Seated in the porch, I was enjoying the chirpings of birds in the trees and the soothing sound of cascading waters in our neighbour's new garden pond. It was amazing how therapeutic nature can be to the mind, soul and senses.
Having moved into this place of our own almost two years back, we have spent many hours under the scorching sun in attempts to beautify a modest looking patch into a garden. The patch ended up looking more a jungle, with mixture of water plants, creepy-crawlies, bougainvilleas, bamboo, japanese roses, monkey's cup, money plants, lantanas, bonsai, fir, and a few of other plants that we have no idea are called. We even have pandan, in case i need them as flavour enhancer for dishes i would prepare.
Our earlier efforts with flowering plants including daisy and petunia turned futile as they were delicate, susceptible to garden pests and caterpillars and required constant care. We decided to stick to those that needed less attention as Adrian and i only have time to tend to them in the weekends.
Our frequent guests are butterflies in all shapes, sizes, and colours, dragonflies, honey bees, birds and squirrels. The squirrels are the least frequent of them all. They would drop in on and off to forage for some forms of food (which I don't think are available). Birds would perch on the fence, occasionally chirped a greeting before taking off.
Dwarf honey bees, about the size of peas would buzz round, making pit stops at each flower to harvest nectar and pollen. These hardworking black-and-yellow striped foragers had started off as young worker bees cleaning and feeding larvae, progressed to receiving pollen and nectar and guarding the hive, before leaving the hive as foragers. They would remain so till the end of their lifecyle.
Elegant, svelte looking dragonflies often perched on the lotus in the small garden pond of ours. They visit us daily, especially the vibrant magenta-red beauty, though a lot less since our plant decided to stop growing. Characterised by a pair of large compound eyes, two pairs of transparent wings that are held horizontally, and occasionally downward and forward, they are often found near water because their larvae, nymphs are aquatic.
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Our garden is probably one of the many playgrounds for those pretty and colourful butterflies that flutter daintily in mid air. Carefree and often oblivious, they would make short stops to sip and feast on flower nectar. As though possessing sixth sense, these beauties seem to know each time I attempt to capture still moments of them in motion (or rather not in motion).
More often than not, I would end up disappointed not able to do so with the idiot-proof digital camera. Perhaps we should invest in an SLR...
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