Pagoda flower at Butterfly garden

Butterfly Garden Zone, C

The Banded Swallowtail is attracted to the nectar-bearing flowers of the Pagoda Flower (Clerodendrum paniculatum)

Let the butterflies roam freely.

 As an eco -defender, the park continues to become home of an endless list of butterflies.  Butterflying waching is indeed a pleasant pastime here.  One thing I noticed is the importance of planting various flowering shrubs,  trees and treelets.  There again these lovely creatures need fly path or flight way..  In the design and planning of the park there must be plenty of landscape spaces allotted to flyways to enable these butterflies flight spaces and visitors to move around safely and fast in order to chase these beauties. Below are more pictures I took of them during the last two - three days.  It's a pleasure to share these flying beauties of nature for the world to see.

Butterflies and more butterflies in December

Making the park 'lived'

Sequence one - grass cutting around the Butterfly Garden
Location : Zone C

 It has been about a fortnight since I have not done any grass cutting maintenance to the park largely because of too much time taken for the Hari Raya holidays.  The holiday season is over and now its gardening time.  The sequence of grass cutting operation is firstly the areas around the chalet, to be followed by access areas for harvesting such as main road, feeder road and footpath on slopes. Today I focus on the front areas of the chalet especially the Butterfly garden area.  I look forward to grass cutting the garden for the exercise it brings, the smell of green green grass of home and a clean view to sooth the soul.  To have one's garden regularly maintained means that the place is 'lived' and many species of wildlife will be attracted to the garden as a result.  This is because many birds are social birds that tend to slowly adjust to human existence by relying on humans for the abundance of food they can get easily in mutual co-existence.  Such birds are like the Magpie-robin, Tree Sparrow, Bulbuls and White-breasted Waterhen which prey on worms, grass seeds, rice grains and tiny  insects that are more readily available after each grass cutting operation.

Grass cutting with a bush cutter at the Butterfly Garden area, in front of chalet.
Location : Zone C

View of garden space in front of chalet.
Location : Zone C

Ripe to eat

The lantern-like covering that hides the soft berry inside turn yellowish when fully ripe.
Location : Butterfly Garden, Zone C

The fruits of the Letup-Letup are now just ripe to eat.  The fruits are contained in a lantern-like structure that is in reality an enlarged calyx.  The fruits are soft yellowish berries when fully ripe and rounded and taste just like tomatoes.  I like to eat them freshly plucked or can also be served as dessert or in mixed  salad.  The fruits are called 'Letup' because once pressed in a clapping motion between our palms the lantern-like structure breaks and produces a popping 'top-top' sounds, thus the name Letup in Malay.

The Letup-Letup ( Lesser Bladder Cherry) - Physalis minima belongs to the Tomatao family ( Solanaceae)

Just nice for dessert

Focus on flowers @ Butterfly garden

Butterfly garden status update

View of Butterfly Garden looking east
Zone C

The Butterfly garden is developing nicely with many of the plants growing well.  A lot more room is available to accommodate planting of suitable shrubs and covers that can become host to the butterflies and birds.  It is of no coincidence the other day that a beautiful butterfly dropped by at the window pane (see inset),  It looked rare and a lifer for the park. Butterflies are a major attraction at the park and over the years I have gathered their images in a special page of this blog under 'Butterflies'.  ( Check the right column of this blog under 'Park Highlights'). Among the flowering plants today are the Ixoras, Plumerias, Jasmines, Clerondendrons, Heliconias and Gardenias.

Beautiful agave species that grows well in the open sun.

By the Butterfly garden

Brown-throated Sunbird at the Chinese hat plant (Holmskiolda sanguinea)

Section of Butterfly garden where the Chinese Hat plant is planted.

By the Butterfly garden - Grass Yellow

Grass Yellow
Butterfly garden, photoshoot 14 Feb'15

By the Butterfly garden - Cruiser

Cruiser
Butterfly garden, photoshoot 14 Feb'15

By the Butterfly garden - Lime Butterfly

Lime Butterfy - Papilio demoleus malayanus
Butterfly garden, photoshoot 14 Feb'15

Expanding the Butterfly Garden

Progress of Butterfly garden expansion works - 16 Feb'2015'
The " Pepper Garden" is towards the left of the picture.
Zone C

I am anticipating more physical works in next month or so in order to enlarge the Butterfly garden area.  An adjacent area called the 'Pepper garden' is on a hill and the lowest section is now being carved to allow for expansion of the garden.  Footpaths leading to the area has been laid with steps.  Landscape planting follows immediately.  Today a little clearing works of some unwanted trees and debris were carried out and the wastes were later burned with topsoil to produce burnt earth.