kampung gardening

Life in a kampung means plenty of resources as long as one is resourceful! And being a resourceful person that I am, I collect the plants for my garden at home in places like abandoned houseyards, in the riparian forests as well as those wayside trees.

This picture shows me carrying a gunny sack filled with treasures from the wild!

That's me again collecting some stem cuttings of rangoon creeper in an old homegarden in 2002, overgrown by all sorts of lovely plants. note the climbing (!) rangoon creeper on the right, almost to the top of this house. this house must have been a really gorgeous building when the owners were there, just look at the careful finish of the facade. The corrugated iron/zinc roofing was likely a new addition then, perhaps 30-40 years ago those metalic sheets were shining during hot days, reflecting the sunrays. Our own house just had a change of those roofs a couple of years ago after about 30 odd years. Very durable stuff, but attap rumbia would have been nice.

miscellaneous 1

kedai kopi by the roadside. Note the plant next to Dad on lower right. That's Dieffenbachia seguine, an aroid from tropical America. The folks in kampung really know the meaning of chilling out. lovely lifestyle. And note the bottled coca-cola (in blue cirle).

these are our cool makcik and pakcik. they were on their way back from tapping rubber. Still 'steady' after all these wonderful years, aren't they? they said they were living by themselves, empty nest and kids were all in 'kelumpo'. Pakcik might have gone to the same sekolah rendah as Dad, many many years ago in the 1940s.

the homegarden

this is our house in the tropical lowland. we have been living here since the early 1970s. our 'ranch' measures about 1 acre. such a lovely little place. note the belukar on the left. wild pigs, monitor lizards bigger than adult goats, as well as pythons live in harmony there. lovely lovely....

several months since the beginning of this adventure...

the muscovy ducklings seven weeks later. And adult turkeys.


And not forgetting this predator monitor lizard (Varanus sp.). This reptile was killed just last week to protect the birds. Before its death, it managed to steal two duck eggs. serious business requires extreme safety measures....

new family members

acquired on 27 december 2005. lovely pair of geese to guard the homegarden.

tongkat ali

tongkat ali: anak pokok ni dibeli daripada nursery FRIM pada akhir 2003. sungguh susah nak hidup tapi sekarang ni nampak sihat.

anak-anak itik yang lahir pada hari raya!!!

Spathiphyllum berbunga lagi

yer 2005 / yer 2000