Enchanting Roses...light pink rose!

Decided to go to Sg Buloh this morning. It has been a while since my last visit there. Kay (my friend) and I headed to Lot 61, Paling Horticulture, Sg Buloh. We are great fans of flowers! It's always nice to have someone who is passionate about flowers to go with. Of course, we both thought of just "cuci mata" and to see what's new.

Then, suddenly...my eyes caught upon this beautiful rose. Truly enchanting with its pure light pink color and faint sweet subdued fragrance..hhhmmm. I just need to close my eyes and breathe in delight. Intoxicatingly pure and warm scent :)

It's just too bad that no one at the nursery knows the name of this rose :(

Such a beautiful piece....

If you know which species this rose belongs to, do enlighten me!

I never thought I would end-up bringing this masterpiece home since my garden is still infested with 'leftover' pests. But it is too irresistible and temptingly adorable. And it costs only RM10! Who, in their right frame of mind, could resist this?

As a precaution, I didn't put this plant in the garden right away. I placed it on the shelve of my bathroom and sprayed with "Baba Tenen D25" natural insect repellent all over its stems and soil. After half an hour, I put it by the window of my utility room. The weather was gloomy with heavy rain, but the air was cool. Not to mention the cold breeze that comes with it. Great start for this rose.

Even if this rose would not survive for long, I decide to take a lighter approach to it. I will not stress myself out unnecessarily, like I did in the past. I know I have enjoyed the beauty of this rose and appreciate the pleasure it gives me :)

After all flowers are created to bring out our inner sense of happiness and not otherwise ;)

The houris will be smiling in her sleep tonight...for sure :))

Roses versus red ants!

Pest, pest...and more new ones! This time it's the red ants. Those tiny ones and they were attacking my yellow rose plant. Poor rosie..my favorite, one and only rose in my garden! Not spared even by the tiniest ants. This is more than once it is being 'attacked' in 2 months. Just when it is about to recover from the previous 'invasion', now this. Trail of ants burrowing down its main stem into the soil. Why? Did the fat worm die? Were they going to pay their last respect or plainly put, wallop the dead meat!

What shall I do? No more pesticides, that's for sure. Took me awhile to decide and then presto! To open up the dense soil and see what's going on inside and then opt for new soil. NOoooo! I'm not going to do it myself. Surely do not want to encounter any 'surprises' wiggling out from the soil.

So, off I went to my favorite nursery at I-Vision in Tropicana, Petaling Jaya (next to Riana Green condo). The weather was nice. The owner, Angie, a pleasant lady and her workers were happy to see me again. Has been quite a while since I last came to buy plants here. When I told them my problem, they agreed that changing soil would be best. This is the beauty of this nursery, excellent customer service! The owner is always around not only to assist you but to answer whatever questions you might have, unlike other nurseries. And the workers Abdul and Norbi, both immigrants from Bangladesh, have worked here for more than 8 years and are very committed in their work.

They recommended that I use compost soil, best for roses. Really..I'm a novice with roses so I agreed. Abdul removed the dense soil from the pot and saw nothing. Only when he loosened up the soil, was the picture clear! Tiny red ants all over! About to build a nest! Thank God my timing was perfect. I watched him removed all those affected soil and then put in new compost soil. He then mixed in a white powdery substance into the compost soil as well as on the inside of the pot. This would deter red ants from coming again. Phew! It was a big relief to see aid coming to rescue my sweet rosie.

I also brought with me two plants in polybags, for potting services. Initially, I plan to get plastic pots as it is lighter and easier to handle. And I don't have to worry about strong wind knocking them over because it is after all an indoor garden! I do rearrange the pots regularly.
But look what I got instead! Glazed ceramic pots! See picture below. This nursery have very nice selection of pots especially those glazed ones and I couldn't resist myself.

My bonsai now has a lovely 'house' 

Can't resist the pastel turquoise color! Pot costs RM13 and black pot stand cost  RM11

Smaller two-tone pot, pastel green color at top and brown at bottom, costs RM10

What a lovely sight to feast the eyes!

By the time I reached home and started rearranging the pots in my garden, a sense of happiness and satisfaction set in. Not only did I manage to save my rosie but also give a new hope for it to grow stronger and flourish. I don't know about you but plants do sense our feelings towards them. I know some people talk to their plants, I do also at times :)

The Houris would like to share a few thoughts on pot stand. Besides elevating the plants off from the floor and makes it more accessible to direct sun, it also makes cleaning the floor area very easy. As you can see from the photo above, the wall restricts full sun exposure. Pot stand also saves a lot of backache for me..haha. I do not need to bend down so much, something which I try to avoid at any time. I would rather sit down on the floor comfortably if some work need to be done on the plant or the soil.

