Dendrobiums were among the most varied orchids family known, lots of variety and forms as a species and not to mention their hybrids. They offers a vast array in terms of growing condition, flower forms and plants that are available in every sizes..To me the warm to hot growing ones are easiest to grow cause I live in tropical climate, they are doing quite well with me..

        Earlier this year I've bought  quite a number of dendrobium hybrids, those that looked good in my eyes..I've got no time to make a post about it earlier, so here they are..I'll find their name later..

        Antara spesis orkid yang paling banyak variasi ialah dendrobium. Ada macam-macam, kadang-kadang tak nampak macam dendrobium pun..kalau hibrid lagi macam-macam la.Selain tu juga spesis ni terdapat pelbagai saiz, bentuk bunga, ada yang perlukan cuaca sederhana dan ada yang mahukan cuaca panas..Selalunya bagi yang mula-mula nak tanam orkid ni la yang mula ditanam.

        Awal tahun ni saya ada la borong beberapa pokok yang berkenan..yang nampak special di mata..Tak sempat nak buat pos pasal ni hari tu.. sibuk buat pos lain dulu..apapun nilah Dendrobium yang telah dibeli..Nama cari kemudianlah..

          Most of the plants are not looking good yet..Definitely there's a potential there, just needs more love and care :) ..they'll be at their best in no time..! hopefully..

          Semua pokok-pokok ni tak nampak cantiknya lagi..Potensi tu memang ada, cuma yang diperlukan ialah sedikit lagi kasih sayang dan penjagaan yang rapi :) lepas tu baru boleh masuk 'gelanggang'..Harap-harap..

Us sing and dance, make faces and give flower bouquets, trying to be loved. 

You ever notice that trees do everything to get attention we do, except walk? 

                                                                                       - Alice Walker
 

Lepanthes escobariana

Here is Lepanthes escobariana once again.  One of my favorite Lepanthes, it is easy to grow and the flower spikes produce flowers successively over a very long period of time so that the plant is always in bloom with very large flowers for the size of the plant.  It comes from Colombia and is named for a Colombian orchid grower, Rodrigo Escobar.  The flowers are about 2 cm tall and are arranged on long wiry spikes that grow from the leaf-base of single-leaved growths about 3-4 cm tall.

Orchid Spotted !

         Sometimes when I watch videos or movies, somewhere in the scene I could see orchids were among the props, purposely, indirectly or accidentally included in the scenes..well here's one scene with orchid in the movie James Bond, Casino Royale..

         Kadang-kadang ketika sedang menonton filem atau video, ada juga terlihat orkid yang menjadi sebahagian prop, sengaja atau tidak sengaja termasuk di dalam babak yang dijayakan..Ini satu contoh dari filem James Bond, Casino Royale..

            
           In this scene you can see a single Paphiopedilum Maudiae type has been used as a table decoration beside the crystal candle light..A 'not your usual' cut flower that suits well with exclusive dining place like this..

           Dalam babak ini  ada sekuntum bunga Paphiopedilum Maudiae yang dijadikan hiasan bersebelahan dengan bekas lilin di atas meja..Ini menunjukkan yang orkid 'slipper' ni di jadikan bunga keratan di sana...di Malaysia ni jangan cari la bunga ni buat keratan..Nak bela pun susah..Agaknya harga setangkai di sana pun mesti mahal dari bunga yang lain, sebab tu  dijadikan hiasan di tempat-tempat ekslusif macam ni saja..

For man, as for flower and beast and bird, 

the supreme triumph is to be most vividly, most perfectly alive. 

                                                                                 - David Herbert Lawrence
 

My Orchids : Blooming Recently ..

These are pictures of selected orchid blooms and their close-ups in my garden this week..

Bunga-bunga orkid terpilih yang sedang mekar pada minggu ini..

 Bulbophyllum graveolens

  Bulbophyllum Meen Endless Love

 Dendrobium Nellie Slade x Dendrobium macrophyllum

  Rhyncholaelia digbyana 'Mrs Chase' x Brassavola Aristocrat

Rhyncattleanthe (Rth)Varut Feastful syn. Potinara Varut Feastful

Mantinara Don Herman 'Freckles'

Dendrobium Dawn Maree

For happiness one needs security, 

but joy can spring like a flower even from the cliffs of despair. 

- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

 
 

Masdevallia decumana 'Nancy' AM-CCE/AOS

This plant was given a cultural award in November when it had 22 flowers and 7 buds.  It bloomed again this month with 32 flowers and 8 buds.  I brought it in again for judging last Saturday at the Northwest Regional Judging Center and it was given two awards, an Award of Merit for the quality of the flowers and a Certificate of Cultural Excellence for the number of flowers.

This plant is incredible.  I have another Masdevallia decumana that produces a fair number of flowers every time it blooms but this plant goes crazy when it blooms.  I worry sometimes that it is going to bloom itself to death, but it seems perfectly happy and just produces another crop of flowers.  I grow it mounted on a cedar slab with a bit of moss and water it every day.

Remembering Whitney...

           While browsing the internet I found one orchid named Blc. Mount Whitney, The orchid was named after one mountains in America but immediately I think about the recent death of Whitney Houston, one of my favourite singer that shocked the world..I considered her a once-in-a-lifetime singer..So I made this post as to remember one of the singing legend that lives forever through her legacy of great songs..

