Over the years as I travel, explore and collect various plants, I am always intrigued by the way way these plants grow, how they grow, their surroundings and most of all the beauty of the natural landscapes they are found in. I told myself, that if I ever would want to plant them at my home, I would love to just copy what I see into my garden…very much like what Amano does with his planted tanks….replicating nature…God’s wonderful masterpieces!

Of course, this is easily said than done. As an ecologist, I now that there are many factors that contribute to the survival of one particular species and almost always, each species depend on other influences be it living (biotic) or none living (abiotic). They all play an important part in the overall well being and survival of each other.

TIME….yes, time plays the other important role in the overall ecology of the habitat. This became very obvious while I was busy preparing my Zoo Aquarium. We have decided that the aquarium would take on a new concept, a new look altogether….a more ecological approach in which not just a particular species would be showcased, but its entire habitat….and TIME played a very,very important part in the success of the aquarium. There are some things that can be set up instantly, but when you’re dealing with nature and trying to replicate her as detail as possible, well….you have to wait, and sometimes this takes a lot of patience. Anyway, another article on my work at the aquarium, but now lets get back to my garden.

A pot of C.wendtii ‘Red’ that’s doin well in a hotter part of the garden

When I moved into my new home some 10 years ago, I already envisioned what I was going to do with the land around it. Well its been 10 years now, and my garden…well if that’s what its called now, is almost at its peak. Several trees are still pending, but when complete, my goal is to get the surroundings as close as possible to conditions within a forest. By this I mean in terms of humidity, light intensity, various niches and micro habitats and various earth conditions, very much like in a Malaysian forest. Then the goal is to plant my beautiful specimens in surrounding that are well…..close to home!

I dont have a  very large garden per say, just about 70 x 20 feet in area. My house is a standard corner lot. Of course I wish I had a bigger piece of land, maybe several acres…and boy would I have field day at home!!…Most probably would never leave home….

An overview of one part of my wildlife pond with C.auriculata on the left, C. timahensis in middles and C.affinis at right

A close up of C. auriculata growing along the small stream with lots of leaf litter

A close up of the mottled C.auriculata

Close up of C. bullosa in the same pond. In the same pond I also have C. uenoi, C. crispatula var. balansae, C. crispatula var. crispatula and C. keei. However, most of them have not yet grown fully. Some are still wit very young shoots. I’ll post pictures of them later once they are well grown.

My garden is surrounded by hedging. I planted the popular species of Syzygium. I have a main wildlife pond that’s about 10 feet in lenght but rather kidney shaped with one end shallow with lost of river sand, and the other about two feet deep. Around this main pond are several smaller ponds, some directly attached to the main pond while other are just scattered around it. Various trees grow around the pond, giving it partial shade. The pond itself is palnted with various aroids and pandans to help with the filtration. There isnt ant mechanical filters or sumps. This is because the loading of fish is very low.

Not a very good shot of C. longicauda in a separate pool filled with damp peat soil

The two pics above are of a small peat pond with C. purpurea and C.cordata, both from South East Johor. Other crypts from peat swamps at my place include C. ferruginea, C. ‘Kota Tinggi’ sp, etc

C. griffthii growing next to the C. auriculata pond

A lush patch of C.potenderifolia in the foreground with a barely visible C. nurii at the upper end

In various parts and ponds around the garden, I have planted several species of crypts, pitcher plants, Hoya etc. Most of these ponds have various soil types according to the various crypts I plan to plant. Most are seasoned for some time before I actually plant crypts in them. Currently working on two large cement tanks that are filled with peat. These have full water so that I can keep various blackwater crypts in submersed conditions. These would have to sit at least 4 moths before I can dump anything in them. Usually I would just float the crypts in them for at least a week before planting them in. It would alos be best to remove the leaves before floating them.

C. cordata in another large pot filled with peat and laterite.

A flowering C. purpurea var purpurea

Another separate pot with a mix of peat and laterite for the C. purpurea var. purpurea.

C. ciliata growing lushly in a separate pond. They flower often but not when I took this picture

C. griffthii and C. lingua growing togather with C. ciliata in the same pond.

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