Nor's Paradise

Gunakan laci lama sebagai bekas menanam

2010-07-12T02:32:00.000-07:00

Mungkin kat rumah kita ada laci lama ( paling elok laci kayu) daripada kabinet atau almari yang kita tak nak gunakan lagi. Daripada dibuang begitu sahaja kita boleh gunakan laci ini sebagai bekas untuk tanaman. tebuk lubang pada dasar laci untuk saliran.Kita juga oleh gunakan laci ni sebagai tapak semaian.

Plants in the drawers.

2010-07-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

we might have old wooden drawers to scrap. This wooden drawers can be use as a planter for our plant. Drill drainage holes in the bottom.We can use the drawers for rooting cutting.

Food of The soul

2008-12-21T20:57:00.000-08:00

Let me share with you one story that i've read many years back. It came from a book: Chickensoup for the gardeners soul. The title was: Iva mae's birthday. The writer told about a friend name iva mae who was so poor and not even have enough to live. They're living at the prewar era and poor people were everywhere at that time. so one day iva mae invited her classmates, including the writer for her birthday party.they're so excited but when they reached iva mae's house, her mother was so shocked as se's not aware about the birthday party. she dont even realized that the day was her daughters birthday.

But to cover the things up, she start to bring out all food that they store for the winter and have a simple party for the girls. They're having so much fun.

Later, iva mae's mother bring them to the garden. inside the garden there were a bed that used to grow a flower, Zinnia, instead of vegetable and crops.So the write asked ivae may why her mother wasted the space by growing zinnia while at the same time she could used the space to grow food. Iva mae's answer to the question keep on dwelling in my head till now everytime i remember this story. She said my mom said, ooo... that one is the food to our soul.

After the rain

2008-05-14T07:54:00.000-07:00

Hi ... i'm back again...looks like the passion start to develop again after a quite some time of hibernation period. It's like about a time back to start to examine every single leaf in your garden for a trace of bugs or grasshopers bite.Come back to my ownself and...huarggghh... sleepy..will continue some other time

Nyummy nyummy barbados cherry

2008-04-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

Oh gosh.... it has been almost a year since the last time i update this blog. Busy with life, busy with Ceri barbados ni memang best..rasa excited nak tanam sebab rupanya yang sebijik ngan ceri yang kita selalu guna nak buat kek tu. It's some kind of good feeling when you can grow something that you can see in the supermarket rack in ur garden. Ni dia gambar ceri barbados tu. kalau nak tengok maklumat tentang ceri barbados ni ada aku update kat melur.com:

http://www.melur.com/myherba.asp?plant_id=277&cat=HERBA

Down

2007-08-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

I just finished my conversation with one of the MARA officer from penang Mara headquarters. It is very dissapointing dan de-motivating, destructing.... i Felt sooo...down... oh my God... this is the person the goverment placed to motivate Malays in Business? No wonder we are still the same after all those years.

Sebenarnya MARA memang bagus, the mission, the vission, the service all good and benificial. Infact MARA help so many people achieve their dreams...Cuma orang-orang cam ini yang men'spoil'kan MARA punya mission.Is this the reason why penang MALAYS are always dalam dilema?

To be honest, this is the first time i contact MARA to ask consultation for my business,and perhaps it is the last. Here's my conversation for your own judgement and review...:) eventhough he sound so friendly, yet the conversation itself is useless, fruitless and what-ever-less.

me: Assalamualaikum...can I speak to ***** **** ***?
**: Ya bercakap.
Me: Tadi saya ada tanya receptionist dan dia suruh saya cakap dengan encik pasal ...

( he interupted without waiting for me to finish my words, sounds like he is so busy to talk to me...come on...i thought its their job to help?)

** : Pasal apa?
me : saya ada tanya , tapi saya tak tau nak pergi ke mana (what i mean is i dont know who to ask)
**: hah?... tak tau nak pergi ke mana?
me: maksud saya saya tak tau nak tanya siapa , jadi saya harap Encik boleh tolong.saya ada business nurseri pokok online...
**: hah kalau nurseri , jangan tanya MARA, kena tanya jabatan pertanian, mardi dan seumpamanya untuk bimbingan. Bila mula bukak nurseri?
me: saya rasa....
**: mana boleh rasa-rasa, buat business tak boleh rasa-rasa.
Me: maksud saya saya mula serius sekitar hujung 2004...
**: kat mana tapak business sekarang.
Me: ya...sebab tu......
**: Mara cuma berikan pembiayaan , selebihnya peniaga kena cari sendiri.
Me: ya saya faham,buat masa ni saya rasa saya tak perlukan bantuan kewangan lagi, saya cuma nak tahu kalau MARA boleh nasihatkan saya kat mana saya boleh dapatkan tanah....

**: Mara tak boleh sediakan tanah... yang tu peniaga kena cari sendiri, sewa sendiri.Takkan semua nak harapkan Mara.Kalau semua nak harapkan MARA teruklah... Kena la usaha sendiri jugak...

At this point , I already lost my hope.This is the first time i called them.They way he lectured me was like i've ask him so many time b4.it's quite difficult for me to understand the way this fellow think, more accurately, the way he behave.

