Garden of Prosperity

For those who want to see spectacular lights display in the form of a garden, the nearest to us in Klang Valley will be i-City! It was so fortunate of me when a fellow neighbour who is also a close friend brought me to i-City last night. i-City is located in Section 7, Shah Alam. To go there, take the Padang Jawa exit on Federal Highway & follow the i-City signages that will lead you there.

As our car turned into i-City, the beautifully-lit trees up on a higher ground greeted us from afar. Like little children, we all got so excited and just couldn't wait to get down. It's like we were approaching a fairy wonderland.

It seems that the light display had started since December during the Christmas celebration. Thus, there are 2 different lights display, i.e. the Garden of Prosperity & Frostie's Wonderland. I will let the photos below take you through a tour of i-City.

For those who are keen to go to i-City, the lights display will be on till early March. Entrance is free-of-charge. There will be a Chap Goh Mei celebration on this Saturday, 27 February. Chap Goh Mei is the 15th day of Chinese Lunar Calendar and it is also the last day of Chinese New Year celebration. Please see details below.

For residents who live in Klang Valley, do not miss out on this spectacular light display. The sights are to behold and they will turn you into a little child as you wonder through this fantasy world of lights.

CNY Decoration Tips for Plants & Flowers

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!!! It's only another 4 days before the Lunar Chinese New Year arrives!! Those of you who are celebrating the CNY must be rushing to do the last minute shopping and house cleaning.

Chinese firmly believe that without flowers, there would be no formation of any fruits (有花才有果）. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to have flowers and floral decorations during Chinese New Year. Cashing-in on this belief, nurseries & florists in town stock up plenty of auspicious plants & flowers for the CNY decorations. Usually their prices are inflated during this festive period. So, why not we put on our creative cap and start decorating the plants in our own garden with ideas captured from the florists or nurseries?

As red and gold are traditional symbols of luck and prosperity, they are generously used in the decoration. Hanging red ribbons on plants or even tying a piece of red clothe into a butterfly knot around the pot can easily turn it into an attractive piece of art. Throw in some gold ingots, coins & glitters to add the touch of good fortune! Let these photos jolt your creativity juice into action!

Combine colourful pots of flowers with foliage to line up your driveway. Here the florist lined up a combination of lime plant, small pots of chrysanthemum, mother-in-law tongue & cane plant (not sure if I get the name right). Use a pot as a stand if you need to add height to your plant. Then use smaller pots of flowers to surround the supporting pot.

Beautiful big clusters of hydrangeas in pink and green for sales. This will certainly brighten up any home & catch the attention of your guests. So, if you have a pot of blooming hydrangeas growing in the garden, place it at the front entrance of your house. Be proud that the blooms are results of your hardwork in the garden. Share your love of gardening with guests.

I have seen this ornamental plant appearing at florists every year. Can anyone tell me what is its name? Get some of these bright orange and yellow fruits, tie some ribbons on the branches, voila, you will be looking at a very fascinating piece of decor.

Furnish your bonsai plant with hanging miniature lanterns & maroon coloured beads (probably from your X'mas tree decor) in order to add a festive feel to it.

Dress up a pot of blooming plant with satin ribbons and add some gold coins for a prosperous touch!

Or adding ready-made ribbons to your indoor plant also make it attractive. These ready-made ribbons can easily be found in supermarket or buttons & ribbons shop.

It is also a traditional Chinese belief that blooming plants symbolize rebirth and new growth. Flowers are believed to be symbolic of wealth and high position in one's career. Lucky is the home with a plant that blooms on New Year's Day, for that foretells a year of prosperity. That is why Pussy Willow is a favourite. Its fluffy white blossoms that resemble silk will bloom, and they soon give forth to young shoots the colour of green jade. We, Chinese, enjoys such sign of growth that represents the coming of prosperity.

Miniature Pussy Willows plants are also available in Malaysia now. This can be bent and decorated with artificial cherry blossoms, ribbons & gold coin ornaments. Voila! Another creative idea instead of the usual tall pussy willows sitting in a pot of water. These Miniature Pussy Willows only cost RM10 per pot from Petaling Street. Adding the artificial cherry blossoms & gold coins may just require an additional RM10. At a total cost of RM20, it is so much more affordable than getting the plants in the photos below from the florist. Apart from saving, you get to put on your thinking cap and let your creativity flow! *wink*wink*

A pot of Chrysanthemum with a huge ribbon added certainly enhanced its look.

Lucky bamboo is shaped into a pineapple is another prized plant for CNY. Why in the shape of pineapple, you may ask? Pineapple in the Chinese Hokkien dialects (used by those who hailed from Fujian, China) is called 'ong lai' and that sounds like 'fortune comes' in the same dialect. Thus pineapple symbolizes arrival of good fortune. That's why pineapple lanterns or the fruit itself are offered at the prayer altar. You may even see some pineapple lanterns being hung at the porch of houses during CNY. In the photo below, the clever use of ribbons and Chinese knots add to the beauty of this plant.

