Gardening a game: Aux Plaisirs du Jardin

I visited  Aux Plaisirs du Jardin from Karpenisi, Greece. Within the sentences of a language that I am not familiar with, there was this photograph of a ripe tomato and the label of my little vegetable garden at the side which I am really very  familiar with. Refer to this post :-

Jeux - - - Παιχνίδια - - - Games

I began to find sentences in English. Green colour is for the English words. Thousand thanks. It was quite sometime since the last time I was invited for Memey award....

I was invited to play a game of bloggers by Ellada of  Aux Plaisirs du Jardin  who is from France but lives in Greece. The rules are to :

- say who call me to play,
- to write ten things I love,
- and to invite our turn, ten other bloggers.  

Here are ten things that I love

1. Weeding > how they keep coming and how i and kakdah keep pulling them out. A sweet endeavor.
2. fluffing the soil > I guess we do it to keep the soil loose, to let the air in for the roots.
3. watering the plants > We dont really measure how much a plant require, we just go by the simple rule of thumb, never let soil baked, and never let the shoots wilt of thirst.
4. Growing new plants > since our garden isnot for mass production to sell harvest at the market, we enjoy the element of anticipation, not knowing what to expect...
5. photography > nice to keep images of plants and things that could esily be forgotten the moment it appear.
6. golf > the fun of going through 18 holes...
7. fishing > harvest is not limited to raised beds or pots only, sea is waiting ...
8. Eating > Nice to enjoy the chores that has been taken for granted.
9. Traveling > to see new things and places
10. Creative arts > gardening lets out that funny personal element of being creative.

I am now inviting ten other bloggers to this game, which i call "Gardening a game" and there is no juicy fruits or blooms to view and harvest, but a definite friendship that spans the big wide world of gardening.

1. Kebun Malay-Kadazan girls ~ DianaDemiyah Australia
2. Blossom Hideaway  ~ Priscilla Idyllwild CA United States
3. Organic Growing Pains ~ Peggy Ireland
4. Sweet Memories ~ Jama Singapore
5. MY LITTLE GARDEN   ~ Malar Malaysia
6. Moj Vrt  ~ vrtlarica Zagreb Croatia
7. In The Garden   ~ Rebecca  Zone 3/4 United States
8. LAST FRONTIER GARDEN  ~ Christine B Alaska
9. Voice in the Garden  ~ Diana (Di) Pacific Northwest/OR
10. EverGreen Tree  Radhika India      

bangchik

MALAYSIA: Photo Contest 2010

Something I wish to participate and never had the opportunity  to take part. Though I enjoy taking photos, I have never offer my photographs for contests. I thought this time, I am not going to miss. Damn sure, I know there are hundreds of serious and professional photographer who make a living out of photo industry. I dirt myself for a little joy with gardening, and take photos as memories. Yea.. why not.

Anyone joining?

But what would I submit?

Flora Malaysia 2010 1st April - 31st May 2010

In Conjunction with Malaysia International Flora Parade 2010, Ministry of Tourism Malaysia will be organizing a photography competition starting from April 1st to May 30th, 2010. A Photography exhibition on 200 selected images will be on July 5 to July 18 at Kuala Lumpur.

click here: http://www.motour.gov.my/

bangchik

putrajaya malaysia

Senduduk blooms attracting tebuan.

Senduduk remains my favorite flower. Very ordinary but nonetheless very special. Flowering seems to be non stop. This cousin of bee or hornet, known locally as tebuan paid our garden a visit. Tebuan can really sting when disturbed. Also known as Vespa Affinis.

I always like to do post on plants. But insects are very much part of the gardening world, therefore they do deserve a space in this blog, however  mean they may be... haha.

senduduk flower

tebuan

tebuan

tebuan

credit: Redzlan blogspot

That's a typical tebuan's nest.

Yeop, our eldest son, was stung by a few of these while playing under a tree, on one late evening .  He was 4 years old then. He run and yelled!... We quickly took him to the nearest clinic and he was given a jab. He slept on the way home until the next morning....

I was lucky, never bitten by tebuan! 

and finally about BLOTANICAL AWARD 2009 [click here], how I wish to thank all blotanists. It is quite a surprise to see Bangchik and My Little Vegetable Garden appearing in 4 categories for the finals;

• Best Vegetable Gardening Blog
• Best Asian Blog
• Newcomer Blog of the year
• Blotanist of the year.

Have Fun everyone.

Cheers,

~bangchik and kakdah 
Putrajaya, Malaysia

She said thank you..,

It was quite sometimes ago, that we received a mail from Sweden. A blotanist, Maria Berg mailed a nice necklace to acknowledge the correct answer she was looking for. A simple gesture that connects blotanists across the globe and continents.

