Aku dan Lukisan
23 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in About Me Tags: Almost Forgotten, Drawing
Dulu waktu masih duduk di bangku sekolah menengah, banyak waktu kugunakan untuk menggambar. Banyak lukisan ukuran poster menghiasi kamarku. Setelah nantinya selesai SMA, aku sebetulnya ingin melanjutkan ke Akademi Seni Rupa, tapi Mama tak menginjinkan. Mama-ku tak mau aku jadi seniwati…. kan para seniman itu terkenal kosong kantongnya?? Hobby menggambarpun masih kadang kadang kulakukan selama aku melanjutkan sekolah di Bandung.
Namun setelah menikah dan mempunyai anak aku tidak menggambar lagi. Baru beberapa tahun ini aku mencoba menggambar dengan memakai komputer. Inilah beberapa karyaku yang kurasa jauh dari sempurna dan mungkin tidak ada harga seni-nya…. namun asyik juga menemukan kembali hobby yang hampir terlupakan.
Aku bukan seniman, tapi tetap saja tidak banyak duitnya:(
Cymbidium tracyanum
21 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in 3. Orchids Tags: Cymbidium tracyanum, My garden, New Collection
Bought this exotic Cymbidium in a Florist shop in Brandon Park Shopping Centre this morning Monday May 21, 2012. Cymbidium tracyanum is fragrant and beautiful. Native species of China and the surrounding area of Indo China. Here in Melbourne it flowers earlier around April and May, while most other Cymbidiums bloom around late winter to spring time.
Tuesday May 22, 2012:
Looking closely at the new C. tracyanum orchid plant, I realise that it is a big and robust species. The flower spike is tall almost 1 m long with 15 large flowers. The arching leaves are also long and thick. The big bulbs have already crowded, so after flowering I will move the plant in a bigger pot. Compared with all our other cymbidiums, it is the biggest one. I just read about this plant and it is actually native species of Southern China, Northern Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.
Other than strong perfume, the flowers are weirdly pretty. The striped petals are mixed colours of yellow, green and dark brownish red. While the spotty white lip is kind of hairy. I keep it inside the house now to fully enjoy the sweet perfume and the exotic beauty. I read that quite a few hybrids available and I am not sure which one is mine….. it could be Cymbidium tracyanum ‘ Atlantis’.
Here in Melbourne, Cymbidium tracyanum orchids are rarely available. I feel so lucky to be able to buy one.
More Autumn Blooms….
18 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in 1. Cactus and Succulent Tags: Epiphyllum, Growing Cumbidium Spikes, Zygocacti
The mystery yellow Epiphyllum is flowering much too early….. a real nice surprise! The medium size blooms are soft yellow with very soft sweet smell. The cutting that I planted last year is growing and also having few flower buds.
More flowering Zygocacti ( Schlumbergera sp.):
What I like best of autumn flower ‘Chrysanthemums’ is the long lasting blooms. Even as cutting flowers in a vase, they can last more than two weeks! More Chrysanthemums from our garden:
My Mother’s Day Present:)
Fully open mauve Chrysanthemums
The first Cymbidium with tiny flower buds poking out of the tip of the spikes!
Mother’s Day 2012 – Renungan
12 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Life Tags: Childless Women, Mother's Day
Dibanyak negara hari minggu ini tanggal 13 Mei (hari minggu kedua dibulan Mei) adalah Mother’s Day atau di Indonesia disebut Hari Ibu. Buat kaum ibu pada umumnya adalah hari yang bahagia. Dihari ini, disini di Australia para ibu akan dimanjakan oleh anak anaknya. Ada yang diberi hadiah seperti misalnya bunga indah, sekotak permen coklat, parfum yang begitu harum dsb…. Ada anak anak yang membawa ibu mereka makan dirumah makan dengan hidangan khusus, ada yang menghidangkan makan pagi istimewa, piknik ditempat yang indah dsb….
