Thursday, July 17, 2014

Autumn leaves of summer

Orange to red flushes of the Eugenia oleina and yellow leaves of the Tabebuia rosea provides colour to the the perpetual green wash of the oil palm leaves
Location :Zone B (Foreground)  and G (Background)

 Living in the tropics and very close to the equator we have an almost perpetual summer.  Green is the basic wash of our surrounding vegetation.  In experimenting with the use of colour in the Kambatik landscape,  I have resorted a great deal on the planting of both native and introduced trees that produce flowers and colourful new leaf shoots or flushes.   My idea is basically to get away from the image of oil palm cultivation in  the old traditional mould of monoculture.  I feel joyful  with every flushes produced by many different trees at different times as a sign of success in my design philosophy and design aesthetics besides its added value due to bio-diversity impacts.  On a scenic composition level the colours of the leaves due largely to leaf exchange phenomena brings forth magic, exoticness and much pleasure.  Thus the planting plan has to include both the native jungle flowering species and introduced ornamentals.  At the micro level, colours of autumn can be obtained by planting plants with colourful flowers,  bracts, crown shafts, variegated leaves, colourful fruits and vines that climb or over-top huge trees and exhibiting their flowers as crowning glory.  What is life without colour?  Summer without autumn leaves?....  
In the far background are seen the flushes of the Mango trees.
Autumn at Kambatik Park ...autumn leaves of summer.

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