Bowl of Creepers

Sunday morning ( 6 June) is normally a day of rest for me. But somehow this morning I feel energetic and would not waste the cool and cloudy early morning hours whiling away my time. I therefore decided to clear some woody climbers around the chalet that have become unruly and out of control. Two climbers became my target. First, the Bignonia ( Bignonia magnifica) which has mauve- pink flowers that are bell - shape. I had them planted over the bird's aviary which is located by the southern side of my chalet. It is a vigorous climber. The flowers are large and showy, but wilt immediately if plucked. This remains my morning challenge. How to keep them good all day?.

Next, the Maiden's Jealousy ( Tristellateia australasiae) which has just started to establish itself on a wooden pole nest to the huge yellow bamboo clump. The Maiden's Jealousy is a slender climber and thus very suitable for chain link fence, pergolas or trellis. Its small yellow flowers are arranged in pyramidal sprays. I love them because they are free flowering and regularly producing big yellow masses of colour

The mauve-pink colours of the Bignona are very compelling to me and always seems to catch my attention. I was thinking, how do you put interest into them ? First mauve- pink is close to purple in colour and the next thing I think of purple is ' purple heart'. Then , again yellow as in the 'Maiden's Jealousy' invoke the very strong emotions of jealousy. What if you combine the two emotions? How could they become interesting? Water always add interest, I thought. Why not mix them in water?. Without much ado, I immediately set my foot indoors to look for a bowl that could sufficiently accommodate a few petals of Bignonia and Maiden's Jealousy and Jasmine . Below is how it turned out to be. This view taken from top, shows a frangipani flower added for that special interest and symmetry and also to magnify the small white flowers of the Jasmine. Thirdly, the frangipani provides a lively contrast to the whole composition and a lot more fragrant.

Arangement#26

Below is the bowl in its first stage with the Bignonia flowers floating in it. This alone is already a finished piece,I thought. However on second thought, it may appear too plain. Therefore I decided to add other flowers at make a contrast of colours interesting.

Bignonias are believed to be originated from Colombia, but grows very well here too because we enjoy the same tropical climate and lots of sunny days. ..I name the completed piece... Bowl of Creepers.

Happy, Happier, Happiest

Remember that old rustic, ancient and seasoned stump like my 'Levi's' jeans kind of look? It has the tiny bird's nest fern in it already planted about a year ago. Today I add the brown bracts to it. I am kind of happy with it.


Then I can't stop admiring the beauty of the tristellateia flowers which are blossoming in great quantities in my garden right now. Therefore I added them to the composition. Now I am a lot more happier..

Then, of course the orangish bracts of the parrot flower ( heliconia psittacorum) which is just a step away from where I was doing the arrangement never seem to give up drawing my attention to her. Thus, she find her way somewhere in the middle of the stump where a tiny hole kept it in stable position. Now I think I am happiest with this arrangement.

Glad to name this composition.....Happy, Happier, Happiest.

Arrangement#25

Small present

It has been raining in the farm today since lunch time. By the time I returned from Bintulu town to perform my Friday prayers, I had very little time to walk around the garden . The ground was wet and the sky dark. So I thought of something small in scale to do in the quickest time. When I came across a curry leaf tree ( Murraya koenigii) my mind was certain of what to do. The reddish small oval fruits are like fresh fruits that I normally bring to my parents on Friday, except that these fruits are exceedingly small berries. Curry leaves are aromatic and very much used in local curries.
Why not make a composition representing a small present? With that concept in mind I moved fast between the garden shrubbery and in ten minutesI have gathered white jasmine flowers, yellow flowers of tristellateia, a red hibiscus flower and the yellow and red bracts of heliconia species.
Arrangement#24

I had the whole composition placed on my study table. With a bit of light and colour editing I had the arrangement done and photographed in thirty minutes. I call the above arrangement....Small Present.