My Garden

RAMBUTAN TREE

2008-06-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

Rambutan Tree
(family Sapindaceae)

This is my Rambutan tree in my house, named Rambutan Rafiah
the rambutan is delicious and nutritious fruit. The flavor and appearance of the flesh is similar to lichee.
The word "rambut" in the fruit name mean 'hairy’

The rambutan is a bright red fruit covered in soft, hairy spines. Gently squeeze to open and enjoy the delicious, sweet, translucent, litchi-like fruit inside. Slightly rubbery in texture, it is also called ngoh in Thailand.
Rambutan fruit contents vitamin C, and many other nutritional
Rambutan are premier dessert fruit and are usually eaten fresh.To open rambutan partially cut through the skin, or just break open using a strong thumb-nail.

Ananas

2008-05-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

Pineapple /Ananas is a Tropical Plant and Fruit.

Pineapple is a rosette plant with long, narrow leaves bearing saw tooth edges. And native to Tropical America.

Blooming Time: It takes 2 years for the plant to mature enough to bloom and produce fruit. The fruit is produced on top of a sturdy stalk at the center of the plant. Homegrown pineapples are not as large as commercial pineapples.

Pineapple contains a proteolytic enzyme bromelain , which digests food by breaking down protein. Pineapple juice can thus be used as a marinade and tenderizer for meat. The enzymes in pineapples can interfere with the preparation of some foods, such as jelly or other gelatin based desserts.

Pineapple contain Vitamin C, Vitamin B1. so healthy fruit !!!

Tapak Dara ( Rosy Periwinkle)

2008-04-07T16:29:00.001-07:00

White Rosy Periwinkle (Tapak dara Putih)

Bunga Tapak Dara ( Rosy Periwinkle)

Catharanthus roseus

Family: Apocynaceae
Form: Herb / Vine
Origin: Native to Madagascar

Weed Type(s): Weed, Naturalised, Introduced, Garden Escape, Environmental Weed, Cultivation Escape

Bunga Tapak Dara /Catharanthus roseus is a fleshy perennial growing to 32 in (80 cm) high. It has glossy, dark green, oval leaves (1-2 inches long) and flowers all summer long.

The blooms of the natural wild plants are a pale pink with a purple "eye" in their centers.

The plant has historically been used to treat a wide assortment of diseases. It was used as a folk remedy for Diabetes in Europe for centuries. In India, juice from the leaves was used to treat wasp stings. In Hawaii, the plant was boiled to make a poultice to stop bleeding. In China, it was used as an astringent, diuretic and cough remedy. In Central and South America, it was used as a homemade cold remedy to ease lung congestion and inflammation and sore throats. Throughout the Caribbean, an extract from the flowers was used to make a solution to treat eye irritation and infections.

It also had a reputation as a magic plant; Europeans thought it could ward off evil spirits, and the French referred to it as "violet of the sorcerers."

Pink Rosy Periwinkle (Tapak dara pink)

HELICONIA

2008-04-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

Yellow Heliconia

This is my Heliconia flowers in my garden, it's exotic flower. There are several very obvious characteristics by which they can be recognized, including large leaves and large, colorful, bracteate inflorecences.

Heliconias are grown for the florist's trade and as landscape plants

Amaryllis Flower

2008-04-02T01:13:00.000-07:00

I have Amaryllis at home. I took pictures of them every day from the early beginning until all had blossoms.

They look tropical and exotic; large, lily-like trumpet blooms on tall, straight stems, with a base of strappy leaves.
The amaryllis comes in many beautiful varieties including various shades of red, white, pink, salmon and orange. There are also many striped and multicolored varieties, usually combining shades of pink or red with white. Of all flowering bulbs, amaryllis are the easiest to bring to bloom. This can be accomplished indoors or out, and over an extended period of time.

Amaryllis Care:
After the amaryllis has stopped flowering, it can be made to flower again. Cut the old flowers from the stem after flowering, and when the stem starts to sag, cut it back to the top of the bulb.
Continue to water and fertilize as normal. When the leaves begin to yellow, which normally occurs in the early fall, cut the leaves back to about 2 inches from the top of the bulb and remove the bulb from the soil.

Belimbing Wuluh - Kamias

2008-03-31T02:22:00.000-07:00

This is my Belimbing Wuluh Tree in my house

Belimbing Wuluh (Averrhoa Belimbi)

Kamias (Philipine)

Belimbing Wuluh is not commonly consumed because the taste is very sour. Usually, people use it to cook sour soup, shrimp gulai and fish gulai. From this fruit, you can make asam sunti (a special spice) and pickles out of it.

It is sometimes known as the cucumber tree because of the shape of its fruit.

