Bintulu Trees By Airmail !

If one were to drive along the Tg. Batu scenic road , passing the Taman Tumbina , one would notice a line of trees that grow luxuriously on both sides of the road shoulders and also at the central median.
This stretch of road was planted with Tecoma pentaphylla or commonly called" Poui".

Believe it or not, the seeds of these trees came in an envelope on 19th July 1985.

The sender was Mr.George Alphonso. The moment I received the seeds I asked Ibrahim to straightaway germinate them in a soil mix of very coarse sand and to be kept damp.
By about 2 weeks, we had thousands of these seedlings in our nursery. Later they were transplanted in polybags of various sizes and some ended in planting holes along the Jalan Temasya after they were about one meter high.

Fom these trees we were able to obtain more seeds. The story goes that from Bintulu these trees began to find home in Miri, Sibu and other smaller towns in Sarawak. What made me choose these trees? It was a trip to Singapore that left a strong impression of the beauty of these trees. After all these trees do well in coastal areas and flowers best where there is a distinct dry spell. It prefers too ,the salty sprays of coastal regions like Bintulu and Miri.
All these to show that we cannot underestimate the power of an envelope!

Poui trees along Singapore roads.

George's letter (above) accompanying the seeds.

" Poui" trees along Jalan Temasya / Tanjung Batu scenic road.

( Re-post from my blog "my BINTULU history" - http://mybintuluhistory.blogspot.com/2007/07/bintulu-trees-by-airmail.html )

As time goes by - The Making of a Garden Oasis

                             

Sunset view from the main door (2010)

A view on any day . Note the Drunken Sailor's ability to climb over and creep along the front porch's ceiling.

When we decided to move to Kuching about three years ago I was intent on making the house garden an example of my concept of the Malaysian Garden called " Laman Kambatik". In this post I would like to share how I achieved it at the front porch garden space. In later posts I shall talk about other sections of the house garden .

Over time one or two plants that did not do well were replaced with alternatives but to a large extent the original choice of plants proved suitable. To help me explain the job I have prepared a sketch below that could act as guide in recapitulating the making of the front garden. The front garden will hopefully mature in about a year's time from now when other garden features ( hard landscaping) will be added. At this point of time the focus is on soft landscaping i.e. the cultivation of plants and turves. On this note I would add that the latest feature is the Yellow Bamboo ( shown inset) that took the place of the Murraya paniculata after I noticed it was unable to fend itself from diseases that attack its roots.

In the beginning - date of photo 25 Nov' 2007

The above shows how the site looked like in late 2007. The plant worth noticing is the Carpentaria Palm ( Carpentaria alexanderae) which was just less than a meter high when planted. The broad-leaved Calathea lutea is an important plant in the design for the shape of its leaves. The soil is hard and not fertile and I only managed to top-up the whole area with good topsoil later when I decided to turf the space. All these plants were brought from my garden in Bintulu. I did this to save me time to scout for plants in Kuching besides I can load plenty of plants at the back of my pick-up every time I drive to Kuching.

Progress dated : 7 June 2008.

The above is view of the site in slightly less than a year. The tiny lawn has been turved. The Ixora coccinea is flowering beautifully with orangish blooms. The Blood Banana in the far background is seen higher than the Carpentaria Palm. The Sea Cycas ( Cycas rumphii) and Calathea are doing well evidenced by the dark green colour of their leaves.

Progress dated : 14 June 2008.

The Sea Cycas was also brought from Bintulu. Around the base of the Cycas tree are variegated rhoe plants. The lawn is planted with " Pearl Grass". A line of 'Mother-in-law's tongue' ( Sanseivera trifaciata) is seen planted along the concrete edge.

Progress dated : 4 December 2008.

In a year's time the Carpentaria Palm has risen 5 feet tall. To the left of the picture is Murraya paniculata which produces tiny white flowers that are strongly scented.

Unfortunately the Murraya plant did not perform well and last month I replaced it with the Yellow Bamboo.

In the design of the front garden the role of scented plants is emphasised. Another species included is the " Sepenuh" -Proiphys amboinensis

Inset to the left : Close-up of the tiny and scented white flowers of the " Kemuning" in Malay. It's scientific name is Murraya paniculata.

Progress dated : 25 Jan 2009.

Progress dated : 6 August 2009

Progress dated : 4 Feb' 2010.

