Count Your Blessings!

With love and passion, everyone can have a nice garden...Elaine Yim

Count Your Blessings!
Count The Garden By The Flowers, Never By The Leaves That Fall.
Count Your Life With Smiles And Not The Tears That Roll.
..... Author unknown.

Knowing me, Knowing you..... Aha.....!

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Malaysian Flora USDA Zone 11
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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Gardening A Game !


I would like to thank Malar of My Little Garden blog for inviting me to take part in "Gardening A Game" where I have to list down "10 Things That I Love To Do".  Her post is here.

Malar, the lovely Blotanist who tagged me.

I have included 10 pictures of flowers from my garden to accompany the 10 things that I am going to list down:

1. I love GINGER. I love my pink Etlingera elatior, or torch ginger. It add a special exotic flavour to my favourite spicy hot and sour dishes. The fun part is getting my kitchen knife to cut off the flower buds and eating them raw, usually as garnishing on those dishes. I am now experimenting with growing the lengkuas, turmeric and ordinary ginger in my garden from store bought rhizomes.


2. I love FRAGRANT plants. This angelwing jasmine has been propagated from a cutting from my brother's neighbour in Ipoh, the same person who gave me the rhizome of the bunga kantan (torch ginger). The fragrant plants I have are Jasmine sambac, Murraya paniculata, Kesidang (Vallaris glabra) and also a white champacca that has not ever flower yet. I also have pandan, mint and lemon grass if you can call them fragrant plants.


Oxalis corniculata - Creeping Oxalis 

3. I enjoy WEEDING whenever I can. Pulling out the weeds and dumping them into my compost pile is a very satisfying experience. I feel like an accomplishment to rid my garden of unwanted plants and recycling them. However, if the weeds are as beautiful as this tiny yellow wild flower with heart shaped leaves and the jade green moss, then I give them a chance. The above is the habitat of my pomelo plant which is grown in a big flower pot.

Weeding or wild flower? The answer lies with the gardener!

“Gardening A Game”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on October 5th, 2010.


4. I love to KEEP STUFF and I like to write. I kept a diary when I was a kid. I started a blog to keep an electronic diary or journal but ended up writing a garden blog instead. I like to keep records, directories and spreadsheets and I use an excel file to do the computing and sorting.

 I still keep the letters, cards and stuff my friends and family sent to me.


5. I love FLOWERING plants. Flowers brighten up my day, no matter what their colour. I like it when my foliage plants start to bloom too!

I believe that blooming flowers always bring happiness and good fortune.


6. I love being a DIY gardener because I enjoy doing it MY WAY!

I have since learnt to be a frugal gardener and I also like to experiment with all kinds of plants. So my garden is always changing. I have a backyard for herbs and vegetables, a side yard for shade plants, the front yard for the showy ones and a 'laboratory' under my bamboo tree to act as a quarantine, ICU as well as 'birthing centre'.


7. I love to know the NAME of each and every plant that I come accross. I find that if I know the plant name, then I can find out its origin, likes and dislikes. By doing so, I can become a better gardener.

I also wonder if getting to know a person more thoroughly makes us a better spouse/friend?


8. I love raising BABIES. I am busy raising plants, the sex of which may be male, female or both! I plant from seeds or seedlings purchased at nurseries and also from cuttings given by other gardeners and friends.

Some babies are a nuisance but nature will take care of them if your garden has become a natural habitat and the ecosystem has balanced itself. Can you spot the 2nd grasshopper nymph in the picture above?


9. My HOBBIES. I love to eat, cook and take photos but not necessary in that order. I also like to listen to songs and watch movies, including costume dramas and westerns. Anyway, most of the singers I like are dead and gone (to Heaven), e.g. Karen Carpenter, Andy Gibb. I still watch Tom and Jerry and Disneyland.

If I have more money, my hobby will change to travelling around the world and visiting every botanic garden there is.

I never leave home without my camera and I have never lived a day without my dose of caffeine. I like black expresso coffee on the double, and also coffee in cakes, ice-cream and dishes, e.g. coffee pork ribs.



“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.

