Phalaenopsis lea marie salazar DPLMS 1

An orchid that is multi-spiking, easy to grow and blooms frequently. This orchid was a gift my friend Ken aka The Director.

Phalaenopsis lea marie salazar

It's a Gr8 Weekend !

Couple of recent additions and a seedling blooming....  fell in love with the Phalaenopsis pantherina at the WOC and managed to track down a nice one. 

Phalaenopsis pantherina

I have seen a lot of the Phalaenopsis speciosas but never felt attracted to them untill I saw this one. Not quite in full bloom yet but showing good potential.  Feels as good as pulling 5 BAR s on the slot machine !

Phalaenopsis tetrapis var. speciosa

Phalaenopsis dunman high

Love growing on trees, Hoya Kerrii

What started as a 10 Baht fun purchase has over the years grown into a beautiful climber filling the garden with lovely hearts. 

Hoya Kerrii aka Valentine Hoya or Sweetheart Hoya

Fast forward many years later..... it's now a mature vine climbing all over the Champaka Kunning Tree. It flowers ocassionally but I often miss the blooms as they are high up and usually hidden from sight.

A recent addition, the variegated version from WL nursery

A couple of Infrared Photos of the Hoya for fun

Trevesia palmata (Micholitzii) aka Snowflake Tree

This plant from Southern China can grow up to a height of 5M and the leaves are beautifully shapped like snowflakes. Flowers are yellow and grow in tiny bunches. 

Trevesia Palmata (Micholitzii) aka Snowflake Tree

More Catts

Blc queen sirikit and Blc chinese beauty

Water Lilies

I like those with unusual colours and blooms easily. This deep water yellow is just perfect for me. Several years back I tried to grow some Victorian Lily, buying the seeds at quite a hefty price from a Chaktuchak vendor and germinating them. I think those seeds are still buried in my dragon urn.... I read they sometime takes years to germinate but  having crossed the ten year mark .......... 

A deep water yellow lily

A night bloomer suffering from the heavy rain last night

Frangipani

Several of these grow in the garden and the two larger ones are great for tying my orchids. Over the years we have collected some fragrant varieties and the one I like most has to be the Bali Hai with it's intense yellow colour and strong frangrance. To save space, I have resorted to grafting several varieties onto the same mother tree and now I have one producing six or seven different coloured blooms. I am still looking out for a nice blue one... the colour of those when available at local nurseries are still not blue enough.

Frangipani Bali Hai

Bill Moragne is the father of  Plumeria breeding. A professional horticulturist in Hawaii during the 1950's he pioneered and perfected the cross breeding/hybridizing technique for frangipanis.

His best hybrids set the standard years ago and they still do today. Plumeria rubra cv Bill Moragne is one of his best hybrids and one of my favourites as well.

Frangipani Bill Moragne

Bulbophyllum arfakianum

A not so common orchid specie in bloom after the recent rains. This grows mounted on the shady lower trunk of my frangipani tree.

Bulbophyllum Arfakianum

Brassavola perrinii

Another old resident of the garden, messy roots but nice elegant flowers.

Brassavola perrinii 

Dendrobium secundum aka Toothbrush Orchid

Loves basking in the sun and heat. Throws out many blooms and flowers are really cute. With feeding , they bloom often.

Dendrobium secundum aka Toothbrush Orchid

Miconia Calvescens

Miconia Calvescens ( aka : Caynophyllum Magnificum, Miconia magnifica Triana ) has beautiful large velvety leaves which are dark green on the topside and purple on the underside. Leaves can grow really large and are beautiful.

Miconia Calvescens

Encyclia cordigera

Encyclia cordigera, another oldie growing in the garden blooms frequently and is fragrant.

Encyclia cordigera 

Catts

A Couple of Catts blooming...  both growing in awkward positions and was quite a stretch to get shots of them.

Blc Greenwich

 

Cattleya Loddigesii Coerulea

Old Fashioned Loves Phal violacea

These old fashioned Phalaenopsis violaceas were what got me hook on orchids because they were very fragrant. Bought during the days when orchids were still not cloned in the thousands, these phals may not be fashionable anymore but they still exudes a sense of character, charisma and charm.