Whatever I do after this, insyaallah i'll never ask consultation from them again.This is really dissapointing. I thought they are good, yet they are so arrogant and always look down to other people.Why? Are they to busy to entertain ikan bilis like me? Or they thought everybody called MARA just for their money? Please la...I called them because i still remember , in one of the course they organized the very same person said, you can always get consultation from MARA , it is not necessary money but anything to help you to operate your business .That's why i did called them.I need help now and i need it desprately but i dont know where to go.My business is expanding and i need guidance, motivation, consultation, or whatever you call it.Money alone will never help me, and for now, even it's tough i can still survive on my own.

Me: Tak pe la... Terima kasih

So i just hang up.I feel so stupid to call MARA and let them jeopardize and ruin my spirit and excitement.In the last few weeks, i keep on thinking to meet them personally and have some chit chat on my business, but since then, forget-about-it.

Prior to this waste-my-time conversation, i did called PERDA and they were good and full of encouragement.Eventhough in the meantime they cannot really help, but at least they some idea on what to do next, which is very helpful.The officer treat me with respect, even congratulate me for having a spirit to do something different.At least i was motivated after taking to them.

Next time if I need help, i know where to go, and it's definitely not to the same arrogant guy.

Well for those who like to know what I do, feel free to visit my page at:

http://melur.com

and remember : Everything starts small !

2007-08-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

Corn tree,sometime knows as iron tree or botanically known as Dracaena fragrans is a very popular indoor plant.Infact we can always stumble with it in almost every office.The behaviour of the plant that need less attention compare to other indoor plant make a perfect choice if you are not a plant lover.

Originated from West Africa, the plant has made its way around the globe. Belong to agave family give corn tree an advantage as it is very strong can tolerate a wide range of climate.the plant prefers low light and high humidity.

The wide leaves are long and arc gracefully from the stalk.The huge and strong stucture of the stem and leave turn it as an attractive green furniture to your room.Dracaena fragrans belongs to Agavaceae family, the same family agave, yucca and joshua plant.Same like others in agave family corn tree too can stand the dry zone.Though in its optimum condition the plant can grow until 20 feet tall, but normally as a houseplant the normal height of this plant is between 4 to 6 feet tall.Ovet time the plant loses lower leave revealing bare stem.D. f. ‘Massangeana’ is a popular cultivar that features a wide central yellow stripe on each leaf.

In tropical climate , it is quite difficult to see corn tree blooming. the flower somehow, very attarctive with the special fragrant any flower lover will treasure.To flower, the plant must be a very mature plant.It should be at least more that 6 feet in height.The flower stalk s emerge out from the center of tthe leave whorl and will extend untill almost 3 feet.the The fragrant is very strong , you can smell it even it is more than 100 feet away, especially in the evening. The fragrant normally will last more than 1 week or even longer if it is keep in the office or well protected environment.

Some people believe that the plant will die after flowering.Well, it is not true as the plant will keep on growing.Cutting the flower stalk when it wither is a good idea to boost up the groth rate.Propagation is simple, it can be done through stem cutting.Eventhough the plant bear fruits(berries type) , normally it is propaged using stem cuttings.If you notice that the leave turn brownish it could be because of to much or too litle water.Eventhough it is a tough plant, sometimes mites can get attracted to it.

When the small become less smaller

2007-08-05T19:34:00.001-07:00

everything starts from small... i remember this was what i said when somebody from an establish MLM network look down into my small web page , mainly on herbs info 3 years back.The guy...accused me of not having a vision, don't dare to dream big and cursed me ...:) that i will stuck there forever. Well.. now more than three years on the road i still remember what i said..and still believed that everything starts from small....

now when it become less smaller (forgive me for the grammar), more and more people start to visualize a vision that i put years ago.I have one stand that i hold closely to my heart. If you cannot do what you like, like what you do but if you cannot like what you do, try to do what you like.hehe... it's not a tounge twister though...that's what i do ... try to develop something that i love with my heart soul into a money machine...(though now the machine is not fully functioning yet).

For all the support and backup..... i really want to express my gratitude to my beloved husband for believing in me, for strongly stand besides me through thick and thin. For always put his faith in me when others not.For keep on telling me that i'm heading to the right direction and the day of glory will come. To my three lovely daughters that have to spent most of their weekends watching CDs and doing homework in the car,I hope i'm not torturing them.I hope they can understand everything i do, i do it for their own future.(At least they should be grateful that i never left them at home by themselves like most busy mothers will do)...And i hope too... the days of struggling will be over soon. Insyaallah

haha....my blog entry today is so sentimental...anybody cries?

What is rich

2007-07-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

Last night my eldest daughter ask me:

" Mama, what you will do when you rich,are you going to do the same thing,wrapping things for people?"

She asked when she saw me so busy wrapping all the customers order for this week.This few weeks are such a chalenging weeks as i have to coop to my paid job, my master degree and my side business(http://www.melur.com).