After about slightly more than 2 years the garden is shaping up according to plan. For more bright colours the Yellow Croton (Codiaeum variegated) is added. At the lower storey ( not seen) many numbers of Iresine plants ( Iresine herbstii) are planted for its deep red colours. The feather-leaved palm behind the Sea Cycas is the Yellow Cane Palm ( Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) which is a small-sized palm.

Progress dated : 4 June 2010

                                                   Whooopi !! the Carpentaria palms have grown 15 feet in three years.


Three years in contemporary age of the Internet is virtually unfelt. It has whisked by like the fallen frangipani petals at the front garden. Kept by a busy schedule of travel from Bintulu to Kuching and back on an almost monthly basis I have not wasted the window of opportunity to create a much needed urban oasis a step out of the house. I will of course add a little bit of smaller plants to hug on the lawn floor in future but this will have to be thought judiciously especially on the maintenance aspect because we're not everyday in Kuching. Unlike trees, smaller plants require more intensive care. After all we're always rewarded by the basics first and pretties are added bonuses.

(Re-post from my blog "My Sarawak (3rd Ed.) - http://mysarawak2.blogspot.com/search/label/Garden%20Design )

Season of pink and White Poui blooms in Bintulu

A row of Poui trees along the Tanjong Kidurong Highway (9 June, 2019)
Its the season of pink and white Poui blooms in Bintulu right now. These large flowering trees were introduced to Bintulu about 34 years ago. Many don't realise that the first seeds of these trees came in a brown envelope in 1985 from Singapore.

There is a letter written by Arthur George Alphonso ( ex- Director of Botanical Gardens, Singapore) attesting to this story.
Please follow this link to see the letter and other stories about these beautiful Poui trees that came in to Bintulu by post.
...>>>>http://mysarawak2.blogspot.com/search/label/Poui

and here...>>>>http://mybintuluhistory.blogspot.com/…/bintulu-trees-by-air…

(Note: This is a re-post from my FB, 12 May'19)

Once there was a roundabout

Combo picture to show R1 before and a recent satellite image of the same area

Roundabout One

A visitor to Bintulu in the early 1980's - 1990's would be familiar with the pace of rapid development in roads infrastructure to meet rising traffic and population of this newly booming town.  Roundabouts were once  a novel and regular feature that dotted the road map of Bintulu.  In the mid 80's - 90's I was kept busy with the landscaping of three major roundabouts around town.  These were Roundabout 1, 2 and 3.  Up to a certain point roundabouts do serve their function well and beautifully.  The construction of these roundabouts entail lots of planting space for landscaping.  Furthermore the whole landscape is enhanced by the presence of traffic islands adjacent to the roundabouts that were also given landscaping touches. At the point of writing (2 Sept'14) all these roundabout have been replaced overtime.  These pictures which I took while implementing the landscaping works do tell the story of how beautiful Bintulu was with these properly landscaped and maintained roundabouts and traffic islands.  Today I  have taken the liberty to update with  google earth satellite maps the sites of the three roundabouts.

Combo picture to show R1 before and a recent satellite image of the same area.

Combo picture to show R2 before and a recent satellite image of the same area

I have written quite a fair bit on these roundabouts in another blog of mine. Checkout the story of Roundabout Two here and Roundabout Three here . In retrospect it is much to the prevalence of these beautiful roundabouts that Bintulu has earned the identity of a beautiful town besides its miles and miles of shady and fully landscaped roads.  I felt good that in my time the groundwork for proper landscaping of the town was laid down early.

Happy Malaysia Day, Sarawak!

 (Note:  On the 16th of September, Sarawak will celebrate its independence being a party to the formation of Malaysia.  As part of remembering history I'll create some posts on what  it means to be a Malaysian as I have experienced it.  Check out the rest of the postings by following this link here.)

Combo picture to show R3  before and a recent satellite image of the same area

I have written quite a fair bit on these roundabouts in another blog of mine. Checkout the story of Roundabout Two here and Roundabout Three here . In retrospect it is much to the prevalence of these beautiful roundabouts that Bintulu has earned the identity of a beautiful town besides its miles and miles of shady and fully landscaped roads.  I felt good that in my time the groundwork for proper landscaping of the town was laid down early.

Happy Malaysia Day, Sarawak!

