Yeah...!!! I won a rose....

Being a member of the Home and Garden Forum has given me a lot of support and opportunity to grow roses in Malaysia. Besides the knowledge and ideas that we share together, we also have regular get together where we have nice home cooked meals and also interesting garden items sales....

Recently we had a gathering in Cherating, a beautiful beach in Pahang, which is located about 300km from Kuala Lumpur. The gathering was attended by youngs and olds.. the oldest being 78 years old and the youngest was a 2 years old girl...

Lucky me....ohhhh..lucky me....!!!!

One of the Committee Member, who is a local there had been so kind to surprise me with a beautiful rose ....for being the first person to arrive in Cherating...!!

What a nice surprise and it's such a beautiful rose as well...

This rose is from Cameron Highland and it has to go through the hardening processs before it can flourish like the normal roses.

So here it comes.... I have to put to practise all the theory that I have learned from my Sifu...

This is what I am suppose to do during the hardening processs..

1. Keep the plant away from glaring sunlight. Put it in a shade so that it will not be cooked by the intense heat.
2. During the first week, expose the plant to morning sun for about 2 hours
3. During the second week, put it in the morning sun for 4 hours..
4. During the 3rd week, slowly exposed it to direct hot sun for about 2 hours
5. Keep watering and fertilising the plant as normal, making sure that the soil is not water clogged
6. Throw away any fallen leaves as this can promote fungal growth

Woala... I should have a beautiful rose to take the challenge of the lowland in 4 weeks time. Cant wait for it to happen...

I shall be updating on this rose from time to time...

How cruel....!!!

Look at these...How can they be so cruel....!!!

I spend days and night hoping to have a beautiful rose bush.. but when I see this.........
What can I say...they are just animals/pest/insects that don't have brains like us...so I have to bear with them...But I have to do something fast to eliminate these intruders...

New shoot badly eaten by grasshopper??

More damage done..



And more...

And many many more that I have lost counts... This I suspected is the work of the grasshopper. I am yet to sit down quietly in the garden to hunt for them....

I read somewhere that the only way to get rid of the grasshoppers is to catch and kill them... but I don't think I have the heart to do that. I will probably catch them, put them in a plastic container and dispose them far far away from my place...

And to me this is a tedious job, much more complicated than spraying fungicide or pesticide....Imagine I have to sneak quietly in between the rose thorns to catch them... I don't know whether it's best to do this at night or during the day. Honestly, I have not seen any of them during the day...

Tinie..Winie..Little Minis...

The problem of growing these minis are...they get smaller and smaller in size as the days gone by. I blame this to the hot weather in the lowland, because these minis are so beautiful in the highlands..with bigger flowers and dark green foliage...

Ring of Fire in a Pot

Ring of Fire is the name given to signifies the beautiful fire like colour of the rose. If there are lots of blooms, this rose bush looks like fireball from a distance...


Single "Ros Calit"


This "Ros Calit was originally very nice, the petal opened up properly showing the small specks of whitish colour against the rich pink petals..
Now, the petals are half opened and we cannot realy see the different in colours....

But I still love them the same...

"Ros Calit" in a Pot

I really am not happy with the leaves... I am worried that the plant will die soon... It looks as though the plant lacks some nutrients...and they look so small....


Orange "Ros Calit"

 

I love this orange "Ros Telur". It has a unique colour and if there are many blooms, it can be very beautiful

Pink "Ros Telur"



Nice and beautiful

"Ros Telur" Bush

Mini Cameron

 Cameron minis are beautiful but they really need extra care because, they are very prone to blackspot. I am still learning, how best to care for the cameron roses



 

My Yellow Blooms....

This is what we call Royal Town....because the person who gave this name comes from Pekan, the royal town of Pahang. I think the name fits well because in Malaysia, yellow signifies the royalty colour..

Sometimes My Heart Beat Faster to see you...