Rich...is so subjective...when i first graduated and heard some seniors can earn at least 2 to 2.5 k a month..wow ..that's a big money..never think about it.Then when i start work at a pay of 2700/month 2500 seems a very small amoount of money.Life is getting tougher when you have to coop with your marriage,newborn baby , new house, new cars and so many new commitment.Bak kata orang melayu "besar periuk besarlah keraknya"

so what is rich...? Now ten years have passed since the first time i hold my first salary with pride.Money is never enough but The most important thing is to seek for keberkatan of that money we earn.Never think litle about those who is less fortunate than you dan always willing to give.For me ich is when you can help people around you and never think yourself as rich.

Gloomy days

2007-05-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

I feel so tired. All the energy has flow to my paid job that slowly dragging my attention from other thing. Sometime i wonder what is the priority in life? huh... live to work or work to live? The only good thing that happen last week is another one of the few plants from my husband US seed has bloomed.I think this flower is the prettiest among those which has bloom.So far only 4 out of 6 has bloomed.Have a look on the picture. It is know by the scientific name coreopsis tinctoria. the common name is golden tickseed or some call it calliopsis.The flower last quiet long. It can still beautifully bloom for more than 2 weeks.Seed is produced from the dried flower.It is an annual plant and will flowering between june to september.

below is the wikipedia link for golden tickseed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coreopsis_tinctoria

I really love the color and shape...savy...:)

God's gift

2007-05-22T02:45:00.000-07:00

Gift from god
When i was young, to be exact when i was nine and above after dad's business colapse , life was very hard , we survive mainly
on food from nature. we got the protein from fish that we caught from nearby bendang or taliair.Vegies from nearby bush.
Things that always made mum worried was what if we run out of rice, sugar and salt.The rest , we can always found it somewhere
around.
One of my favorite vegetable was / is pucuk pulut musang as my mother call it.My fathers kampung folk used to call it kerak
nasi or kerak-kerak nasi.It is a small plant, so much resemble to a very popular ornamental plant, chinese evergreen. Infact
, the first time i saw the chinese evergreen i thought it is the pulut musang plant and until now i still wonder, whether the
young shoot of the chinese evergreen can turn into a very delicious and mouth watering vegetable as the pucuk pulut musang
is.Never dare to try, perhaps i should i try it... who knows...:)
the part from the plant that can be cook is the young shoot.My mother used to cook it into a very delicious soup.She pounded
the black paper, grilled fish, shallot and garlic together. While pounding the ingridient, she told us the story when she was
young.My mum is the youngest among her siblings.When she was young she used to follow her father travel from place to place,
open new land, in the jungle.Along her journey she learnt many thing about various kind of plants which she always told
me.That's how i develop my interest in herbs and plant.My mum is like a walking plant library for me.
back to the delicious soup.After pounding the ingridient, she boiled it with water until the vegetable got tender.Any other
sayur kampung cannot challenge the sweetness of the plant.
recently when i visit one of my herbs collector, the pakcik show me this plant which he call pecah kelambu, i've saw a few
plant that is called pecah kelambu befor.Some even call galak tua (stemona tuberosa) as pecah kelambu too. but this one
really rang a bell in me.After more than 15 years i never see this plant , it is really like a deja vu for me. It's like you
see an old good friend...hehehe... too much? but that's how i feel...The pakcik told me ... this plant should be the woman
best companion.. why? because it is very beneficial to increase woman sexual desire ...(hahhhhh alamak , really??? , i have
ate so much of this plant during my young days, is there any side effect?) especially for the elder woman. the effect,
according to him is almost the same as kacip fatimah (No wonder the fruit looks almost the same...any direct relation? dont know...
:P)
Then, a litle chat with dad also gave me knowledge that this plant also can cure hemarrhoid(buasir).According to dad , one of
my aunt recovered from her severe hemarrhoid after drink the soup everyday for a few weeks.HOOOO.... it's so beneficial... i
never know...the only thing that i knew last time is it tasted good.
so i grab a few bags an try to nurture it in my garden.One thing about this plant is you can never expose it to the direct
sunlight.In a few days it will....die.You need to grow it under the shade or under a tree as the original habitat is in the
bush.
The great thing that i should always remember is Allah is great, with HIS Love and guide we (me and my siblings) grow up
healthily and happily during the very hard time in our life.Alhamdulillah.No matter how far we go or how many types of food
we eat, the food that give us life is always the most delicious food ever.
enclose is the picture of the plant botanically know as Terenia polygonaides

Bunga Mayang Sari

2007-05-04T00:51:00.000-07:00

Here is another snapshop of the white fragrant Flower. Please help me with the name of this flower

The flowers name is mayang sari

White Fragrant Flower

2007-05-04T00:33:00.000-07:00

It's quite sometime since my last blog.It's not i'm lazy or busy (since both words are so subjective...:). Perhaps the new layout and interface of the blog make me sick...Hmmm... it takes time to get use to this new look.

so today... here i am again, with new flower. I dont really know the name of this flower but i really love the smell. Wanginye....I try to figure out the name from friends and few other newsgroup. All that i found out is some of them said the flower is from genus Duranta (which i doubt it so much as the leave is totally different) The flower looks alike though....Some of them said it's duranta repens. The only duranta Erecta that bloom in my garden right now is deep purple in color...It's from the hybrid called "Geisha Girl". In contrast with this one, the purple duranta has a very mild smell (almost cannot be detect at all).