 (Note:  On the 16th of September, Sarawak will celebrate its independence being a party to the formation of Malaysia.  As part of remembering history I'll create some posts on what  it means to be a Malaysian as I have experienced it.  Check out the rest of the postings by following this link here.)

Once there was a nursery

Planting works with materials from Green Acres nursery, for one of the many MLNG houses at Kidurong township

Green Acres Nursery logo

 In 1992, I set up a nursery business as one of the many ventures upon joining the private sector.  The nursery business was run as a firm.  It was to provide all the planting materials for landscaping jobs undertaken by another company of mine.  Throughout the 1990's landscaping was a worthwhile business to go into because of the increasing number of residential houses built to meet the rising demand when more people began to work and stay in  Bintulu as a result of the first boom period (1979-1983).  Demand for landscaping jobs grew also from the corporate sectors and government organisations.   The demand increased further during the second economic boom 1998 - 2000.  To meet increased demand I decided to move the nursery from its small site in town to a new location about 22km away from town along the Bintulu-Tatau road.  The nursery was instrumental in developing an eco-farm and finally a nature park on the same site but with expanded acreage.  If not for the nursery my dream of having a nature park would not have been realised easily.  To see more happenings today at the nature park, please go here .
Happy Malaysia Day, Sarawak!!


(Note:  On the 16th of September, Sarawak will celebrate its independence being a party to the formation of Malaysia.  As part of remembering history I'll create some posts on what  it means to be a Malaysian as I have experienced it.  Check out the rest of the postings by following this link here.)

Planting project for expatriate housing at Sanctuary Villa housing, near Park City, Bintulu

( Re-post from my blog :My Sarawak (3rd Ed.) -- -http://mysarawak2.blogspot.com/2014/09/once-there-was-nursery.html )

Once there was a flower

Pink Poui (Tabebuia rosea) along a major roadside in Bintulu.

Date: 13 May, 2012

Pink Poui and Olive-backed Sunbird

The Poui trees (Tabebuia rosea) are now a familiar tree in Bintulu.  Its magic is evidently seen by its crowning glory of large and bunchy pink and white flowers.  The first ever batch of these trees were planted along the Tanjong Batu scenic road.  Gradually over a period of 35 years the trees were planted on major roadsides in Bintulu.  I can write endless stories about these trees but suffice to say that it was from the Bintulu experience  that other town councils began to adopt these trees as landscape trees in their main towns and rural areas.  Not many people know that originally these trees came to Bintulu in an envelope.  The story is here. Over the years too I regularly blog about them.  The relevant blog postings can be accessed below:

1) http://myussop.blogspot.com/2009/09/september-pink-and-white-glory.html
2) http://mysarawak2.blogspot.com/2010/11/be-there-right-time-and-moment-in.html#comment-form
3) http://mybintuluclicks.blogspot.com/2014/04/flowering-pink-poui.html

It is from this tree that my association with Arthur George Alphonso was first nurtured and provided me with many learning experiences on landscaping matters based on his experiences in the greening of Singapore.  Just a couple of years ago I planted one Poui tree in my garden in Kuching.  I consider the Poui tree as an essential tree for the Kambatik garden or Malaysian garden.  Check out more of my gardening experiences on this tree in Kuching here.

Happy Malaysia Day, Sarawak!

  (Note:  On the 16th of September, Sarawak will celebrate its independence being a party to the formation of Malaysia.  As part of remembering history I'll create some posts on what  it means to be a Malaysian as I have experienced it.  Check out the rest of the postings by following this link here.)

 

White Poui (Tabebuia alba)

Photo shows me (extreme left) and George Alphonso (middle in blue shirt) entertaining Japanese volunteers (JOCV) at Pantai Ria, Bintulu. Date taken : 26 October,1990.

