Red Lobster's Claws

I was thinning out some bushes at the vegetation island today when I bumped into a clump of heliconia strictas or red lobster's claws. The pleasant encounter gave me ideas for today's display.

Arrangement # 144

I was thinking if only these were real lobster's claws they would not stand a chance to look pretty. Probably will end at the cooking pot. Well, man or woman, cannot live by bread alone. Often we need need aesthetics to recognise God's majesty. So today I rest my soul in the warmth of nature's love as I am feeling pleased that my attempt to grow heliconias here as wild as possible has succeeded to surprise me. Without further ado, I say why not call this composition...S u c c e s s.

Red Fountains in the Sunset

The various colours that are seen at the front garden is something to be admired. Hues of orange, red, yellow, white, brown and pink are in harmony with one another. Of special interest today is the deep brown colour of the fountain grass ( Pennisetum setaceum ). I've made some cuttings of its inflorescence from the front garden just now, and will marry it to cuttings of the spiral red flag ( Costus woodsonii ) , pink canna hybrid and the red lobster claw ( Heliconia stricta ).
It was just a few months ago that I started to plant the fountain grass in my garden mainly for its colour and of course its magnificent inflorescence's (resembling long fountain sprays) that are produced daily.

Arrangement # 137

The reddish brown colours of the fountain sprays, red lobster claws , scarlet cones of the spiral red flag and the pink canna petals seem to blush in a glowing atmosphere. The colours remind me of an evening sunset and therefore name today's composition ....Red Fountains in the Sunset....( Sounds familiar?)

At the south garden, closer to the fence I have also planted a small cluster of the fountain grass which is barely seen at the middle ground of the picture above.

Canna Stop Loving You

There are three varieties of cannas that I grow in my Kuching garden right now. There are in colours of pink, red and orange. Today I have just made a cutting of the pink canna. With a little bit of help from the two reliable heliconia varieties viz heliconia stricta and latispatha, a simple composition is done.
Would like to name it..... Canna Stop Loving You.

Arrangement # 136

Hot on Heels

It was an interesting afternoon just now. I walked through my collection of heliconias at the Heliconia Valley area at my eco-farm here in Bintulu. The red hot 'lobster claws' (Heliconia stricta) sent an appealing look I couldn't resist. I had planted many varieties of heliconias here and many have established and attuned themselves to the environment that they are able to provide me with dozens of colourful bracts on daily basis. A respectful tropical garden should now have at least 10 species due to the fact that most varieties are easily obtainable from many nurseries or flower markets in Sarawak. The good point about the Heliconia stricta is that it has a long shelf-life. Secondly being heliconias they attract wildlife like the humming birds or the sun birds which sip their nectar or eat their tiny fruits.

Arrangement # 135

Today I was very occupied with work on my nexart exhibition. The strong colours of the Heliconia strictas stimulated me to express my eagerness and determination to make the show a success . I've less than 27 weeks to do so. In quick successive steps I plucked and make cuttings of the Red Hibiscus ( Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), Red Ginger ( Alpinia purpurata),Parrot Flower( Heliconia psittacorum) and lastly the striking Heliconia 'Sassy Pink'. My mind ran so fast that before I finished the composition, the title just kept on flashing my grey matter....Hot on Heels.

Red Ginger, Red Ti and Heliconias

Arrangement # 133

Having arrived Bintulu safely after a ten hours journey from Kuching by road on the 3rd of March, I felt inspired to do a little composition to indicate the free abundance of red colours in our garden today. From a clump of red ginger ( Alpinia purpurata) I cut a stalk of brilliant red terminal bracts arranged like a parasol. Next on the list were the heliconias, particularly the heliconia stricta with four emerging red lobster claw-like bracts and the orangy red heliconia latispatha with its characteristic green tips. To hold them firm in the glass vase I sandwitched the pastel red young leaves of the Cordyline terminalis or Red Ti and two variegated wild banana leaves ( Musa Hirta) . Since the materials were close at hand it took me less than 15 minutes to finish the composition. Fully satisfied, I call this arrangement....Welcome Back.

A Vibrant New Year

Arrangement # 130

The general theme of today's show is red, produced by the somewhat vibrant reddish colours of the heliconia bracts and the fiery red ginger. Added as well is the yellow bract of heliconia 'lobster claw'. I find now that the very young leaves of the Red Ti ( cordyline terminalis) to be a useful if not a definitive foliage for tropical cut flowers. How I treat the heliconia sassy pink is easy these days. Its long pendulous inflorescences can just be coiled and sunk into the glass vase.
For a vibrant show, I call the above composition... A Vibrant New Year.

Strong Hearted?

A clump of heliconia stricta which was cleared of surrounding grasses have exposed its many red lipstick coloured bracts which I thought should be cut and served separately. I have endeavoured to just exhibit their strong colours in the composition below.

Shall I call the above arrangement,'Strong Hearted?' Hmmm....

Colourful heliconia bracts

Being a Sunday morning I thought of taking it easy. I had an early morning walk to the back of my chalet that faces the jungle. While walking up the steps of the heliconia collection area I noticed the heliconia clumps seemed to greet me in full colours and rich splendour. Why not clean up the footsteps and let the sun shine reflect further the beauty of the heliconia bracts? Or so I thought.

In a moment's notice I rushed to get my gardening tools and with a zeal and enthusiasm I have not felt for quite sometime, I began scrapping the overgrown footpath from the bottom step and quickly moved up, step by step. By the time I finished the morning hours, it was time for lunch. Along the side of the steps are a collection of six varieties of heliconia, which I will describe shortly.

Heliconias make splendid cut flowers, not because of its flowers which are very insignificant and almost enclosed by the bracts but it colourful bracts. Herein lies its appeal. The bracts can be golden yellow, pink, orange, lipstick red or combinations of the these various colours and more.

My favourites? It's difficult to say because In my collection presently are twelve species. And there are hundreds more! Pressed further, I would say heliconia 'sassy pink'. I love its long pendulous string of pink bracts some one meter long or more. Then there is the dark red and the 'dare you try me' look of the heliconia stricta. I have two varieties of the golden yellow coloured heliconia as in the heliconia psittacorum species ( lobster claw or parrot flower) . Another striking variety I noticed this morning was the heliconia latispatha which have tiny bracts of yellow and red colours. At one corner I found the bright and attractive heliconia rostrata ( fire crackers).

Most heliconia bracts last long, some more than a week in a container filled with water. There are easy to grow. Requires shade and respond well to fertilising. Needs lots of water though.

My arrangements for today:

Arrangement #8


I had an empty round glass fish bowl in the store which I took out from its hiding place and made it to hold three short stalks of heliconia'sassy pink' as above.

Arrangement # 9

In the above arrangement I added the redness of heliconia stricta to the composition. In closer view, each inflorescence of the heliconia stricta has lip stick red bracts edged with green.

Below is the scene of my morning workout. At this one spot is a collection of six varieties of heliconia .