So i think this is not Duranta. Some said it is also called Bunga sundal malam... a typical Malay tag for the flower that has a strong fragrant at night.Some said it is called bunga kerak nasi..like bunga kesidang also called bunga kerak nasi.

so until i finish my quest for the real name for this white lady... do enjoy the picture...

greenest regards
Nor

Kesidang (vallaris glabra)

2007-03-01T18:44:00.000-08:00

my kesidang (vallaris glabra) is blooming. Every night when i reach home, the rich sweet pandan smell is in the air. Some people who like the pandan smell will really love it.My mother hate the smell, infact she said the smell will trigger her migrain. The smell of the kesidang flower is said to be resemble to the rice smell, describe why in nothern region of Malaysia it is called kerak nasi which literally means rice leftover.The flower also known in western as bread flower, perhaps because of the white color? hahh... just my wild guest.

Kesidang is a climber which make it a very nice companion to your trellis or pergola.It can be easily propagated by layering technic.Layering can be done by pull the branch until it touch the ground or the medium , then put something heavy , like a brick on the branch to make it always touch the ground. after +- 2 weeks, new root will come out for the part that touch the ground. Cut the branch and plant it somewhere else. It can be grown in a pot too...Other way to propagate is grafting. although stem cutting will grow into new plant if you are lucky, by the chance to stem cutting to root is quite low. A little help from root hormone might increase the chances to survive...:)

The leave is quite big, from a far it look like mango leave...:) the leave surface is shiny.Kesidang leave can easily turn yellow and drop if you give not enough water, esp in dry season like now. This the kesidang photo from my garden... Really love the clean white flower with the unique petals and the smellll.....so refereshing....My mother will hate me for this. Next time when she come to visit I'll make sure no buds is allow to bloom....:)

p/s: kesidang is said to be the symbol of malay folks, whic always rich with adab, budi bahasa dan kesopanan.

Do you believe in healing effect of the Gemstones?

2007-02-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

I just bought a new bracelet, made from garnet gemstone, the seller claimed that this stone has the healing effect such as it will make you feel healthier and has more evergy.I never believe in this kind of thing. They said scientifically the vibration of the gemstone molecule will make your blood run smoothly. Though never believe in this theory, i bought it because i really like the color. Look at the photos, nice color ...emm??

I've been wearing it for almost a week now, and the funny thing is , every single night after wearing it i never feel tired. I can cook, do laundry , housekeeping , water my plant, monitor my daughters with the homework....etc, etc... I just feel wierd, but i dont want to believe in a thing without a proof. so i start my self-research in the internet ,and this is what i found....

Garnet in Mental HealingBecause of the shared similarities in physical and compositional traits, the garnet family of stones (for the most part) also share similar healing properties. In light of the above, the different colors and different chemistries of garnet varieties allow them to have some healing properties exclusive to that particular crystal. Green garnets, such as Tsavorite (a form of grossular garnet), some Andradites and African Jade (also a form of grossular garnet), are associated with bringing peace, pureness of thought, unobscured mental capacity, and creativity. Green garnets are another of the healing crystals that bring aide in meditation and focus. Orange garnets, such as Mandarin, orange Malaya, rare shades of Spessartite, orange Almandites and some Grossulars, are associated with energy of commitment. Orange garnets help an individual to solemnly dedicate themselves to any endeavor that captures the need for awaited attention. Purple-colored garnets like Mozambique and Grape possess the tenacity to make subtle anxieties and stress brought on by worry and unrest. They also make stable a mind that is not otherwise regulated. The most common form of garnets readily available and more commonly known are the various shades of red. Red garnets, like many red crystals are associated with passion. Though many red stones are found to heal the slings and arrows that love throws our way, it is not necessarily the sole healing function of this and other red healing gems. Along with being a gem the ignites and refuels the red fires of passion and romance, it also sets ablaze the inner fires of self-confidence, creativity and reflection. Since anger causes the body's physical temperature to increase, the opposing fire of positive energy from which garnet burns, can be used against tantrums and episodes of angst. Garnet has also been identified by healers as another of the vivid dreaming stones and one of past remembrance. The Garnet family, in general mental healing, is a jewel of life, love and purity enhancing vitality (the life force), commitment in indecisiveness and sexuality. It's regenerating and warming attributes help it not only to cleanse and renew, but also help to comfort, protect and inspire.
Garnet and the ChakrasWith respect to the Chakras, garnet is readily associated with (2nd) Centre and the Base/Root/Spine (1st) Centre. Garnet not only clears the blockage of negative energy from these areas, it also is used in the healing and enhancing of the activities that occur within and via the centre. Within the realm of the 2nd Chakra (that of the Navel/Sexual/Spleen), garnet has many functions. It acts as a vehicle for the passion and spirituality that are involved in emotional character of sexuality to communicate and influence the physical aspects. It aides in administering both healing and romantic energy when levels are low or difficult to obtain. For this reason, garnet is a healing stone for those who desire a spark in an existing or in beginning a relationship. It has also been highly utilized in helping to heal and energize those who feel they have been sexually weakened (by self-consciousness or other means). Physically some have used it to aide in relieving the negative energy that blocks the sexual centre related to infertility. As a stone of sexual power, garnet acts to renew, awaken and heal the sexual centre. For the Base/Root/Spine (1st Chakra), garnet helps by absorbing energy from locations in the body where there exists surplus and filters it into a fresh and positive energy that is very usable and stimulating to the Base. It not only stabilizes the foundation, it also arouses and initiates energies related to peak performance in life.
Physical HealingGarnet's emotional and mental healing associated with purification, regeneration and warmth also carry over to it's qualities of physical healing. As a healer and protector from toxins, garnet is recognized as a remedy in the body's fight against food poisoning and blood toxicity. It is also known for aiding in treatments against infection of the kidney, lung and facial (irritations, inflammation and blemishes) and area. The garnet family is also an aid to therapy for disorders of the heart (including low blood pressure), bones and spine, blood, pulmonary and even sleeping disorders. It has even been noted to provide gallstone relief and also work down to a cellular level. Because of it's warming energies, it is also used therapeutically for frostbite, aching muscles, arthritis and other discomforts relating to the joints. In early history, recordings of garnet use to treat jaundice and yellow fever were made. Today, garnet is still used by healers to treat fever and even balance antibodies and hormones.