Wildlife at the back garden and green thoughts

An everday sight at the back garden

Olive-backed Sunbird

 Staying close to nature is my favourite pastime. There are many side interests that enhance this experience like a hobby in wildlife photography, birding, painting, bloom hunting and gardening.  It does not matter whether you have a tiny plot of land in your urban house setting or a large space to work with.  There are ways to attract wildlife in all its diversity to call your garden home.  Don't worry excessively about climate change. since  this is a global phenomena that only your government can attempt to solve on G2G basis.  Do your little bit to solve the biodiversity issues by using your hands to create a little green eden around your immediate surrounding - your tiny spot in this big blue planet.  We can act as an individual to act on protecting biodiversity by having a garden space around where we sleep before the night curtains fall.  And when the morning breaks, go step outside the garden and enjoy the fresh air and leaves to refresh your eyes.  This is what is relevant at the local level , you as an individual can do to protect and encourage more wildlife and greenery in urban settings. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to solve the climate change problem. Just do what is relevant as an individual.  The birds, bees and butterflies need you. If there are not around  there will be no germination, no forests and clean air. So, start living naturally by  letting go your green fingers.  You'll be surprised to know along the way how you need the wildlife and greenery more than you could possibly  imagine.

Back garden - view from the kitchen.

(Re-post from my blog " my Gardening Projects" - http://mygardeningprojects.blogspot.com/2016/03/wildlife-at-back-garden-and-green.html )

Planting the 'Golden Torch' in beds

Heliconia 'Golden Torch' planted in beds

Location : Heliconia Valley, Zone D

  Try planting the Heliconia 'Golden Torch' in beds.  The pleasure is when they start to produce their colourful bracts.  Once established they will provide unlimited supply for daily cut flowers.  They add striking yellow colour to the landscape everyday.  It is necessary to remove or cut the aerial shoots that have flowered to encourage new shoots.  This gardening practice will result in healthy looking and clean beds.  The 'Golden Torch' have vigorous rhizomes and is easily propagated by division.  They love semi-shade or partial sun conditions.  Many birds are attracted to its inflorescences especially the sunbirds and spiderhunters.  To see how I use the Heliconia 'Golden Torch' in floral art Kambatik style , follow this link ...>>>http://dailycutflowers.blogspot.com/2009/06/hail-to-heliconias.html

Heliconias when grown in beds provide flowering shoots daily througout the year.

Location : Heliconia Valley, Zone D

( Re-post from my blog "The Kambatik Park, Bintulu" - https://kambatikpark.blogspot.com/2014/07/planting-golden-torch-in-beds.html )

Bintulu Golf Course - 2nd nine (Hole 17)

 View of Hole 17, taken on 22 February 1987

View of Hole 17, taken on 16 September 2013.

One of my adventures in life is in my involvement in the planing, construction, planting and maintenance of the Bintulu Golf Course.  The top picture was taken in 1987 when the earthworks for Hole 17 was still in progress.  Today I took another look at the location where I stood before to see how the place look at present.  The fairway of Axonopus compressus grass looks nicely cut and well grown with lots of greenery especially at the backdrop of the green.  The right slope is well landscaped with large and medium-sized trees.  Note the pencil-like trees on the left which are the Mast tree or 'Mempisang' (Polyalthia longifolia).  For more stories about the early beginnings of the course, check it out in my blog here ...>>>http://mysarawak2.blogspot.com/2010/08/bintulu-golf-course-early-beginnings.html

(Re-post from my blog "Images of Bintulu - Before and Now " -https://bintulub4now.blogspot.com/2013/09/bintulu-golf-course-2nd-nine-hole-17.html

Once there was a course

Combo pix showing the Bintulu Golf Course (2nd nine - Hole 10 - 18)

Picture shows the course in various stages of completion.  The 2nd nine course faces the South China Sea

BDA worker mowing the green at Hole 14 - 1988

1988 was a most trying year for me.  I was steeped into the landscaping of the greens, tee boxes, fairways, slopes, bunkers and general landscaping of the Bintulu golf course.  It was my first experience in doing the landscaping and maintenance of a golf course.  There were many visits made to Singapore and various  courses in Malaysia to understand the practical details of landscaping and maintaining  a golf course.  There were staff to be employed and specifications for procurement of  equipments and course maintenance to be written down in technical details for contractual documentation.  The course was to start with the 2nd nine or back nine, i.e. holes 10 -18 and to be opened for play in 1989.  I have shared many stories about the early beginnings of the course as in here and more here.  There were tons of pleasure and joy in doing the job even though it was most taxing in terms of new learning, time schedule and organisational capability.  On reflection I was  indeed blessed with a very supportive team of bosses and subordinates in carrying my responsibilities.  Memories are made of them.  Not many people however knew that we also built a  golf green for our  boss house in Kidurong Residential area in 1986 (see bottom picture).  It was  the only house in Bintulu to have a proper practice green.  At the end of the day I found that doing the course was one of the best adventures of my life.