During Christmas, we have Pine Tree decorated with ornaments & lights. How about having a Cherry Blossom Tree during Chinese New Year. This is what I found decorating the foyer of Plaza Mont Kiara's office block. Adding lights make this pot of artificial flowers brighten up in the evening. What a welcoming sight!

Create an Oriental touch by adding caligraphy of auspicious words, such as Prosperity （福）, Joy（春） or Luck （吉） on flower or plant pots. You can buy stickers with these caligraphy from shops that sell buttons & ribbons. Or simply cut them out from any angpow packets.

If you have a deep pocket, bright colour blooms like these real orchids or artificial orchids & peonies will certainly add charms to your home.

Plants & flowers are the emblems of reawakening of nature, they are also intimately connected with superstition and with the wish for happiness during the ensuing year. I would like to end this posting by wishing everyone a new year full of passion, liveliness and prosperity! Happy Year of the Tiger!

Green Fingers Tip - Adequate Drainage

I read this in a magazine today & posting it here to remind myself about this tips, at the same time share with my fellow green fingers friends!

Adequate drainage is very important. Place a layer of stones at the
bottom of the pot before adding soil. This will prevent the roots from
becoming waterlogged and keep your plants healthy.

Rest Sanctuaries in FGS

Various water features such as waterfall, pond and fountain can be found in the compound of Dong Zen Fo Guang Shan monastery. The water features adds tranquility, reflection and ambiance to its landscape. It provides restful sanctuaries to those who seek for serenity to meditate or read.

Close to the Main Shrine Hall is this pond with a tall rock feature in the middle of it. The rock boulders are arranged beautifully in a triangular manner, allowing plants such as money plant, spider lily to grow in between the rocks and water to flow into the fish pond. Koi fishes with wonderful patterned of red, orange, yellow and black were swimming happily in the pond. It's fun to watch the active koi fishes. It is also calming to listen to the water trickling into the pond. The breeze was swaying the willow branches that are reaching low towards the pond. The combination of water, greens, fishes and rocks create a peaceful, soothing spot for quiet reflection. Everthing tends to slow down when one is surrounded by such environment. It is nice if we can have such garden in office buildings where workers can always go to during their lunch break and enjoy a peaceful moment, calming down their active working mind before going back to their work terminal again.

Multi-coloured orchids have been planted bordering this pond, in preparation for the Floral Festival that will begin on 10 Feb. A bed of Cat's whiskers are planted beside the pond as seen in the forefront of the photo below. There is a plank walkway for one to walk across with grillings painted in yellow & green resembling bamboo. Rows of lanterns lining the edge of this section makes the place looks festive and ready for the Chinese New Year celebration which is less than a month away.

In a quiet corner of the monastery is a water lily pond. It has the figurine of a little boy holding a lily leave above its head.

Next to this pond is a wall lined with dragon heads spouting water with LED-lit dolphins lining the whole pond. The curvy flower bed and the two different coloured plants (green & maroon) add to the attraction of this spot in the monastery.

The LED-lit dolphins and this wall is beautifully lit-up on the first night of our stay at this monastery. This is the scene that visitors will be treated to during the Floral Fest.

Trees lined up across this water feature provide shades to visitors to sit underneath those trees and enjoy the sound of the water.

I look forward to returning to Fo Guang Shan Monastery again during the Floral Festival. I believe the garden would look more stunning than what are seen here. There are some more photos from other parts of the garden in this monastery that I will share in my next posting. Meanwhile, I hope you will continue your blogging and gardening!

Dong Zen Fo Guang Shan - Squash Garden

Dong Zen Fo Guang Shan is a monastery located in Jenjarom, Selangor. We were fortunate to have the support of this monastery when we organized a Buddhist youth exchange programme in this premise from Jan 1-10. That is the reason why I have been missing from blogging lately. We had the opportunity to stay in the dormitories of this monastery during our one-week programme there.

The nuns, monks, students and staffs who live here lead a very disciplined lifestyle. Their days start early. As early as 5.30am, they are already gathered at the main shrine hall for morning chanting. Breakfast is at 7am. The meals served are all vegetarian and don't let that deceive you coz the food here are so delicious that we didn't find ourselves missing out on meat. The monastery compound is so serene and beautifully landscaped. I would like to take the opportunity to share with you what I have enjoyed during my stay there.

For a start, today I will share with you the little squash garden in Dong Zen Fo Guang Shan. There are miniature pumpkins and miniature bottle gourds. The former is usually used as offerings during prayers. The latter is grown for ornamental use. It can be used as a container or for decorative purposes after the fruit has dried and seeds have been removed. The size of the gourd was no more than 1 foot in length. Both plants look beautiful with their climbing vines and hanging squashes.