from http://www.jewelrysupplier.com/2_garnet/garnet_healing.htm

and somemore .....

GarnetGarnet is a stone of romantic love and passion. It is used in metaphysics to enhance sensuality, sexuality, and intimacy. It is said to bring positive thoughts and boosts energy, and be excellent for manifestation. It can also assist mystically with success in one's career and building one's self-confidence. It is also a protective energy stone which is especially effective for protection from evil, and is used for gentle spiritual healing. Lore says that garnet can heal the blood, heart and lungs. Garnet is associated primarily with the root chakra, but also with other chakras depending on its color.

from: http://www.crystalsandjewelry.com/metaphysicalproperties_g.html

which never really explain it scientifically.

as a muslim, i avoid believing in anything that can be consider 'khurafat'. I just dont know , and want to know whether this thing really work and how it work?

Gaillardia

2007-01-30T16:58:00.000-08:00

Haaa....at last i manage to find out the name of the flower that my husband brought back from US.This one is better known as gaillardia(nice name and it suite her...:)) I use to mention flower as her as i feel that 'it' is too harsh.The scientific name is gaillardia aristata. The name is drive from a french botanist name , Gaillard de Marentoneau. This plant is easy to grow in any variety of soil, provided that it is free draining

Nor's Paradise

2007-01-10T16:48:00.000-08:00

My kampung life

It is a pleasure for me to talk about my kampung life.As a kid i am a hardcore kampung girl.I was brought up in a small village in kelantan.My house is surrounded by a mini jungle.When i was young , there was a rubber plantation around the house.As the rubber tree was getting old and produced less latex, My father cut it off and sold it to the furniture maker.

I remember when i was young the bushes around my house was my playground.With my sister(2 years younger, now a doctor in terengganu) and brother(4 years younger, working here in penang in one of the MNC company) we explored every inches of the bushes. Our snack is rather simple...hahaa..we use to chew buah kenerai/cenerai, the small green berries produced by a small tree.The fruit is useful as bullets for our bamboo gun too....Or sometime we just chew pucuk kandis ( yarghhh.... its really sour until you can feel the pulling effect at your jaw...) with pinch of salt.It's like you're chewing a buble gum..... you suck the liquid away and spit out the hampas...:). One thing i really dont like about this pucuk kandis(garcinia spp.) is it will give you a bitter taste that last for quite sometime. other snack are buah mata ayam(ardisia crispa), buah samak(euginia palembanica) and buah kerian.

with a group of friends we used to play police sentry at the bendang there.There were a few time when one of the midwife in my kampung ask us to pick the rumput jarum Emas(striga asiatica) for her as one of the ingridient for the afterbirth medicine. She paid us rm0.40 for every grip of dried jarum mas, which was a big deal for us at that time.So instead of playing police sentry we kept racing for the jarum emas, which sometime turned into fight....:) some have scars to prove that...(grin)

i have sweet memories of catching fish, swimming in the swamp, rolling over the hill of grasses and paddy straw.Sometime when i close my eyes, I still the smell the grass, the paddy field and the mud.There was one time when i catched a snake with my bare hand, mistaken it for a fish.Litle that i know that the snake also in the same mission as me, try to catch the fish for dinner...:)

life was hard...really , really hard, but when i look back, i just remember those old sweet memories.We used to enjoy our sweet time, lying down on the field watching the sky and try to figure out the cloud shape. But watch out!!!...while lying down my mother said you should not let the eagle fly over you or you will be a dead meat.Hahaha... now i know my mothers bluff just not to let us lie on the ground and dirty our shirts, as we dont have many.

I guess that experience brought me up to be what i am today. Even i've been living in the city for more than 10 years, i still crave for the kampung life.My husband is the opposite, he has been brought up in the city and used to stay in city for the whole life.

i'll talk more about my kampung life next time... till then ...bye..

