I don't know about other people but planting, especially planting of some really huge trees or beautiful plants, is therapeutic for me. I get a sense of euphoria when I am very happy with the outcome of my planting. Even when I first typed euphoria, I typed it as Euphorbia, which is a generic epithet of plants from the Family Euphorbiaceae.
So this is my documentation of the planting works I did at the Fragile Forest (FF). Some of the trees planted and transplanted were:
- Cerbera odollam
- Pentaspoden motleyi
- Shorea glauca
- Dipterocarpus species
- Kompassia excelsa
- Dracontomelon dao
- Memecylon caeruleum
- Garcinia species and cowa
- Kopsia flavida
- Dillenia excelsa
- Sygyzium gratum
- Shorea siamensis
It was so spectacular to see the Kopsia flavida leaves turned a vibrant red just days after the transplanting. The transplanting shock must have cut off the supply of nitrogen to the older leaves, which were translocated to the younger leaves, before they are shed to reduce transpiration.
There were many more trees and palms that I planted but this would come in a later post. Since seeing the few majestic Syzygium gratum trees in the nursery, I would often dream or envision planting it up in a grove at this specific location of the FF. This was my own miniature version of the famous Californian Red Woods, which I have never visited by the way. I may sound deluded but it is like a window to another world for me.
So when the planting was carried out, I told myself I have to capture the photos of this magical and monumental planting moment to remind myself of the simple but wonderful joys of my work. I am sure this exhilarating feeling of seeing a dream come true and alive right before our eyes is something that all passionate horticulturists can attest to. And for days on end, I couldn't help but gush to my colleagues about this beautiful grove of trees which would be seen by all who drives into or out of the FF car park. I think the view from the coach buses would be amazing.
There is still some work to be done here and I just need to embellish it further but I am proud of what I achieved thus far at this small and forgotten part of the garden.
Today's weather - sunny
If there is anything that perks me up, it is having the opportunity to plant a bare area and see it come alive and transform into a beautiful landscape. This was precisely what happened at this toilet block area of the Fragile Forest.
I took over the Fragile Forest from a colleague recently and I wasn't the one who planted the palms behind the toilet block and on the slope. When I first came to the site, the bare earth in front of the toilet and below the existing Khaya senegalensis trees made me feel very uncomfortable that I had to plant up this area first.
The theme for this area is palms (Family: Palmae/Arecaceae), so I planted up a number of Kerridoxa elegans (common name: White Elephant Palm, King Thai Palm), which is a fan palm with large fronds with a silverish underside. That immediately gave the place a different look and shielded the dry fronds of the Borassodendron machadonis. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos before the planting to show the stark difference after the planting. This first set of photos captured the look soon after the palms were in.
I added a clump of Elaeocarpus grandiflorus (common name: Fairy Petticoat, Fringe Bells, Lily of the Valley Tree; Family: Elaeocarpaceae) with red flowers near the southern part of the site and a Elatiospermum tapos (common name: Kra, Perah, Tapos; Family: Euphorbiaceae) beside the car park.
Subsequently, I added clusters of Areca catechu (common name: Betel Nut Palm), a few Rhopaloblaste singaporensis (common name: Keringtin Palm), Areca vestiara (common name: Orange Crownshaft Palm, Orange Palm, Pinang Merah) which further added to my delighted mood over the week. I was so excited about the bountiful opportunities offered by the site and kept thinking and dreaming about it. I am planning to gradually add the following to this site:
- a collection of Aglaonema
- a collection of terrestrial and epiphytic orchids
- a collection of butterfly host and nectar plants
- a collection of pitcher plants
- Caryota mitis
- Cyrtostachys renda
- Euterpe oleracea
- Iguanura species
- Johannesteijsmannia species
- Licuala species e.g. L. mattanensis 'Mapu'
- Phoenicophorium borsigianum
Unfortunately, landscape works at the site have stalled for two weeks now and I hope we can start the remaining planting soon. Updates on the progress of landscaping will be provided gradually and as soon as I can.
