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.
Alright, I was so bowled over by the flowering Pentaspoden and felt I didn't do it enough justice with my earlier series of photos and decided to try to take more close-up views from the ground.
This was the best I could do to showcase the inconspicuous flowers.
This Schizolobium parahyba was flowering beautifully recently. The crown of small pinnate leaves and yellow flowers are just a joy to see.
To my delight, the Grewia occidentalis shrub was also showing off its dainty purple flowers.
I planted the Peronema canescens at HortPark but frankly this was the first time I am seeing the interesting small pinkish fruits.
Finally, the two Pentaspoden motleyi that were planted side-by-side with each other were trying to outdo each other by displaying two different sides of themselves. I have always love the form, branching, small leaves of this very amazing tree and at this location, one of them recently shed its leaves and was flowering profusely. Who would have thought they are both of the same species? I must admit the fine feathery flowers look was refreshingly pretty to look at.
