|
Zingiber spectabilis
is a common flowering ginger of the lowland forest
The indigenous garden framed
by coconut palms; Achasma megalocheilos has taken over the damp
ground in the valley; the palm at the back is Oncosperma tigillarium,
ribong, with its beautiful curtain-like pendulous leaflets. The palm on
the right is Iguanura wallichiana
The flower of Achasma
megalocheilos, the scarlet earth ginger, which appears directly out
of the ground. |
Some
of us share a compulsion to garden and find great tranquility as we perform
the apparently mindless tasks of watering and weeding. Gardening fulfills
a desire to beautify our surroundings by rearranging things but there
is more to it than that. Our connection to a particular place is shown
by the marks we make on it: what we plant or build, or choose to weed
out and destroy. Gardens reflect the world we want to see.
My personal view of the world is not particularly optimistic, and my need
to focus on the positive is met by gardening. I would rather not see the
natural environment diminish around me and so concentrate instead on the
smaller delights of my won land: deciding were to plant a tree, finding
the pigeon orchids, or catching sight of a rarely seen bird: all occupy
my selective view.. Living in Kuala Lumpur, I have come to accept change
as the norm, but since I started gardening in earnest I have begun to
focus instead on the plants people choose and to wonder about the landscapes
of their imaginations.
I know that gardening is my survival mode and I kid myself that I am developing
the answer to sustainability, despite the facts that no one else I know
has fourteen acres to plant and that after five years I am barely self-sufficient
in anything but nutmegs! Perhaps my garden will provide sanctuary for
a few plants and birds, as well.
In these articles I would also like to share this understanding of 'occupying'
a place by gardening. What do you want your garden to say about yourself?
Do you want to work in it or should it be low maintenance? Do you want
fragrance or colour, or both? Are you content with just greenery? Are
there any cultural icons you want to include: a shrine or a piece of sculpture?
A garden gnome, perhaps? The results can be surprisingly revealing.
My own thoughts on gardening are strongly influenced by having come from
Australia. In Australia, planting indigenous species has become common
as people have acquired a sense of belonging to the country and their
knowledge of its plants and animals has grown. I have chosen to plant
and learn more about dipterocarps and dillenias, instead of the eucalypts
and grevilleas of my birthplace. What I learned elsewhere, I want to apply
here with local materials to create my version of a Malaysian garden.
The idea of planting indigenous species in Australia had wider implications
that an emerging sense of belonging in a formerly foreign country: they
are better suited to the environment, so maintenance and inorganic intervention
are minimised. More important, local plants only need as much rain as
they get naturally. Thus, in Australia, thirsty emerald lawns were replaced
by bark chips and pebbles, simultaneously creating a sympathetic 'canvas'
for the bluish greys of Australian bush species. Presto! A 'new Australian'
aesthetic for landscape design!
By planting local species and pursuing organic techniques, I plan to enrich
my local biomass and shape it into a Malaysian landscape of tall canopies
under-planted with palms and ferns. I have compromised at times when choosing
plants, particularly in the earlier years, and I constantly find myself
justifying the entrance avenue of Madagascan travelers palms. The lush
extravagance of the 'pan tropic' style was just too tempting and I was
overwhelmed by such exotic choices, but as I find more suitable local
species those early anomalies will be replaced.
This series of gardening articles was supposed to be packed with hands-
on, practical advice and information. Sadly, I lack the qualifications
to satisfy the techies who want hard data. For them, in fact for anyone
interested in gardening, I would recommend the wonderful 'Tropical Planting
and Gardening', first published in 1910 and still in print thanks to our
own Malaysian Nature Society. All of its 767 pages are packed with information
about plants and techniques guaranteed to be environmentally friendly,
predating the age of chemicals as it does. It offers a wealth of facts
and figures, a wonderful insight into a world long gone and all the how-to
advice you are ever likely to need.
Unlike most MNS members, I have little desire to see the places we are
trying to protect; just knowing they are intact would be enough. I have
no recreational need to see them because I garden and what naturalist's
adventure could be as challenging as creating a Malaysian garden? It is
an artificial construction but it is also my most important contact with
the natural world. I am delighted to share the experience, but be prepared
for opinionated tracts on the importance of the indigenous, the organic
and the appropriate, because that is my quest.
Malayan Naturalist, December, 1996
|
