A Preview of The New English Themed Garden at Fraser's Hill - Part 3

1.

In 2009 an announcement was made by our Tourism Minister in the local newspapers of plans to develop and maintain Fraser's Hill as the "Little England of the East". As the town center areas are being spruced up and planted with various types of flowering annuals and shrubs that bloom in bright cheerful colours, in another part of Fraser's Hill, a 0.8ha floral park is nearing its completion. The garden is simply named "Taman Bunga Bukit Fraser" meaning Fraser's Hill Garden.

The development of this RM 4.2 million garden is funded by the Ministry of Tourism. The job is managed by the ministry's Fraser's Hill Parks and Garden Project Team. The team advisor is Dr. Francis S.P. Ng, the international award winning Botanical Consultant with many years of forestry, horticulture and garden design experience who is responsible for the Secret Garden of 1-Utama in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Dr. Ng also lectures at University Tunku Abdul Rahman. 

Dr. Francis Ng was with me during our recent visit to the Fraser's Hill Garden, together with 3 officials from Tourism Malaysia, namely Mr Wan Mohd Syafique (Technical), Ms Zahida (Public Relations) and Ms Izati (Photographer). My grateful thanks to them for  their warm hospitality and generous sharing of information.

Now, let's take a look at the work-in-progress Garden.....

2.

This mock-Tudor styled stone building houses an English Tea House. It overlooks the main garden. The "Little Garden" beside is being planted with flowers on raised beds and borders. Some of the flowers here are Mona Lavender, Angelonia, Salvia, Impatiens, Amaryllis, Agapanthus, Hippy Lilies and multi-coloured foliage plants. There is a water fountain and walkways are lined with stone pavers that allows water to seep through and grass to grow.

“A Preview of The New English Themed Garden at Fraser's Hill - Part 3”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on April 16th, 2013.

3.

A sea of Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender', English Ivy, Agapanthes Lilies and Cleome flowers.

Well, the garden is based on the English garden theme, but don't be surprised that we can't find peaches and apple trees, snowdrops and daffodils here. The plants selection is based on a few criteria:

1. their ability to thrive in our tropical highlands, e.g. those that have proven track record of growing well in Cameron Highlands, another hill station and leading producer of temperate flowers in Malaysia.
2. flowering plants with plenty of blooms in many colours
3. easy to maintain and propagate by gardeners who take over after the project has been handed over to the local town council.

4.

Cleome hassleriana (Spider Flower
Chinese name : 醉蝶花 ( zui die hua - Drunken Butterfly Flower)
Malay name: Bunga Laba-Laba

5.

Hedera helix 'Glacier' (English Ivy)

6.

Malvaviscus penduliflorus (Sleeping Hisbiscus)

7.

Agapanthus praecox (Lily of the Nile)

8.

A view of the Tea House with overhang balcony.

The Tea House is located at the hilltop and it overlooks the main garden. It is an "open-concept" tea house with a restaurant, ticketing booth and washrooms. Hopefully they serve real English tea and scones

The site here was formerly an abandoned Mini Zoo. The size of the Mini Zoo is 15 acres (6 hectares) and of this 2 acres (0.8 ha) are now being developed into an English themed garden.

9.

A sky view of rainforest tree-tops.

10.

The formal garden design.

11.

The main garden is situated at the bottom of a valley within an ancient tropical rainforest.

12.

An ancient Araucaria tree stands tall at the edge of  the garden. 

Taman Bunga Bukit Fraser is located very near to the Taman Awam (Public Park) and just a short distance away from Ye Olde Smokehouse.

13.

Close-up of the Araucaria tree trunk with a "face". Perhaps this face had witness a lot of happenings at Fraser's Hill through the years from the British colonial, pre-independence days of Louis James Fraser (1890s) right up to our present 2013. Then it was "Malaya", now it is "Malaysia"!

Read more about this garden in my latest New Straits Times Press article titled, "Spot of England" dated 13 April 2013 here.

This is my entry for Fertilizer Friday, hosted by Glenda at Tootsie Time here.
And for Our World Tuesday, Week 86, the link is here.