Phalaenopsis violacea

Phalaenopsis violacea "Bellina"

Phalaenopsis violacea var Mentawai

Heliconias

I first got interested in heliconias when I saw the Sexy Pink at the zoo some tewnty years ago. Then the zoo was also selling excess cutting of it's plants and when I found out they were available we made an appointment and bought a few Sexy Pinks and some Torch Gingers. These are still growing in the garden and over the years I have added a few more varieties including some dwarf ones. Among the more showy ones are the Caribaea which have large and brightly coloured blooms. I currently have the Caribaea Red , the Golden Yellow Caribaea and the more arty farty Heliconia Splash. I also love the Heliconia Pedro Ortiz for its intense colour.

Heliconia Caribaea Red

The Ribbon Fern

The Ophioglossum Pendulum or Ribbon Fern one of the most beautiful looking fern.

Ophioglossum Pendulum aka Ribbon Fern
A Malaysian specimen 

The Thinner Version

                
Ribbon Fern, this broader version is rare and also the most sought after by collectors. 

Dendrobium Farmeri

Dendrobium Farmeri, a nice showy specie orchid that blooms easily and usually throws out multi-spikes. This is the pink version and I have recently exchanged a cutting of this orchid for the yellow version with Edward.

Dendrobium Farmeri

Dendrobium Spectabile DPDS 1

Another specie orchid bought years back from Song Orchids. Originally grown in a plastic pot, I had it removed and mounted on the frangipani tree. It has flowered twice before and the second time it did was march this year.

Dendrobium Spectabile 

Vanda Tan Chay Yan

This Vanda is one of the most famous Singapore orchid hybrids ever created...  in fact it was so sort after in the earlier days that rumours has it a sugar tycoon gave a bunglow at Adam Road in exchange for it.


"For local orchid enthusiasts, the name of Tan Chay Yan was immortalized through the famous Vanda hybrid bred by his son Robert Tan Hoon Siang, who was himself a past President of what is now the Orchid Society of South-East Asia (OSSEA). The sensational Vanda Tan Chay Yan (V. dearei x V. Josephine van Brero, registered 1952) helped to plant Singapore firmly on the orchid map of the world, and remains one of the finest hybrids we have ever produced. The appearance of Vanda Tan Chay Yan has been described as the strongest stimulus to orchid breeding in Singapore and Malaysia after the Second World War.

Like a new dawn when it first arrived, everyone was enchanted by the bold flowers of Tan Hoon Siang’s masterpiece: a rich blend of gold and apricot, right down to the showy red lip inherited from its 'Josephine van Brero' parent. In addition to winning hearts, the new hybrid soon started to win awards everywhere, receiving such accolades as the First Class Certificate of the RHS (1954) and the Trophy for Best Vanda at the 2nd World Orchid Conference (1957). This classic heritage orchid was named 'Vanda Tan Chay Yan' by Tan Hoon Siang in memory of his father, was widely grown in local gardens everywhere during the 1960s-70s, and was actually considered momentarily as a candidate for Singapore's National Flower. Of course, the latter honour eventually went to an even older local orchid hybrid: Vanda Miss Joaquim (registered 1893). "   Heritage Orchids describing Vanda Tan Chay Yan on a local gardening forum GCS.

This hybrid is not so common now but good ones can still be found at Koh Keng Hoe nursery @ Adam Road.

I currently have two pots in the garden. One was given by my neighbour Edward and the other a recent purchase form OSSEA at The World Orchid Conference. The one from OSSEA is spiking and I eagerly waiting for it to bloom.

Vanda Tan Chay Yan

Cirropetalum Orchid

Don't have the name for this specimen but it's one of the first specie orchids that I started growing. Uncle Loi who used to work at Bedok Garden Nursery introduced me to specie orchids. I had not found the nurseries at Sungei Tengah/CCK then and most of my orchids were bought from him.

A no ID Cirropetalum Orchid

Figs

Two fig plants that are not doing too badly. The black mission is one of two from Chaktuchak and the other a gift from Robert when he visited last year from France.

New growth from the black mission fig

Black Mission Fig

Fig Plant from France given by Robert  

Dendrobium Thai Jasmine

A very fragrant Dendrobium hybrid that was created in 1989 by a Thai grower. This was bought from Song Orchids few years back when I was collecting fragrant orchids. It now sits happily on my frangipani tree.

Dendrobium Thai Jasmine