Beberapa waktu sebelum Mother’s Day tiba, banyak sekali iklan iklan yang menawarkan hadiah khusus untuk diberikan kepada para ibu tercinta. Seperti juga disaat sebelum Hari Natal dan Tahun Baru, Hari Ibu disini di Australia sudah menjadi alat untuk menarik para konsumen. Konsumerisme sudah berakar daging dan dengan amat berlebihan ditayangkan di pusat media ataupun pertokoan. Semakin hebatnya konsumerisme ini sudah begitu dalamnya sehingga mampu membuat golongan tertentu sedih dan tertekan.
Di hari Natal dan Tahun Baru, dimana semua keluarga berkumpul dan merayakan hari besar itu, mereka yang tak punya sanak keluarga akan merasa lebih sendiri dan sedih. Begitu juga di hari ibu, banyak wanita yang tak mempunyai anak akan merasakan kesedihan yang begitu mendalam. Memang bagi wanita modern, tak punya anak bisa dikarenakan oleh banyak hal. Ada yang tak punya anak karena memang tak menikah dan yang lainnya tak punya anak karena tak mampu misalnya karena tak bisa hamil atau mengalami keguguran. Bagi banyak wanita yang bukan ibu, setiap tahun disaat orang merayakan hari ibu, akan semakin merasakan kekosongan dalam hidup mereka. Semakin dalam mereka merasa tak berguna sebagai wanita karena tak bisa mempunyai anak. Semakin pedih rasa kesepian dan merasa terkucil sendiri.
Bagaimana caranya untuk mengurangi rasa sedih disaat mother’s day tiba?
- Rayakan hari itu bersama ibu anda. Buatlah hari ini seistimewa mungkin. Kalau misalnya ibu anda sudah tiada lagi, ziarah kekuburan ibu dan kenanglah semua kebaikan beliau selama hidupnya.
- Rayakan hari itu bersama wanita lainnya yang senasib. Pasti anda juga punya saudara, teman, kenalan, tetangga dsb yang juga tak punya anak. Ajaklah mereka untuk bersenang senang hari itu. Makan bersama, berpiknik bersama dsb.
- Rencanakan hari istimewa berdua bersama suami tercinta.
- Tahukah anda bahwa tidak semua ibu menyukai hari ibu? Banyak kaum ibu yang merasa tradisi merayakan hari ibu yang dari tahun ketahun semakin bersifat konsumerisme adalah tak perlu dan berlebihan.
- Wanita tak akan kurang harganya karena mereka tak punya anak. Anna Jarvis sendiri yang dikenal sebagai pendiri Hari Ibu bukanlah seorang ibu. Anna Jarvis tidak punya anak sama sekali, dia mendirikan hari ibu adalah untuk menghargai ibunya yang amat disayangi dan juga kaum ibu lainnya yang patut mendapat penghargaan.
Other Blogs on Mother’s Day:
https://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/mothers-day/
http://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/mother%e2%80%99s-day-lunch-in-marysville/
https://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/chrysantemum-the-mother%e2%80%99s-day-flower/
Late Autumn Blooms
08 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in 4. Seasonal Garden Notes Tags: Chrysanthemums, Justicia, Late Autumn, My garden, Zygocactus
Pink Zygocactus Flower
Just a quick note of the day. Today is a glorious sunny and warm Autumn Day after many grey rainy days. The Chrysanthemums are flowering nicely….they had to be covered with a plastic sheet during the rain. Getting too wet of many days of rainfalls would rot the delicate petals. Some of the Zygocactus (Schlumbergera, Christmas cactus) are blooming and the others still in buds. The Justicia is also blooming. Late season roses are still in flower but they are not as good as the spring and summer flowers. Meanwhile all the Jade plants ( Crassula ovata) are covered with tiny white flower buds.
Oh yes….. the cute little kitten is lazily basking in the warmth of the sun.
Zygo Cactus
Zygocactus ‘White Fantasy’ (Schlumbergera/Christmas Cactus)
Salmon Colour Zygocactus
Red Copper Chrysanthemums
Mauve Chrysanthemums
Pink Justicia carnea
Saving Sick Sunrise Cactus
29 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in 1. Cactus and Succulent Tags: Fungal Problem, Phytophthora root rot, Sunrise Cactus
Fussy and troublesome Sunrise Cactus!!!!!