The single layer gardenia

2007-01-08T19:39:00.000-08:00

Hi...

it's me again...Last few days was really hectic for me...My eldest first days in school. going back to my hometown on the 2 past weekend and not sure whether have to go back again this weekend...Hmm... it's have been some time since i want to talk about my single layer gardenia. Well... most people know gardenia, the white fragrance flower that resemble the roses. But i bet not many people ever see this single layer gardenia. It's really a gardenia, with the smell and everything except the flower only has single layer.Normally we keep on looking for multi layer flower. but for me, single layer gardenia is even more pretty and unique( i like to use this word to describe it...:))

The behaviour, propagation, sun exposure is the same like multi-layer gardenia. It can keep on crazilly blooming if you expose it to the full sun light. Just don't forget to water it sufficiently. Here's the picture of my single layer gardenia. Enjoy it...!!

San Francisco 2

2007-01-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

hi...
Today is my daughters first day at school... thing going quite well for her and i can see that she's quite independent. Perhaps because she was raised up in the day care since she's 1 year.Time fly fast and without you know it,you have to go through the moment and keep on dwelling on how much you have missed. I felt it's just like yesterday when i hold her for the first time and now she's already in school, playing joyfully with her friends.Hehe... dont want to be so sentimental ... it's early in the morning now...:) , just 5 am, everybody is still sleeping.

hmmm.... raising up a kid is like growing a plant. you have to really handle it with good care, nurture and give your love unconditionally.

Actually i want to talk about my san francisco 2 that has bloomed during my raya haji holiday. when i cameback here, i think it's has been blooming for a few days.Looking from the condition, may be the flower can last up to 2 weeks. The petals is very nice, eventhough i do not really like the color.I will search the actual name, and let you now.for te time being may be i will call it bunga alani (my eldest daughter name)... sound quite okay rite...? It's gonna be a tough quest as i dont really have clue for the name, not even the family. and attached here also my san francisco 1, it has been blooming non stop from the last blog till now,

Till some other time.... bye

The Lawn

2006-12-21T21:53:00.000-08:00

Haa...remember about my taiwan grass that i start with 2 pieces of grass bought from the pasar malam near my house? It's growing quite well eventhough the growth is kind of slow. This is the picture of my lawn in august, and another picture of my eldest showing off her hoolahoop skill on the lawn one sunny day in December.With the startup cost of RM10, this lawn is something that i can be proud of...:)

Sundal malam

2006-12-21T21:38:00.000-08:00

Apparently with razr v3x phone camera, the sundal malam (mistress of the night) is not so enchanted at night, have this first until i manage to capture it during the day time , it means weekend only, as i reach home when the night fall almost every day. Will post you more picture this coming weekend...chao...

The nicely bloom tuberose

2006-12-21T21:32:00.000-08:00

Get the picture my tuberose in action.I keep quite a number of tuberose of better known as pokok sundal malam at my compound as the demand of it is very high. Infact it is the hot cake of my 'nursery' aka garden. The one night, after reached home from work, the smell took over the place, a very nice and sweet smell, it's spooky too.... remind me of the tale of pontianak...hehehe... a few pots of tuberose are blooming and in action.enjoy the picture from my garden.

Jasmine as a climber

2006-12-15T13:28:00.000-08:00

last weekend , while wandering in one of the Nursery here i found a very intersting jasmine plant.I know jasmine is a climber but this one is very special ( may be for me only) with a dark green glossy leaves and long crawling stem, ready to grab, and beatiful bunches of very sweet sell flowers. I grab a few bags for my own nursery. It looks easy to propagate.After along search and map of the picture and character of the plant in the net, lastly i found that the botany name of this plant is Jasminum polyanthum. It is a vine and can be nicely groom into shapes that you like.For those who want to enjoy the beauty and fragrance of this plant may order for my product page at: melur.com

Nor's Paradise

2006-12-11T04:31:00.000-08:00

my eldest daughter nursery is having a school holiday program and ask me to teach those young fellow how to garden. She's so excited that mama is going to tech her friends so she keep on talking about it the whole week until saturday when my second daughter infected with conjunctivitis. Then , she became so frustated and scare that me and her will get it too. Luckily we are still save when the day came and she's so happy and eagerly help me with all the pots and garden tools....:) Proud of her mum....hehehe...i still remember when she's small when somebody ask what's her mother occupation, she would always said that mama grow plant...:) some even guess that i'm a gardener...:)

I hope that my daughters will enjoy gardening as mush as i do and as much as my mother do.well.... it's a trait in the family i guess....:)

Nor's Paradise

2006-11-24T08:33:00.000-08:00

my san francisco 1 keep on producing more and more buds. the growth is quite fast as now we're having a rainy season here in penang. It's raining everyday which ocassionally turns into a very heavy downpour. During rainy season, it's good that you dont have to water the plant everyday , but some plant require a lot of attention and care during this season. My pokok sundal malam (tuberose) have to place under the shade as to much water can make the bulb rotten.