It was about the answer I gave to her question. Delima (local name) or pomegranate !!. I wasn't an expert about plants, it just so happened that I had the experience of growing this particular plant before, and had enough knowledge to pinpoint its name. How can I forget pomegranate, its leaves, branches, shoots and fruits. Growing pomegranate had given us excellent juicy fruits many years ago...

Maria, all the way from Sweden was the title of my post on 27th of May 2009 to dedicate this particular Blotanical Friendship. I mentioned about giving the lovely necklace to Adlina, our first grandchild.

The recent festive season, gathered all of us in Perak. Kakdah put the necklace around Adlina's neck. The little girl said "thank you" and smiled.

Kakdah and Adlina

Adlina with the necklace

from auntie Maria Berg, Sweden

Cheers
~Bangchik and kakdah
Putrajaya, Malaysia

Meme Award, what is it to tell, Belle?

Thanks Autumn Belle of My Nice Garden for the award (Meme Award For Me). It has been long since I last get to the stage and grab an award, hands high in the air , oscar style..... haha .... But how many times did I get on my knees, so absorbed and passionate about dirt, poultry manure and caterpillars, leaves, buds, blooms, fruits, seeds and focussing/zooming/clicking/snapping .... countless!!!!

About me? and me? 7 times over.... 7 P!

1. Persona

Bangchik and Kakdah.
I have been telling about my heavily tanned complexion,
and between the two of us,
the storyline is always about me
getting too involved with golf and gardening!!
But the truth is I inherit
a programmed genetic elements down the line...
thus the heavy tan!

2. Pre empt gardeners generosity.

I dont share with many about pre-empting gardeners generosity. We cannot assume kids grow up thinking like kids. For all we know kids may even be thinking like world leaders, doing pre-empt with wars. For six years, like others, I walked to the primary school with the eldest sister, brothers and friends carrying bag full of books. We passed through houses and gardens. On a hot day, who could resist looking at ripe watermelons. I don't know, but we could just be right about pre-empting gardeners generosity by taking one and share under the shade of a coconut tree..... I have been generous with garden produce until now, with neighbors and little creatures of the garden, so my childhood guess might just be right....

3. Place called home.

Tronoh home. The house is being rented out for the moment..... Every single cent of RM600 rent went into Kakdah's account. Huh.., cheap for a bungalow, but we cant expect too much for a property in Seri Iskandar, Tronoh... So this is going to be the place called home in a few years time.

Cars belong to the tenant.
The plate numbers blackened for secrecy,
but the house number remains
for everyone to see.

4. Playing Golf....

I took up golf rather late, but was very passionate about it, until a doctor by the name Dr Hari told me in Mac 2009 to lay off strenuous exercise for a while.. and the bag is still standing at the corner.

5. Passion

Gardening, I guess I inherit it from Dad and Mom and it is always in the blood.

6. Passing down the batons.

kakdah and the two sons,
Yeop and Adik
aged 21 and 20 respectively.
Farah or fondly known as Kakak, the eldest,
is far north with her husband and two of her own, Adlina and Adli.

7. Parading

left to right: Ramli (son in law), Yeop, Kakdah, Farah, Adik, and the red bit is Bangchik.
Adlina (2 year old girl) and Adli (1 year old boy) were not born yet then..

I would like to pass the award to 7 0thers:

1. Valeri: My Small Cornish Garden for her tenacity.
   
2. Joanne:Joanne's Cottage Garden for her support for Blotanical circle.
   
3. Queen Janet: The Queen of Seaford for being so poised all this while.
   
4. Garden Mom: Garden Mom for her untiring effort.
5. Green thumbs: Greenish Thumb for her acute observation.
6. Patsi:Garden Endeavors for her colourful thoughts.
7. Kim and Victoria: Our Life in Idaho for their untiring presence.

Special mention goes to Carrie of Grow Our Own. Her strong conviction with gardening is fascinating and she manage to share the ups and downs in her direct and stylish way. She is promoting whats known as eco-theraphy . She probably has got up from her 1 more sleep before going off to France.

But there are so many friends in Blotanical, and I am reserving other awards for them......, so the next 7 connecting awards and a special mention will continue .........

Finally, this guideline may help:

1. Link back to the person who gave you the award

2. Reveal the 7 things about yourself

3. Tag 7 other bloggers at the end of your post and link to them

4. Let each blogger know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

5. Let the tagger know when you post is up.

Cheers everyone.
~bangchik