The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

..... Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

10. I love to READ.

I get lots of inspiration from reading books such as the classics, fairy tales, self improvement, fiction, romance, sometimes even children books. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Harry Porter series and I read the children book, The Secret Garden as an adult. Now, most of the books I read are gardening books and cook books. I can spend the whole day in a bookstore or library, reading or browsing.

I also love to read your blogs, as many as my time allow me to.


I have selected 10 bloggers who are also newbie Blotanists to play this game. Let's get to know more about and welcome them to our beautiful Blotanical family of garden bloggers. They are:

1. Makarimi of Orchid de Dangau - Malaysia. Update: The post is here.
2. Terry and Janice of The Upside Down Garden - New Zealand
3. College Gardener of Journey & Jonquils - New England, USA
4. Bom of Plant Chaser - Philippines. Update: The post is here.
5. Michelle, Chris and Gabe Clay - The Clueless Gardeners - Massachusetts, USA
6. Rosie of My Garden Haven 1’s Blog - Malaysia
7. Carol of My Passion Venture - Malaysia
8. Radha of Naturally Beautiful - India
9. Trevor Hunt of A Gardening Life in Brittany- France
10. Takaeko of Small Vege Garden in a Suburb - Japan


The rules of this game:
1) Inform who invited you and link back
2) What are the 10 things you like to do
3) Invite another 10 other bloggers

Now, I wonder if anyone will do this post on Sunday, October 10th, 2010 or 10-10-10!

27 comments:

  1. Autumn Belle, Your photos are stunning! Really mean it. When I first checked out your blog till now, I've seen tremendous improvement in a very short time and in various ways.

    We have many similar hobbies. Amongst all your beautiful photos today, I like the weed and moss the best.

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  2. Thank you. It's always interesting to know more about our fellow gardeners and compare notes. Just like knowing all the plant names or knowing your spouse better, it can sometimes make us better gardeners.......or at least inspire us.

    Very nice post and beautiful pictures.

    Thanks again.

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  3. Very nice pic Autumn Belle!!!

    I really like the way you shoot your pic and of course the notes you wrote here.

    Good Luck in Gardening Game.

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  4. You really know your flowers, and the pictures bring out the best in them!

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  5. Hi Autumn Belle, that's a fun theme for a post, and it seems like all ten things you like to do are somehow gardening related. Great pics, too.

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  6. Nice to know a bit more about you Autumn Belle.

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  7. wonderful wonderful blog and pics new friend. keep it up! :)

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  8. Nice, clear pictures and fun list! Also I love the Einstein quote at the end. :)

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  9. I see sooooooo many similarities... i too love writing letters/ sending cards to-date in this techno driven world... love flowering plants, reading, watching movies n yes Karen carpenters too.

    Nice to get to know you a little more

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  10. Delightful to learn more about you with this lovely post/photos. You are blessed and seem to know it :)

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  11. Hi Autumn Belle, great to know more about you. Finally I know someone who loves the Harry Porter series too! I read the series twice! I can see that we do have a lot in common other than this. Great photos!

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  12. Hi Autumn Belle,

    Thank you so much, for your invitation...I really appreciate it.

    This game really challenging to me... I'm newbie in this blogger world...but i will try my best.

    Thanks again.

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  13. your shots never fail to amaze me. beautiful quote to match.

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  14. Autumn- It is nice to read more about you and get to know you better. Your photos are lovely.

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  15. Hi Autumn Belle, it's wonderful to learn more about you through this game. Love the photos you posted especially the one with the grasshoppers! If you didn't mention in your words, I wouldn't realize that there was another grasshopper hiding below the flower petal.

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  16. I have yet to do my ten favorite things after I was nominated for this as well. Oops. I will get to it during the cold months I supposed. You should come over to my garden and do some weeding, since you love it so much. Ha Ha.
    Loved reading about you. You are so interesting.
    Bye, Autumn Belle!

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  17. First, your photos are magnificent, all of them. Great macro shots as well. I liked learning more about you through this meme. I too, like you have kept all letters and cards from family and special friend. I still enjoy sending cards and letters.