Huargghhhh.... i'm going to sleep now. Today is very tiring, we stuck almost 4 hours in the trafic jam.i left my office at 6.15 and reach home at 11.00. of course we have our dinner first. I really hate penang today.....i wish i can go and stay at some greener place like cameron highland....hmmmm...:)

Cempaka telur / Dwarft magnolia

2006-11-23T23:37:00.000-08:00

Today my cempaka telur( dwarf magnolia) is blooming. This is one of the three plants of this kind that i keepin my garden for a year plus.The plant can't grow high 'cause i plant it in a small plastic pot, the pot that i get from the nursery where i bought the plant. Many people call and ask for the flower for come unknown medicinal used, actually i never ask...;) . To know more about this plant you can visit my herbs website at http://melur.com --> cempaka telur.

my cempaka telur, it's really looks like an egg right? but the fragrance is not so strong, indeed you have to get it very close to your nose to smell it...:) some people really looking for the flower for medicinal purpose, something mistic i guess... hehe, who knows?

Flower from San Francisco 1

2006-11-09T22:05:00.000-08:00

Hmm... rememember about the seed that my hubby brought back from San Francisco? the flower really bloom already today and i manage to snap the picture this morning, it's still quite dark and the petal is still not fully open, i'll snap another picture tomorrow. Looks like i become obsess with this flower. It took about 3 weeks from the day the bud come out until it bloom. At first i thought it is just a green round flower without the petals.Personally i feel that the flower is really beautiful, the colors is somewhere in the midle between deep red dan brown. it looks like velvet and so rich. Here's the picture of the plants transformation from seed to the sweet bloom. I'm so happy today.....:)

Nor's Paradise

2006-11-02T01:44:00.000-08:00

The plant that my hubby brought back from san Fransisco (its san francisco, not texas actually) is going to bloom sooner. I can see the bud is getting bigger now.perhaps it's going to bloom before the weekend. this is the quick snap of the bud.It's quite blur as the day is till dark. 7.00 am in the morning.

The Red Big Gerbera Daisy

2006-10-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

Hi,
Yesterday I manage to snap the picture of my red gerbera daisy. It has been blooming for months but i just dont have time to capture the beauty of it... hahaha...every day the earliest time i reach home is 7.00 , and with all those busy weekend , i never have time for my own leisure time with the plant except for watering.

the picture is quite blur as the day was getting dark and i'm in hurry as my hubby keep on calling me to prepare for buka puasa...:).The plant is really easy to grow, just that some people dont dare to keep it because they feel that the plant as beautiful as this sure ask for a lot of attention, but the fact it, you just water it, feed it it will be enough for it. And the best part is, it is very easy to propagate, the seed will come from the dry flower, and you just sow it and you will get a lot of new plant. I did that last time and i got more that 10 pots (actually i can have more if i have more pots) which i gave to few friends.

and it can be use as cutting flower for your dinner table flower arrangement. With proper care it can last for almost 2 weeks. What i did was i cut the flower, then fill a glass with tap water(filtered, no more chlorine...:) then add 2-3 table spoon of sugar...yes... normal sugar. Put the flower in the glass for a very simple but beautiful flower arrangement. you can add fern leave or few strand of ivy to make it nicer.

next to my gerbera daisy is an exotic wild plant from texas. I dont know the name, so i name it texas1 , texas2,etc....:) My hubby bought the seed on his recent trip to US.Luckily it is doing well and keep on growing. will talk about it next time, perhaps when the flower bloom... hopefully.

2006-10-04T23:28:00.000-07:00

Hi,

this is a snap of my beatiful pink lotus (teratai). The scientific name is Nelumbo Nucifera.However, this plant has become a history in my garden. My litle Syafiqa has pulled everything out , never left even a single stem. It has died brutally after years of leisure in my small pool. hahaha....Lucky that i have still keep the photo as a proof that i have successfully plant a beautiful seroja.

The rooftop vegetable garden

2006-08-31T04:59:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking of growing my own vegetable.something easy to grow like pak choy or sawi or spinach(bayam). I've a lot of seed that i used to sell through my webpage (melur.com). So why not i start my own vegetable garden. But i need a space. I dont want to sacrifice the yard just for the vegetable but the backyard is to small and i cannot grow anything there.

The only choice is on the roof of the porch.It can be access through the master bedroom , through the balcony.it's roof again....hmmm... so i need to find something light and suitable for roof top garden. I just transplanted it this afternoon after sowing it in the sowing tray for the past 2 weeks.

i'll tell you more once the plant grow....

The pink Rose

2006-08-26T03:02:00.000-07:00

This is on of the the most beautiful flower in my garden. Not only beautiful, it smell good too.I plant it in the pot in front of the house.

unknown flower

2006-08-26T01:18:00.000-07:00

This is one of the flower that stay with me for many years, from balcony to the garden and yet it still generously produce the flower continously.It was given by a friend (catherine) many years ago when i first join my work place now. One time it died because i think i put too much fertilizer, but luckily the bulb is still there. I manage to make it grow again (by god's willing of course...haha...)

please tell me what is the plant name...any name ...anything that i can refer to this plant rather than ' the orange flower plant with the brown leaves and bulb'

Jasminum Sambac

2006-08-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

Jasmin is one of my favorite flower.Jasmine or Melur in Malay language is a sweet smell with flower belong to a shrub herbs. Now you know why i choose melur.com as my domain name.

