 


Thunbergia Grandiflora

 
The forehead, throat and upper breast is metallic blue-black contrasting with bright yellow underparts. The upperpart is dull olive green just like the females. The feet are jet-black.

 
The male Olive-backed Sunbird is more colourful than the female which does not have the metallic blue colouring.

 
The orange-red semi-double Hibiscus rosa sinensis.

This clump of Cyrtostachys renda (Lipstick Palm) form the backdrop for many bird activities. it supports the vine and also provide palm fruits for the bird's consumption


The base of the clump of Lipstick Palm sustains the growth of many Davalia denticulata (Corsage ferns).



Friday, November 2, 2012

Blogger Award


My thanks to Rosemary at Tales from my Garden for this nomination. To take a leaf from her webpage, its *BLUSH* all the way. 

Like Rosemary, I'm also new to awards. I was nominated earlier on for another gardening award but was clueless about what to do, so I let it pass. But in keeping with spirit of blogging, this time I thought I'll make an effort to accept. The task: I have to mention 7 things about myself and also nominate 15 other bloggers.
 
My List:

1. Flora and fauna fascinates me

Dawn dropwing dragonfly perched on bamboo stake.
Carpenter bee hovering over Thunbergia grandiflora.



  

2. We love our mutt to bits.

My neices, Charmaine and Charlene trying to put on a striped T-shirt on Tasha when she was a pup.
Tasha donning her 'Superdog top'

Tasha is terribly fond of rope-play and constantly on the look-out for playmates. While she runs after the rope, her sparkling blue bell tinkles along.


  3. Books can make me lose my precious sleep

 
I've watched all episodes in the First Season of 'The Game of Thrones'. As the DVDs for the Second Season were still not available at HMV, I decided to go for the book.

 

I've shelves of books which were obtained for a steal at 'The Big Bad Wolf' booksale. Foliage here is Philodendron Imbe.

 

4. I wield the needle to de-stress


These two pieces were my first attempt at embroidery. They were done more than two decades ago only during lunch time.

This cross-stitched piece was also a lunch time project.


5. At least once a year, I go footloose and fancy-free

Ta Prohm Temple at Angkor, Siem Reap 
 A stranglehold embrace by the deep roots of the ficus trees.

Newgrange Megalithic Passage Tomb, Ireland 
At dawn on the Winter Solstice, a shaft of sunlight penetrates the passage to light up the chamber for 17 minutes.

  

 

6. I love Music of all genres 

The ipod is a nifty gadget for thousands of songs

  

7. I tend to be adventurous when it comes to cooking. 

Recipe books are constantly trawled through for interesting recipes. New dishes are tried out with modification and customisation. Family members are the beneficiaries or guinea-pigs as they would like to be called.

 

There are many other bloggers who are deserving and which  I wish to nominate but they have already been spoken for, attesting to the popularity of their blogs. You know who you are out there.

List of nominated bloggers in no particular order;

1.  James Missier - http://jamesmissier.blogspot.com/

2. Autumn Belle - http://www.mynicegarden.com/

3. Stephanie - http://stephgreenspace.blogspot.com/

4. Breathtaking  - http://breathtaking-blog.blogspot.com/

5. African aussie - http://africanaussie.blogspot.com/

6. Ngeun Sysengthong  - http://ngeunsysengthong.blogspot.com/

7. Stardust - http://stardustenglishwriting.blogspot.com/

8. Giga - http://giga-wszystkooogrodnictwie.blogspot.com/

9. Bernie H - http://berniesgarden.blogspot.com/

10. Jill - http://www.sweetlifegarden.com/

11. Daylily Soup - http://www.daylilysoup.com/

12. Birds bees berries blooms  - http://birdsbeesberriesblooms.blogspot.com/

13. Zapach Piwoni - http://zapachpiwonii.blogspot.com/

14. Ummuaidan - http://oursimplegarden.blogspot.com/

15.  Pieces of contentment - http://piecesofcontentment.blogspot.com/


 

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