SubhanAllah, thank you God for blessing my garden and bringing it back to life. I know I will sleep well tonight. And thanks to you for dropping by.

I'm so excited..and I just can't hide it

Remember The Pointer Sisters? They sang the song "I'm so excited". If you grew up in the 70's, just like me, you are no stranger to the song and its singers. And it will bring smile to your lips.

I am so excited today. So excited that I just can't hide it! Guess what? My yellow hibiscus and yellow rose, which was badly infested with disease, bloomed this morning!! It was unbelievable, really. There were new shoots too growing from the dried almost barren like diseased parts. I just kept staring at it for a long moment and then said a little prayer of thanks to the Lord who made this miracle. SubhanAllah!

My garden has revived! I must say there's a lot more to be done to purify the air surrounding my garden. But for now lets enjoy these beautiful pictures I took this morning.

Simply beautiful pose 

Stigma is hidden

The yellow rose too made a brave bloom despite the mites attack. The flower size is smaller though. Its okay for now :)

The houris thank the Lord for this healing touch and look forward to more adventures in her tiny garden. And what do you know, the houris was dancing to the tune of Irene Cara's hit song in the 80's (again..!), "What a feeling".

How it all started...

never thought i would be gardening, now i am

never thought i would have a blog, now i'm writing on it

-the houris-

Going down memory lane....
I have always loved the smell of fresh fragrant flowers. I would go to the florist every week to pick out some nice sweet scented fragrant flowers for my home. But it got more expensive by the week and at times it was  inconvenient for me to get out of the house just to replace those wilted ones.

Then I was wondering if I could have fragrant flowers in my home without ever having to leave home. 

My mind was telling me to start planting fragrant flowers at home. But where do I plant them? Will it survive? I live in a high-rise condominium with no balcony. What seems to be like a patio at the end of my living room was framed by huge windows. I looked at it with the strong sun soaking in it from morning till the afternoon everyday and realize therein lies the answer. Gardening by the window! I had doubts, of course, but I had to give it a try :)

Come, come, whoever you are,
-Rumi-

Welcome to my Garden!

It started with 3 pots of plants (jasminum sambac, evodia and yellow rose) stacked on a bench which I bought from Ikea and placed at the corner of my patio. The 4th pot (orange jasmine) had to sit on the floor because it was too heavy, and also no more space on the bench. 

After 3 months, the frenzy of having more plants set in :)
I guess it happens to all garden lovers! And what do you know?! My garden expanded!! There were more than 10 pots! Can you believe it? I can't either but that was it. 
The bench had to go to create a softer look. Not to mention the curtains! All gone for the love of my garden.

See what I mean...

Close-up view of the garden at the center of my patio.

I have enjoyed gardening ever-since and never looked back. The houris has left her magic touch in every plant that I brought in. I wish I could move to a house where I could actually garden to my hearts content. But for now, I thank God for blessing my tiny garden.

Now, lets have a closer look at all the flowers which have bloomed beautifully in the houris garden, shall we... 

"Murraya Paniculata" or commonly known as Orange Jasmine

Locally known as "Kesidang" or Bread Flower

Our local rose, known as "Ros Kampung" in yellow

Pentas or Egyptian Star Cluster

Plumeria Cultivar Rubra (pink)

Hyacinth in lilac

Mona Lavender

Angelonia (purple) or Summer Snapdragons

Daffodils

Our national flower, Hibiscus, in yellow

I wake up every morning to the sweet smell of freshly-bloomed fragrant flowers in my garden. Dream come true, really.

So, if you live in a high-rise condo and have passion for gardening, the houris have this to say, 'go for it'. All it needs is direct morning sun and plenty of tender loving care. Don't worry if you have a green thumb or not, actually, does the term really exist?

The houris can't help noticing the similarity fragrant flowers have on spirituality. Among flowers, the most fragrant ones are the ones in white. Highly spiritual people are usually very 'fragrant' people. They carry pleasant smell and people found themselves attracted to them. Their hearts are pure just like white flowers, with no black specks of dust. And their faces beaming with Divine lights or 'nur'.

Have a good day and may God bless your garden!