March 27, 2008 at 8:00 am
· Filed under General
Are you too congested in Singapore? Here are some examples from the United Kindgom, to inspire us in what can be done with a bit of creativity and ingenuity :
This stretch of canal in Enfield, near London is looked after as a garden by the local people, who plant wild flowers, hedgerows and trees along its banks.
Canal in Enfield
St Andrews Community Garden in Central London is completely managed and run by the local people. It was a very old graveyard, and when the garden was constructed, the headstones were placed alongside neighbouring residences. The landscapes and trees are planted over the graves!
St Andrews Community Garden
Wildmill Hill City Farm in Bristol, is completely managed and run by volunteers from among the local people. The public enjoy the place as a day out, and the volunteers are so successful at drawing visitors, they have built a cafe.
Windmill Hill City Farm
If you are really desperate for space, then of course there are other places that you put your garden………… Or you can contact NParks’ Community in Bloom team at www.nparks.gov.sg
- by Simon Longman
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March 20, 2008 at 8:00 am
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My visit to Ramakrishna mission Boys’ home at 169 Bartley Road lead us to understand a Hindu Holy tree – the Bael Tree.
Bael Tree
A priest by the name of Swami Samachittanada attended to us highlighted that it is a sacred tree of the Hindus, dedicated to Lord Shiva, who is said to live under the Bael tree.
In India, this tree is often found in gardens of temples as most parts of the tree are used for religious rituals. The fruit of this tree look like a “pong pong fruit’ (Cerbera odollam) with a hard skin covered. This Aegle Marmelos tree is also known as Bel, or Beli fruit, Bengal quince, stone apple or wood apple. The leaves are alternated, trifoliate and pale green. According to the priest, the three leaflets represent the two normal eyes and the “third eye” of wisdom, also called the kumkum, where Hindus usually dot it on their forehead.
Bael fruit and leave
According to the Hindus, the fruit is generally preferred for its medicinal properties rather than its cultivated fruits. In order to crack open the fruit, a hammer has to be used to break the hard skin. The fruit is considered ripe when it drops from the tree. A sweet fragrant smell is emitted when the ripe fruit is opened. The pulp of the fruit is sweet and aromatic. The young leaves and small shoots can also be eaten as salad green. The fruit is also used in religious rituals and as a homeopathic remedy for ailments such as diarrhea, dysentery and intestinal parasites.
For those interested to know more about the Bael tree you may want to pay a visit to Ramakrishna Mission Boy’s Home.
By Philips Nah
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March 13, 2008 at 8:00 am
· Filed under General
Facebook, a social networking website, where users can upload photos of themselves.
There are 2 sides of a coin to this publicity tool - one for users to meet people with similar interests, another a facade or pretense users adopt. The latter has probably drawn more attention, and is more popular due to conformity of the masses.
Is this the case for community gardens that have been set up over the past couple of years?
There are approximately 250 gardens in Singapore since NParks started the ‘Communtiy In Bloom’ programme in 2005. But are all these gardens set up due to genuine interest and passion for gardening?
Community gardens are set up for many reasons - some out of passion, some for a new lifestyle, and some to beautify their surroundings. Yet, for others, it could be out of obligation or simply to go with the flow. Indeed, gardens are being set up so rapidly, it seems like they are replicas of each other - having similar designs and the same plants.
I certainly hope your garden was not set up due to sheer conformity. Because only with interest and zest, can a garden truly blossom and grow. Community gardens do have an important place in our lives; a purpose that should never be displaced.
By Sheryl Ng
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March 6, 2008 at 8:00 am
· Filed under General
Orchid species number more than 25,000 worldwide.
That figure does not include hybrids, which bring the total to nearly 100,000.
It makes orchid the largest flowering plants in the world. One would wonder how people keep track of different species’ name. Who would’ve thought that each word of ” Tolumnia bahamensis” actually has its own meaning. In fact, orchid species including hybrid are named in such a way that people can easily tell which species they belong to or whether they are hybirds by just looking at its name. They are named according to “Binomial Nomenclature” , which is “two-name name” in Latin. It is the scietific way of naming living things.
So what make them so special?
The first term e.g. Tolumnia is the genus name and in catalogues and nametags, the orchid’s genus name appear first. It’s always capitalized and italicized or underlined.
The second term e.g. bahamensis refers to the species or hybrid which helps specify the plant. It’s always in lower case and italicized or underlined if the plant is species.
When the plant is not a species, then the second name will be the hybrid or grex name. Hybrids are the result of human intervention. Their names are neither italicized nor underlined. If your orchid does not have two Latin terms, but instead has the name or initials of the Latin genus and a capitalized name following it, then your orchid is the the hybrid orchid. The hybrid name is known as the grex, which is often named after someone.
And if you happen to see two orchid names connected by a lower case x instead of the grex like the picture below, the names indicate the parents of the plant that were crossed to create the hybrid.
This is the orchid named after in the memories of Princess Diana.
Dendrobium Memoire Princes Diana (Dendrobium Pattaya beauty x Dendrobium Fairy Wong)
So, the next time you see an orchid name, try to defirne whether it’s a hybrid or named after someone whom you adore.
- by Maung Htet Aung
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