I have 2 var of jasmine at home. duke of tuscany and maid of orlean. Between those 2 the latter has stronger fragrant than the former.I plant jasmine in pots in my front garden.Jasmine is actually quite easy to grow. you must make sure water is sufficient and to ensure it blooms more expose it to the full sunlight. I'm living is a tropical country so sunlight all year round is not a problem. I give the jasmines flower inducer once a months. I cut the old stem ( where the flower drop) once a month so it will turn bushy.And to encourage it to produce more flower , harvest the flower frequently ( this is my tips and my own belief...:) you can call it mitos)I believe if we appreciate the plants, they will know how to return the favour back.... hahaha...I pick the flower every day after coming back from work and put it in a bowl of water. This can make the flower release it scent throughout the night.

And jasmine is good for your heart too. You can make tea from jasmine buds the same way as lavender buds. Pick the buds before it blooms and let it dry naturaly. After 2 or 3 days your can keep the buds in air tight container. Just add 2 or 3 buds to your cup of tea. It will strengthen your heart plus it can cool you down from a stress day.

Malay old folks always keep the jasmine flower in there 'bedak sejuk' container so the 'bedak sejuk' will smell goooooodddd...Bedak sejuk is a traditional malay cosmetic made from rice.The rice will be soak in the water for months before the water will disolve it into a tick paste.The tick paste then will be drop on daun pisang and left to dry under the sun. When it was fully dry, bedak sejuk will be kept in air tight container. the water have to be change regularly until the rice start to disolve ,so it will never produce a stink smell ...which is very2 stink. when i was a kid i try to make my own bedak sejuk but i forgot change the water for almost a month, and i can tell you i'm almost vomit when i open the container. That's my first and last attempt to make the bedak sejuk.

To aply the bedak sejuk , dissolve in a few drops of water and apply it on the face.The cooling effect of the bedak sejuk is very soothing to our face. You have to try it to beleve it. It also can eliminate excess oil from our face hence prevent the acne.

alamak...why i'm talking about bedak sejuk now. I'm suppose to talk about my jasmine.better stop now.

pereskia saechnarosa/sacharosa/bleo

2006-08-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

This is the picture of my pereskia which now i put at the the entrance garden. I have two varieties which bear purple and orange color flower. the purple one is still small while a have a few pots of orange color that i beed myselft from the srem cutting.You can have more of this plant on my website : http://www.melur.com/myherba.asp?plant_id=24 , it's in malay language.

My 'Gate' aka entrance garden

2006-08-23T17:47:00.000-07:00

I call it entrance garden as it it locate at the entrance before the gate. Actually it is just the road divider and place where the town council put the garbage bin. The space is not much, i guess it's about , emm maybe 3" X 5". And i cannot make use the whole space as i have to reserve one alley for the garbage people to collect the garbage. the picture was taken some few months ago when we first move it to the house. we have rearrange it as my hubby said it was to cluttered...well guys...:)actually he's the one who rearrange it while i'm not at home...:)

Daisy on my balcony

2006-08-23T02:26:00.000-07:00

Before move to this current house we stayed in a 15 floor apartment. I'm quite like it, the balcony is facing the hill and before the hill is a shooting range. Very green and eye soothing except it can be very noisy once a week when the army practiced at the shooting range.During rainy season, i can still see the mist covering the hill bringing the cool breeze to our bedroom.I kept quite a number of plant there, on the balcony. plants like mini roses (4 vareties) gerbera daisy (3 varieties), money plant, violet, japanese rose etc. I even grow a grape vine on the trailis that i hooked up to the wall.The balcony is quite big. It's actually 2 balconie linked by a planters box before we combined it into one big balcony.

I enjoy planting on the balcony. But when you gardened at a very high place from the ground few thing that you must consider are, the weight of the pots + the soil + water.So i never use terracota pot as it can be very heavy after you loaded it with soil and water.I have one terracota pots for my aquatic plants, and that's the only one.

Let me share with you a few tips of balcony or roof top gardening:

Let's enter my garden

2006-08-23T01:35:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna share with you the current garden that i just setup ... not even half year. Yepp... we just move to a new house and i decided to start this blog because i want to keep track of all my plants properly (actually i have a database of it) and share with you guys about my plants.The new house that we move in is not that big. the lot size is 20' X 35 and the land area is 20' X 70'. It's an intermediate unit, left me a very limited space to start my masterpiece...:) . This is how it looks like when i first plant it with the taiwan grass. for cost saving i just bought 2 2'X1' pieces and cut it into smaller retangle and spread it over to cover the 10' X 30' area. It did not look nice but as I prefer to see things grow, that should be enough for the beginning.

Hi and welcome

2006-08-23T01:08:00.000-07:00

Hi , welcome to my paradise. I'm nor from malaysia.Gardening has been my hobby since i can remember. I start to grow thing when I was very small and day by day it grows into a passionate love and devotion. I live in a fast develop city in Penang Island. A small but develop island in the north of pennisular Malaysia. At 31 I'm a mother to 3 daughters aged 6,3 and 1.

I try to share my passion for plant and garden in my website www.melur.com (oops... it's in Malay language and i'm still dont have suitable time to work on the English version of it)