Happy Malaysia Day, Sarawak!!

(Note:  On the 16th of September, Sarawak will celebrate its independence being a party to the formation of Malaysia.  As part of remembering history I'll create some posts on what  it means to be a Malaysian as I have experienced it.  Check out the rest of the postings by following this link here.)

The picture above shows the golf club building.  In the background is Hole 10 tee box or start of play and at middle  of picture is the Hole 18 fairway and green, the last putting green for the 9-hole golf course.

Picture taken in 1989.

Hole 18 fairway - jungle clearing and burning in progress

Date : 31 March,1986

Hole 18 fairway - turfing works completed to fairways, slopes and green

Date : 4 February 1987.

BDA staff housing at the Kidurong Residential area showing our GM's house with the practice green (at center of picture)

(Re-post from my blog "my Sarawak (3rd Ed.) - http://mysarawak2.blogspot.com/2014/09/once-there-was-course.html

The Bintulu Golf Course - early beginnings

 The view above was taken in 1988 when the course was partly open for play. In the background is seen clearing works for the first nine hole which is basically an inland route.

There is only one public golf course in Bintulu and is called the 'Bintulu Golf Course'. It exudes many scenic and attractive natural features that makes it a truly challenging and memorable course built to competition standards. It combines a links course ( back nine/second nine) and an inland course (front nine/first nine). I am in the mood to reminisce on my role in the development of the course in today's post.
I was one of those lucky guys in town to have practical experience in developing this modern and international standard course. However a caveat is in place. The course was the result of a dedicated team of officers who saw the challenge of a lifetime to build a course for a booming Bintulu township of the eighties. Financially the course was sponsored by the BDA ( Bintulu Development Authority) a local statutory agency tasked with the planning, development and maintenance of Bintulu as a new industrial city for Sarawak. When on board the team in 1986, I was responsible for the turfing of the second nine course, landscaping and daily course maintenance. As was considered feasible at that time, it was decided to construct the second nine first due to its easier working terrain and fantastic views of the South China Sea. Thus an area of about 75 acres was selectively cleared, bulldozed and reserved for fairways, tees and greens etc., to follow a detailed plan developed by one of the JOVC ( Japanese Overseas Volunteers Corporation) volunteers attached to BDA by the name of Fumiaki Izumida. I could well remember how we preserved whatever stands of the " Tongkat Ali " for posterity during the jungle clearing operations.

Before - intensive earthworks to Hole 12, with plenty of original vegetation preserved.

After - the turfing of fairways, slopes and greens done to Hole 12, with the South China Sea in the far background ( circa early 1988).

The Hole 18 green planted with Tiff Dwarf grass. Note the fairways in the far background are not yet planted .

I was totally in charge of the landscaping of the course which meant tree planting, turfing and its maintenance. For the greens I had to go to Sentosa Island Golf and Country Club in Singapore to bring in a half-kilo of Tifton Dwarf ( Tiff Dwarf) stolons ( scientific name : Cynodon dactylon and commonly known as Bermuda hybrid grass) which we propagated at our Sg. Plan Nursery and became the primal source of all the greens in the 9-hole course. For fairways and slopes the grass species used was Axonopus compressus or commonly referred to as 'Cow Grass' which was available locally in Bintulu and collected initially from Kampung Jepak village roads.

Bird's Eye View of the Clubhouse under construction with the Hole 18 Green fully turved in the background.

For a start I was responsible to develop specifications for the cutting of the turves and many other daily maintenance works ( hollow tining, fertilisation, weeds and pests control, top dressing etc.,) . However after about 6 months later, the job was contracted out and the practice of contracting out the maintenance of the course continued for many years later.

For the three full years of 1986-1988, my time was intensively engaged in one of the most memorable moments in my life as I had to learn fast on various subjects relating to golf course design and maintenance. All the tough work remains one of the adventurous chapters of my life. The course was officially opened for play in 1989 and having given some meaningful service to the Club, I was bestowed a " Life Member " of the Bintulu Golf Club. Now, 20 years later it surprises me why nobody or any other parties aren't scratching their heads to build another golf course for Bintulu.

( Re-post from my blog "My Sarawak (3rd Ed.)  - http://mysarawak2.blogspot.com/2010/08/bintulu-golf-course-early-beginnings.html )