Lately, I noticed that the Sunrise Cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri) looked droopy and wilted. I thought that I overwatered and the recent autumn cold snap had caused the plant to wilt. First, it was only a little part that was limp, but slowly almost half of the stem crown were affected. Looking closely, I noticed that the problem was actually from the base stems near the soil line.
I am sure that the plant is having Phytophthora Root Rot. The wilted parts look kind of limp and grey. The main stems near the soil looked rotten with hardly any roots left. There are few plants in the pot. Two of them are very bad and not worth saving, but the other two still have green and fresh stems and it is worth trying to save the healthy cuttings. So I cut all the healthy stems and I laid them on a news paper sheet to harden the cutting part for around 24 hours. Tommorow, I will replant them and hopefully they will grow new roots.
I find that growing Sunrise cactus is much harder than Zygocactus ( Schlumbergera truncata). Although both of them are somewhat related and have the same growing requirements, but Sunrise cacti are very prone to fungal problems, while Zygos are more resistant. It is the second time I have a wilting problem with our Sunrise cacti. I just hope that I can still save the plant from the healthy cuttings. Fingers cross!
Phytophthora Root Rot - Sunrise Cactus
Healthy Cuttings - Sunrise Cactus
Monday, April 30, 2012.
Finished planting the Easter Cactus Cuttings. For the planting medium, I just used whatever I have……A mixture of regular potting mix, a bit of bark chips, crushed styro-foam, charcoal and a little bit of well rotted chicken manure. This works for Zygocactus, hopefully the fussy Sunrise cactus will like it too. The gardening experts recommend to use perlite, but it is much too expensive!
Newly Planted Sunrise Cactus Cuttings
Kledung
28 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in Life Tags: Diospyros kaki, Kesemek, Kledung, Persimmon, Seasonal Fruit
Kledung, Kesemek, Persimmon, Diospyros kaki sp.
Disetiap pertengahan musim gugur disini di Melbourne, mulai banyak dijual buah persimmon atau buah kledung (Diospyros kaki). Kledung adalah sebutan dalam bahasa Jawa. Di Jawa Barat buah ini lebih dikenal dengan nama kesemek.
Dulu waktu aku masih di Indonesia, kami tak suka beli kledung karena rasanya yang sepat dan kesat. Walau sudah dibedakin dengan larutan kapur, masih sering buah ini rasanya tak enak. Mungkin dipetiknya belum masak betul. Di pasar pasar di daerah kota Solo dulu kalau musim kledung banyak yang menjualnya. Bentuknya bulat seperti apple dan ukurannya cukup besar lebih besar dari tomat. Warna kuning, oranye kehijauan terselubung warna putih air kapur yang mengering. Jadi saja sering orang menyebut buah ini dengan nama ‘sexy apple’, habis berbedak tebal. Rupanya memang dengan merendam buah kledung semalaman dilarutan air kapur akan membantu menghilangkan rasa sepat.
Disini di Australia, buah kledung alias persimmon yang lebih disukai adalah jenis lain yang tidak sepat. Bentuknya bulat agak persegi dan pipih. Warna kulit dan daging buahnya kuning oranye dan bisa dimakan sebelum buah masak betul. Aku sendiri lebih suka yang masih agak mengkal, jadi kalau dimakan masih renyah. Rasanya manis dengan aroma khusus yang enak sekali.
Jenis lain yang seperti dijual dipasar-pasar di daerah Solo dulu memang jenis yang sepat dan kesat karena mengandung kadar tannin yang tinggi. Buah kledung yang jenis ini seharusnya dibiarkan sampai masak sekali sebelum dipetik, dan juga harus dimakan disaat buah udah betul betul masak dan empuk. Disini buah yang jenis sepat ini tidak direndam diair kapur.
