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
From a distance, I saw a piece of nature's art - the beautiful bare branches of the Garcinia cowa. In fact, I could almost imagine the tree in an upside down position with the bare branches as the root system of a tree.
Over at the Visitor's Centre, the clumps of Ixora javanica (yellow) which we planted months ago were rewarding me with its beautiful umbel of yellow tubular flowers.
Recently, it was also the blooming season for the Flame of the Forest trees. Islandwide, the Delonix regia trees were drawing its admirer's attention to its many vibrant, scarlet flowers. Beside this car park were the remnant trees salvaged from the development. However, I was told they looked even more magnificent in their hey days. I guess I can only imagine the spectacular sight these trees provide to the area.
This should be a Garcinia or Diospyros and appears to be a slow growing tree.
It has been sprouting new leaf flushes for a long time. Until I know specifically what species this is, I cannot provide any more information on it.
NB on 24 Dec 12: Could it be a Diospyros blancoi?
