The Geisha

I was taking a walk at one of the vegetation islands behind my chalet yesterday. I noticed a clump of Licuala palm ( Licuala spinosa) in its prime best. I took a stalk of its broad fan-shaped leaves for the day's cut flower composition.

Licuala palms grow best in humid and filtered light with rich humus cover for its roots. As such they are ideal plants under a forest canopy but not in potty environment. At my farm I find that the tallest ones are now reaching 4 meters. Locals here use the leaves to wrap food or thatch them to make sleeping mats or sun hats.

Their wedge-shaped leaves look fresh and deep jungle green in colour. To provide a refreshing contrast to the composition I add two stalks of the frangipani or plumeria flowers ( Plumeria obtusa).I like to use them for they are scented and the flowers will last for a couple of days when other buds slowly open up to the world. By cutting the leaves edges in a staggered formation I achieve the effect of movement.. The plumeria flowers being white and gentle in colour like the lily indicate gracefulness and the green leaves connotes growth . The slender glass vase and the outspread leaves look like a Japanese geisha in kimono. Thus, today's composition is called......The Geisha.

The Glow of Plumeria Obtusa flowers

Arrangement # 119

The large white flowers of the plumeria or Great Frangipani ( plumeria obtusa) stood elegantly above its green glossy leaves had me captivated as I walked pass them in my garden today.  A small breeze made them sway in the wind. I looked at them twice, thrice and decided  to make them the subject of today's display.

I held the flowers' stalk firmly inside the small glass vase by wrapping the stalk with the Red Ti ( cordyline terminalis ) leaves as if it was clad in a 'sarong'. The Red Ti leaves stole much limelight from the pure white and silky colours of the plumeria. Therefore to soften its strong fiery presence I added in the stiff orange and lighter red bracts of the parrot flowers ( heliconia psittacorum).

To conclude today's presentation I name the composition...Glow with Me.

The Fragrant Great Frangipani

Arrangement # 112

In ten minutes can you disappear and come back with a composition?

Well this afternoon I took that challenge. With the decisive secateur in hand and a mind that said "Yes, Can Do" I dashed into the garden outside. A nice bunch of plumeria blooms ( plumeria obtusa) and interchangeably referred to as the Great Frangipani became my first target. Quickly I remembered the many banana bracts around and thought one would do fine . To add just another sexy or sassy touch for that matter, a stalk of the heliconia 'sassy pink 'joins the merry party ( For me at least). That's it composition done. I've come back in ten miuntes as promised.

The title.......Sassy Fragrance.

P.S.

In Malaysia, remember not to present a dear friend with the Great Frangipani flower inspite of its marvellous fragrance and subtle qualities. The Malays call it 'Bunga Kemboja' and is grown mainly at temples, mosques or graveyard sites. Its connection to the metaphysics and spiritual world is most acknowledged. Lest your friend misinterpret your message, your gift of meaningful perfume might mean your desire for him or her to vaporise earlier than sooner to the spiritual world.

Fragrant White Flowers

Arrangement # 96

White fragrant flowers. This seems to be the theme today. I collected blooms of the  gardenia, plumeria and spider lily and have them tugged inside a yellow drinking glass, the ones you can plenty at the RM2 shop nowadays. I chose yellow to reflect the yellow core of the plumeria bloom.

Then I accentuate the height to match the over topping spider lily flowers by inserting the colourful orange bracts of the heliconia.  Composition-wise I am happy and would leave the display at that. Pure and simple , without any pretensions. All the blooms chosen are fragrant, some ooze out a sweet soft scent like the spider lily (Hymennocaullis caribaea) while the plumeria ( Plumeria obtusa) sometimes called the Great Frangipani produces a strong and quite heady scent.
Today people in Malaysia plant the great frangipani in modern contemporary gardens to get back to traditional roots and for the aroma therapeutic effects it is believed to offer. For example, soak the gardenia and jasmine flowers in a towel and place it around your head, in no time your headache is forgotten. Hmmm....can try that. For the perfumery I have at my room right now, I name the composition...Perfume Blossoms.

Vibrant Colours of Heliconia Bracts

Arrangement # 76

When I arrived Bintulu yesterday  ( 27/8) it was dark and rainy. Couldn't see much and there wasn't time to make my daily cut.  I thought sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. The very fact that I arrived Bintulu safely after a ten hours land journey was something I should be thankful for. Therefore I slept last night tired and grateful.
Today's composition was done late in the afternoon after about a half day's shopping,meeting friends,checking my postal office box, banking matters and most of all to repair my computer and handset modem that had went a bit haywire. With every thing in place, I set about to have my pick for the day.  By one turn of my shoulder, I saw heliconias in various colours stealing my attention.
Without further ado,  two varieties were chosen. Then I made a cutting of a mild pink canna.So the three goes into a rotten tree trunk, which became my favourite tall container for quite a while now. The above picture captures stage one.
Stage Two:

The heliconia 'sassy pink' with its long stalk and some of its pink bracts removed was made to circle around the rotten trunk suggesting an entangled affair. The top section of the display's space was occupied by the bright orange heliconia latispatha. Such strong showing of colours I thought need to be smoothen and given interest. Therefore I added a few blooms of the jasmine ( jasmine multiflorum)
Stage Three:

Finally to conclude I added scent to the composition by throwing fresh white and fragrant blooms of the plumeria ( plumeria obtusa).

Feeling happy and much pleased, I call this composition .....Red Twine in the Sunset.

The Great Frangipani

I will not do justice to this plant if I don't provide sufficient information about this tropical beauty. The Great Frangipani is always white in colour. Other varieties are also available in colours of yellow, pink , red and combinations of them. To my mind , however, the white variety is most appealing to the senses as a result of its extra strong scent.

This morning I woke up early to catch the early blooms and was surprised to see the frangipanis exhibiting their best . I plucked two branches with a handsome cluster of flowers at its terminal ends. Rushed back to my chalet. Found an old sea shell. Turned it upside down and pleased to see the result as below.

Way back in the 17 th century, a French botanist by the name of Charles Plumier had journeyed to the tropics and described various species of this plant. The botanic name 'Plumeria' is therefore a recognition of his studies. This plant is one of the easiest plant to propagate and grow.

Take a slightly old branch, preferably a meter long, hang it to dry its sap for a day or two before planting it in a soil mix of damp sand and peat moss. Do not water too heavily or else the succulent branches will rot . Once established fertilise them with a rich compost and decayed manure.

In Sarawak and Malaysia for that matter, the great frangipani loves the open sun and rain. They flower continuously and just recently have gained a big following among gardeners here due to its evergreen quality and heavy clusters of white flowers that they freely exhibit the whole year long.

Besides ,the white frangipani has gained a certain degree of spirituality due to its focal point and prevalence in the Balinese garden concept. Overall, I love frangipanis for its fragrance, its showability ( I mean showy character) and ease of maintenance.