Kamarin aku beli kledung manis, sekilo hanya sekitar 3 – 4 dollar. Disaat buah buahan musim panas mulai habis, persimmon alias kledung ini (bukan yang sepat) adalah salah satu buah musiman yang kusukai. Banyak mengandung serat dan vitamin dan rasanya ‘very sweet!’
Sweet Persimmons
Cymbidium Orchids – New Spikes
11 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in 3. Orchids Tags: Cymbidium, Miltonia sp., My garden, New Spikes, Orchids
It is this time of the year around March and April in the southern part of the world, when cymbidium orchids will start to grow spikes. When they are still small, it will be hard to tell if the spikes are going to be flowers or new bulbs/leaves. When the spikes are big enough, the ones that are new growths/bulbs will split into green leaf-points. The ones that will be flowers will grow fatter and fuller as the inside contains new flower buds.
Cymbidium Flower Spikes (Hopefully!)
Most of our cymbidiums are having spikes, even the ones that I just divided and repotted few months ago. The spikes are still too small to tell what they are going to be, but all the same, it is very exiting.
Two of the back-bulbs (pseudo-bulbs) that I put in small pots surprisingly have grown new spikes and I am sure they will be new growth/leaves. Those ugly and crinkled looking back bulbs that look very old and half -dead, in fact are still full of nutrition and energy to grow into new plants. Growing new orchids this way need a lot of patience as it will take at least 3 years before the new plant will bear flowers.
Back Bulb and a New Growth
The other orchids, the native Australian dendrobium is also growing tiny flower buds and the miltonias that I just bought some time ago are still flowering.
Spotty Purple and White Miltonia
Miltonia sp.
Garden – Mid Autumn 2012
09 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in 4. Seasonal Garden Notes Tags: April 2012, Autumn, My garden
Windy, cold and grey with on and off rain falls. The garden looks fresh and many plants are flowering. The roses start to bloom for the second time of the year after light pruning in the summer. The two orange hibiscus trees are showing off their large ruffled blooms. Other plants that are flowering are: Lantana, Jacobinia, Thryptomene (Heath Myrtle), Verbena, Loropetalum chinense, Gardenia, Coleus canina, Geranium. While the chrysanthemums, Cymbidium orchids and Zygocacti are busy growing flower buds.
I took some photos around the garden the other day and saw some wild kittens eating a rat. A big rat that the mother cat had caught for her litter. We did not notice that there were rats in our place recently…. but then again, they can be anywhere. Though homeless cats are threats to small wildlife animals, especially birds, but I was glad that mother cat caught a nasty vermin.
The small feijoa tree is having few fruits (only around 10 fruits or so). I did hand pollination this year, and it seemed to work. Not many fruits, but at least and hopefully it will be the start of it. When the fruits are big enough, I will cover them with nets from the orange bags. This way, the precious fruits will not fall to the ground out of sight or get bruised.
Orange Hibiscus
Colourful Verbena
Baby Feijoa
The last Tuberose and Chrysanthemum flower buds
Loropetalum chinense
Terrarium
24 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in 2. Garden Ornaments Tags: Indoor Tropical Plants, Terrarium
We always have a terrarium. It had only Peperomia caperata and it was getting too full. Yesterday I decided to redo it and I put completely different plants: African Violet, Peperomia columella, Drimiopsis sp, tiny little fern and some moss. I transplanted the Peperomia caperata in an old shoe planter that my friend V gave me a while ago.
To grow small and pretty indoor tropical plants that need high humidity is very hard to achieve in colder areas like here in Melbourne. To solve the problem, it is a good idea to grow them inside a glass container, or just simply cover the whole pot/plant with a clear glass bowl. If you have an unused fish tank, it will be big enough to grow larger plants to suit the size of the tank.
Terrarium can be completely covered (sometimes with a little opening for ventilation) or an open one. Personally I like the fully covered one as I grow tropical plants in it. For growing little cacti or succulents, it has to be the open one to have dry air and to prevent condensation.
To learn how to make a Terrarium:
