About Me - Part 1

My real name is Elaine Yim.

I'm a DIY gardener living in the city in the tropics. I come from a family of avid gardeners. I had a happy childhood growing up in a small town in Perak where my free time after school was spent helping my grandmother pottering around the compound of our village home and rearing free range chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys for our own consumption. We had dogs, Lucky, Wong, Lassie and Kopi to help guard the house and cats, Spots and Tiger, to keep the rats population in check. All of them were strays adopted during different time periods. Whenever there was an important event in town, e.g. a singing competition or fund raising, my grandma's colourful and blooming, potted bougainvilleas would be used to adorn the stage and venue.

My father was an orchid enthusiast and loved the challenge of taking part in orchid competitions. We were very proud of his gorgeous orchids and most of my evenings were spent watching him painstakingly tending to his prized orchid collection. Friends and visitors from far and near came to our house to view his lovely orchids.

We also had a big compound around our house where we grew fruit trees like jackfruit, custard apple, guava, papaya, rambutans and mangoes. We composted the dead leaves, collected rain water and recycle our rinsing water for the plants.

Mom was a great cook. She grew aloe vera, tapioca, sweet potatoes, sugar cane, pandan, chili, lemon grass and the curry leaf plant. With so many fresh ingredients at hand, Ah Ma was never short of supplies for her beauty regimes and culinary adventures.

This is how I learnt most of my gardening, cooking and home living skills.

Currently, I have a small garden plot where I try out many different types of plants, vegetables, fruits and flowers. My references are from gardening books, magazines, TV, public gardens and the internet. I also regularly visit The Secret Garden of 1-Utama which to me is like a mini encyclopedia cum showcase of living, flowering and foliage plants. However, I do strongly believe that what matters most is the personal, hands-on experience gained through the years of working on the soil. Each garden plot has its own unique requirements pertaining to sunlight, shade, soil, temperature and water, therefore we have to adapt ourselves in order to succeed.