    I also have to agree that Karen Carpenter was one of the best female vocalists that ever lived. Andy Gibb was also a favorite of mine.

    I thoroughly enjoyed this post.

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  18. Dear Autumn Belle, How lovely to learn a little more about you! Your photographs are stunning! Pam x

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  19. Am glad to know you more Autumn Belle. I actually miss our small private mails. Like One, i noticed the leap of improvement both in photos and writing style, and of course writing botanical names professionally, hehe. I really love your photos, and now thinking that your camera is maybe really better than mine! I appreciate what you do, what you like, what you are, and what you made of me, in ways you might not realize! Thank you Autumn Belle for being a friend.

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  20. Good Morning my dear friends!

    I’m sorry for being long-winded this time. The Blotanical community now is abuzz with 10 things that blotanists love doing and the meme is spreading like wildfire or should I say it is going to be like Einstein’s atomic theory E=mc2, lol. I think by now, almost every blotanists has been hit. All of us should have done this simultaneously on 10-10-10! I must admit that it was fun getting to know the person behind the blogger all over again.

    I would like to thank each and everyone for the kind words of encouragement.

    One, it was so sweet of you. I’m glad that my moss has the ‘Kate Moss’ appeal too, lol. I have learnt a lot from you, especially on kindness and understanding of other creatures that share our Mother Earth.

    Steve, knowing the names of plants has enabled me to be a better gardener and knowing the nickname of my spouse has certainly enabled me to know him better!

    Makarimi, I am looking forward to learnt a lot more about orchid growing from you and I am eagerly waiting to know your 10 likes.

    Rambling Round, thanks for the kind words. You are so sweet.

    Babara, actually there are many many more things that I like. For one, I’d love to be able to grow sunflowers as gigantic as yours!

    Helen, I’d love to have tea with you in your lovely garden in Barbados.

    Blupavan, thank you for the nice words, and you are always welcome at My Nice Garden.

    Diane AZ, thank you for following me. I am inspired by your comment.

    Ever Green Tree, after your comment, I feel like I am on Top Of The World!

    Joey, I am indeed blessed to have your visits and comment. Thank you for dropping by!

    Melaka gal, I’d love to be able to perform a transfiguration spell and appear in your kitchen right now. I want to taste your latest corn muffins, and of course with a double expresso. Can I invite Snape too?

    Life Ramblings, thank you for the words of encouragement. I’d love to be able to visit all the lovely places that you have been to.

    Melanie, I’d love to go to British Columbia and see your lovely garden.

    JC, thank you very much for the words of inspiration. I’d love to be as skillful as you are when it comes to taking pictures.

    Rosey, I’d love to go over to your garden to do weeding in December, haha! Now, I’d also love to play in the snow and see mountain lions and bob cats. Then you must hike with me up the Colorado mountains, and also go biking. How I wish I can watch the 4 seasons go by.

    Catharine, the angelwing jasmine looks and smells nice.

    Joanne, I’d love to visit you in San Francisco Bay and see the Golden Gate Bridge. Somehow, seeing this bridge always reminds me of my fave Bee Gees song, “How Deep Is Your Love”

    Finally, please forgive me for day dreaming ;-)

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  21. Pam, I'd love to have an English garden as beautiful as yours!

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  22. Andrea, my good friend, this time I shall call it serendipity, I was busy typing out the replies to my comments when you were typing a comment for me.

    Aha, I wonder if you like the 2 songs that I like, Beautiful Girl by Jose Marie Chan and Anak by Freddie Aguilar?

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  23. Hi Autumn Belle...Just update my post Gardening A Game...only 5 of 10, another 5 will coming soon...

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  24. Dear Autumn Belle , thanks for inviting me to the game. But I am not really a gardener. Just one who appreciates all things nature has on show! But I will keep this in mind and do it sometime later. Thanks once again.
    PS - Your blog has lovely pictures. Glad you have your camera always with you.

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  25. Beautiful flowers, The first one looks like it was candy art. Amazing!

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  26. Much happiness and good fortune to you! The flowers you selected are truly beautiful, and I enjoyed getting to know more about you.

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Words are like the voice of the heart... Confucius

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