How to make asam sunti??
Wash some fruits and Sprinkle salt on them and put them under the sun. Do this every day until the fruits become dried. Put the dried fruits inside a jar and close it tightly. This dried fruit is usually used for Gulai (Sumatra Cooking)

Recipe with Belimbing Wuluh

Fish steamed in banana leaves
Ingredients:

500 gr fish fillet

1 tbsp lime juice

2 tsp salt

belimbing wuluh - as you like 4-8 fruits(sour star fruit)

250 ml thick coconut milk

2 kunyit leaves (curcuma)

banana leaf biting (wooden sticks)

10 red rawits (small chilies)

6 shallots

5 cloves garlic

2 cm laos (galanga)

Salt

preperation/method;Rub the fish in with the lime juice and 1 tsp salt and cut it into pieces. Cut the belimbing into thin slices and sprinkle these with the salt. Let it stand for 15 minutes and rinse it and drain. Slice the kunyit leaves very fine and thin. Cut the banana leaf into four 18x18 cm pieces. Pound or grind the ingredients for the bumbu into a paste. Mix all ingredients well. Pour the mixture on a banana leaf piece and flod it as a package and tie it with the biting. Steam the packages for 15 minutes until done and serve.

Leaf of Belimbing Wuluh
Tree of Belimbing Wuluh

Wijaya Kusuma Flowers

2008-03-31T01:24:00.000-07:00

Wijaya Kusuma (Epiphyllum anguliger)

Species : Cactus

I have many Wijaya Kusuma flowers in my house, I think this flower is very exotic and really beautiful when it was bloomed…

The color of my Wijaya Kusuma is white and mixed with pink.

The Wijaya Kusuma flower only bloomed several times(starting from morning and peak bloom on 12.00 pm) and not all wijayakusuma could blossom easily, depended on the climate, the fertility of the land and the maintenance method.Generally the cactus kind was difficult to be determined by his morphology, but wijayakusuma could be seen clearly which leaves part and which one of his stem part, after this crop in maturity state.The tree trunk wijayakusuma in fact was formed from the sheet of the leaves that hardened and became smaller.The sheet of the leaves was thin and flat, was green with the surface of the fine leaves was not thorny, it is another matter with cacti generally.To each edge of the leaves wijayakusuma was gotten indentations that were overgrown the leaves bud or the flower.

Palm Tree

2008-03-29T02:08:00.001-07:00

My PALM TREES

I have much kind of palm trees (Arecaceae or Palmae) in my house:

- Red Palm

- Putri Palm

- Coconut Tree

- Bottle Palm

Palm trees grow in places that are warm and have a lot of sunshine. The palms, cycads and tropical plants sections.palms tree relatively tall, erect, unbranched, regularly cylindrical.The flowers are borne on simple or branching spikes. The seed consists almost exclusively of endosperm, Upper portion of Coconut seed, albumen in a cavity in showing the embryo, embedded in endosperm, which is lodged the relatively very minute embryo.
Flower of Bottle Palm Tree

Bottle Palm Tree

Coconut Tree

Princess Palm Tree (Palem Putri)

Banana

2008-03-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

I have many banana trees in my garden
My house like a jungle of banana.......

Banana plants are of the family Musaceae. In popular culture and commerce’ Banana’’ Indonesian name is ‘’ Pisang’’ usually refers to soft, sweet "dessert" bananas that are usually eaten raw. Mana kind of Banana in Indonesia:

Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple and red. Bananas can be eaten raw though some varieties are generally cooked first, here are over 400 varieties of bananas, in Indonesia for Example:

-Pisang Tanduk usually for fried banana or kolak (dessert mixed with coconut) (size long and big)
- Pisang Raja usually for grilled mixed with cheese and Chocolate or for kolak
-Pisang Ambon usually eaten raw
- Pisang Mas usually eaten raw (small)
- Pisang Kelutuk usually for Rujak… (Indonesian dessert mixed with other fruits like: Star Fruit, young mango and with palm sugar..)

My favorite dessert is Banana grilled :)

Bananas may also be dried and eaten as a snack food. Dried bananas are also ground into banana flour.

The leaves of the banana are large, flexible, and waterproof; they are used in many ways, including to wrap food for cooking.

A banana is a natural remedy for many ills. It has many protein, carbohydrate, phosphorus, vitamin A and iron, and the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.

Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, chopped
3 ripe, soft, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons butter, melted then cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease bottom only of regular loaf pan, or grease and flour bottom and sides of nonstick 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan.
Combine dry ingredients together in large bowl and set aside.
Mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with wooden spoon in medium bowl.
Lightly fold banana mixture into dry ingredients with rubber spatula until just combined and batter looks thick and chunky.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan; bake until loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.
Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for 4 days, on the counter for 2 days.

Pisang Tanduk

Pisang Mas (Gold Banana)

Hibiscus Flowers

2008-03-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

Hibiscus Flower (Rosemallow)
Family : Malvaceae

Hibiscus flowers are among the most beautiful flowers in the whole world. Hibiscus has over 200 species in its family.Hibiscus can be grown in the garden but also on pottery inside the house.

It gets its name from the Greek words Hibiscus meaning "mallow" and rosa-sinensis meaning "rose of China".

Very easy to care Hibiscus, hibiscus need much sun and no needed too much water.

I have many kind of hibiscus in my garden:

pink

Red

Yellow

White

Baby Pink

Orange

All so beautiful....... I love it.....