Garden Scents and MOre CENTS

A variegated species of gardenia

Pink variety of the plumeria or frangipani species

Working in my garden is working with fresh air and much scents. This is because all over the farm scented plants are grown to produce much needed perfumery. It does make up for the tiredness and refreshes our lungs and soul even for a tiny speck of a moment. Well it's also a kind of free advertising for our garden visitors...call it the gardenia air ambeince!

My particular favourite is the common gardenia or sometimes referred to as the Cape Jasmine because it was once mistaken to originate from the Cape of Good Hope. Locally called "bunga cina" it is believed now to be originated from mainland China.

Another plant that has an interesting comeback in modern town landscaping in Malaysia despite its traditional connotations as a 'flower of the graveyard' is the highly scented "bunga kemboja" or the great frangipani ( plumeria obtusa ). The beauty of this plant is that it has very bunchy sprays of large white flowers with yellow tints in the center of the flower. Shown above is a pink variety.

In my eco-farm, these plants are grown in advance for landscaping purposes and therefore can be dug out and rebagged to be sold. In the meantime enjoy the garden fragrance!