Blc. Mount Whitney..

A white orchid signifies peace, charm and beauty..

Though named after a mountain..but I think its significant with Houston's career 

that has reach its summit during her lifetime..just like climbing a mountains with all the obstacles and hard work before ultimately reach its peak, but you can't stay on top forever. Eventually, what goes up must come down..sadly to an end..That's life..

Whitney Elizabeth Houston

1963 - 2012

Thanks there's You Tube..whenever I want to listen and see her again..

Here's one of my favourite song from her..

 

Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best 

that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower 

where I thought a flower would grow. 

                                                                                  - Abraham Lincoln

 

Penang Botanic Gardens...

         Penang Botanic Gardens is a place where our Monthly Orchid Show was usually held. In Penang this was one of the must visit place for tourist who loves nature..During our show which I've already updated in my earlier post, I managed to take a stroll around the place just to take a photograph for this blog..To those who didn't have an opportunity yet, to visit Penang this is for your viewing pleasure..among the pictures, there was definitely some species of orchids that I managed to see up close growing wild in this botanic gardens..If you want to know more click here and here..

         Kebun Bunga Pulau Pinang adalah salah satu tempat di mana persatuan orkid kami menganjurkan pertandingan orkid bulanan..Kalau sesiapa yang datang ke Pulau Pinang dan sukakan kehijauan alam datanglah ke sini..Pada pertandingan orkid bulanan minggu lepas saya berkesempatan berjalan-jalan di sekitar Kebun bunga ini sambil mengambil gambar untuk dimuatkan di dalam blog..Ini untuk mereka yang belum pernah lagi datang ke sini atau ke Pulau Pinang..Di dalam gambar-gambar ini juga saya selitkan beberapa spesis orkid yang tumbuh liar di sini..

 Water features welcoming visitors outside the gate..

 What you shouldn't do..

  These are the animals that made this place popular..but beware of their mischevious nature..

Signs if you are not sure which direction..

anyway this is not a very big place, but still can make you sweat..

This tree is teem with Dendrobium acerosum..

Walking along the road while looking at the lush greenery.

   Bauhinia kockiana, a climber..native of Malaysia rainforest. 

Providing a splash of colour among the greens during the dry seasons

 

  Yellow Saraca or Pokok Gapis in Malay (Saraca cauliflora) 

a tropical tree originated from India to Malaysia..put out a display of yellow flowers

 A close up on the flower, look kinda like ixora

This is the orchidarium inside the Botanic gardens..

but it was not open to the public..can only see from the outside..

 Another view of the orchidarium

This is a  bromeliad's house..not open to the public, 

may be visitors can get inside upon a special request..

 A colony of Cymbidium finlaysonianum on a trunk of a tree

 This is midday, thats why not many visitors around..

I was walking in the heat of the day..hot and humid..

This is the normal condition in the tropics..

 A palm tree with its clusters of dark coloured fruits hanging among its fronds..

Blocked from view. On top of the Botanic garden, theres a waterfall, 

you can hear it but can't see because it was already turned into water reservoir..

 Until the rain comes the water in this stream will be abundant again..

 A gazebo looking towards the lush tropical forest..

 Dendrobium crumenatum..growing among the lichens..

 Another young Dendrobium crumenatum on a branch of a tree..

A colony of Taeniophyllum obtusum, 

a leafless orchids..the green roots provides the photosynthesis..

 Another Taeniophyllum obtusum..

 Still on Taeniophyllum obtusum spreading its roots among the mosses and lichens.

 Mosses, still green but looking a bit dry because of the dry seasons..

 Mosses growing on a dead twigs..

 Unidentified Eria species..

 Dendrobium acerosum..this can grow into a large clump..

Dendrobium acerosum is a miniature dendrobium, 

though small it flowers frequently right after the rainstorm, 

the habit is quite like Dendrobium crumenatum..

 Flowers usually comes out from the leafless portion of the stem once it matured..

Another close-up view..

Leather fern (Davallia trichomanoides) or Squirrels foot fern fronds 

underneath the dappled sunlight..

 Renanthera elongata seen here growing towards the sunlight..

 Another plant of this common Renanthera, hardly seen with flowers..

Swaying palms against the blue sky..

Its not often that you can get a clear blue sky like this in Malaysia 

especially around the hilly region..guess I got lucky today..

This is the betel nut palm. In Malay language it is called 'Pokok Pinang', 

where 'Penang' got its name from..

 Botanic gardens office located inside the compound..

 In countries with four seasons, this a a normal view in autumn but in tropical country, 

some deciduous tree like this will shed its leaves in dry seasons

A flower of a Cannonball tree. Smells sweet kinda sickening actually..

The tree is native to the tropical forests of northeastern South America, 

especially the Amazon Basin and in the tropics such as in India and Thailand.

 Living cannon ball..the fruit of the Cannonball tree..

 A view through the climbers, Bauhinia kockiana in the formal garden..

Last years Orchid Festival's posters..

There are other orchids here such as Aerides odorata..that I didnt get the picture.. usually grows high up on a tree..While up the Penang hills surely there are more orchids species that can be seen, hope that I can make that post next time..

                                                         Each flower is a soul blossoming out to nature. 

                                                                             - Gerard De Nerval