Yes...Yes... I am so eager to see you.. That's how I feel some mornings...

I am so eager to see if there are any new buds or new blooms in the garden....

This morning for example, I have been keeping a close eye on you... looking how you are getting on each day...how well you behave, how bad you were affected by the heavy rain yesterday....and  thank God....you gave me beautiful colours this morning and a sweet smell as well....

  You bring so much joy to me ....

My pink collections....Aren't they gorgeous....


Beautiful petal arrangement indeed...



















Ros Kampung


The famous Ros Kampung which has a very sweet smell...

Sometimes the ladies in the villages will tie these flowers to their hairs so that they smell nice...

It is also a belief that if you eat this rose, you will be blessed with beautiful skin and a youthful look...but I have not tried it yet.. may be next time...

The trio...



Paradise

Paradise is known for its beautiful pink colour. The amazing thing about this rose is that it changes colour through time...It has a dark pinkish colour on the outer rim. A must have collection..


My double Paradise....



It's raining...

That's the problem nowadays....it rains everyday, sometimes early morning, sometimes midday, sometimes in the evening... so how can I tend to my garden??

It's ok... there's always something I can do..

Today,for example, I spent a few hours in the rain trying to tidy up the drain next to my small koi pond. It's interesting to play in the rain and having a good shower while the rain do it's part to wash the messy drain...


Around 11 am.. the sun is shining bright as ever and I took some pictures of my beautiful blooms..

My roses seems to be healthier despite the rain. Maybe roses like showers as well. I think it's true because the rain can help to get rid of the pests..

Love the buds...

A two months old rose planted in the garden...it's doing well...look at the new shoots...

April Blooms....

Many people think that roses are only grown in climate countries with the four seasons....like Europe and Australia..

In hot Asian Countries, roses seems to be rare cultivations because we cannot get them to grow beautifully, except in the highlands. The flowers are smaller and the colours are not as vibrant as in the highlands...

Here I want to share with you some of my beautiful roses which have been with me for about a year...

My favourite..

My First Rose...

I love roses... just love them... BUT

It's so expensive to buy cut roses here...AND

I also wish someone will give me roses but I suppose this will remain a dream... SO

I am going to plant roses instead.. just started and I am enjoying every minute of it..

I get my rose cuttings from friends or sometimes I buy small roses from a nursery nearby..

I went through the hardship and frustration of seeing my roses wilting due to the hot climate, the diseases and the lack of enthusiasm after each failures..AND..

I learned some tricks to make the roses grow better..
1) Pour the aquarium or koi pond water to the roses everyday..
2) Put shrimps or fish cutlet in the soil..
3) Never pour water onto the buds as this will not make the rose bloom properly..

This is my one of my first roses...which I planted about a year ago....

Then I had a couple more which I will share with you later..

I am trying to have more species with me.. but it's so expansive to buy them from the nursery..

A Journey To My New Garden...

Imagine the beauty of your everyday life..
Peaceful..no worries.. no pains.. no traffic jams.. no bills to settle..everything is just the way you want it to be..

But can this be a reality? Unfortunately not.. not now anyway..!!

However it's nice to imagine.....

I always imagine myself to be in a no man's land.. wondering and searching for that beautiful life.. slowly.. step by step I walk..and I enjoy every minute I spent there.. looking at the the beauty of the things that pass by..

Gifts from our Creator..

And the jouney has no limit.. it goes on and on and on...

I suppose, everyone, at some point in their life have this fantasy ... but it varies from person to person..depending on your way of life..

Just take a look at these two people...

I am just wondering where they are going and what they are up to.. I suppose they know what they are looking for and for every steps that they make.. there is a purpose to it, no matter how long and difficult the journey is..

So.. life is a journey and my journey this time is to have a rose garden..and I am going to write about my experience growing roses in a hot tropical climate...

It's going to be hard but for as long as I believe in yourself.. I will definitely reach somewhere..