Coleus, Pink Frangipani and Costus

This is the fifth variety of coleus that I have in my Kuching garden right now. Coleus plants with its very colourful leaves are a respite to the evergreeness of our tropical gardens and I think they are a must to be planted . Other species that can give the masses of colour to our Kambatik garden are like the caladium, cordyline, psederanthemum, irisine, pisonia and mussaenda among a few.

Arrangement # 125

Here three varieties of the coleus ( solenostemon scutellarioides ) are placed inside a glass vase which is hidden by the mini 'tambuk' . The red terminal bracts of the costus woodsonii are added in to add variety. Finally I add perfumery to the display by throwing in the flowers of the pink frangipani ( plumeria rubra).
Surprised at the rich variety of colours I name the composition....Magic Colours.

Delightful Sarawak

Arrangement # 64

Waking up early to a Saturday morning, less rain, I felt somewhat elated.  Saw the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics 2008 last night live on RTM 1. What a dazzling show it was. The moment I stepped out of the front door the heady sweet scent of a white ginger blossom ( Hedychium coronarium ) pricked my senses.
This particular bloom was next to a clump of wild bananas that are at present flowering and fruiting too.  A unique combination of events that I thought would be the subject of today's arrangement.
Moving around the garden I saw a small stalk of golden eranthemum ( Pseuderanthemum reticulatum ) in partial bloom.  These two blooms would make it to the table today.
I placed the two blooms and a couple of young variegated wild banana leaves into a mini 'tambuk'.  At the background I placed a favourite batik painting of mine which shows an Iban design motif. For a unique mixture of sorts, I name this composition....Delightful Sarawak.

Sarawak Delights Series

It is raining this morning here in Kuching. And today is memorable to start something new. Today the 2008 Olympics begins in Beijing, China. Therefore I will start a new series themed 'Sarawak Delights' in this weblog that will showcase Sarawak handicrafts that can be used in conjunction with floral displays.

View of my front garden in Kuching. To the right is a dense collection of wild bananas.  To the left are the broad leaves of calathea ( Calathea lutea)

Kuching is the capital of Sarawak, Malaysia and it is one of the best lanscaped cities in Malaysia.  In my opinion, the whole Kuching city is just like one big oversized botanical garden.  But it is more than that.  Kuching is rich in cultural heritage that is based on the forest and ethnic diversity. In Kuching you can easily sample all the various handicrafts of the peoples in Sarawak by walking through its hundreds of handicrafts  and sovenier shops along the Kuching Waterfront.

In my collection at the moment is a piece of bamboo 'coin box', a bamboo weaved container and a 'rattan' woven mini 'tambuk' ( which is a Bidayuh term to mean a carrying basket). These will be used in today's presentation.

Arrangement # 62

I have placed the bracts of heliconia, costus and calathea inside a glass and then fit them inside the mini 'tambuk' ( which is sold in Kuching as a sovenier).  In the above example, I have removed the pink bracts of heliconia sassy pink to expose the beautiful green tips.

Arrangement # 63

Finally, I placed two Sarawak handicraft items, the bamboo 'coin box' and a bamboo woven container next to the 'tambuk'. I would like to name this composition....Sarawak by Design.