I used to stay in an apartment and flowers had never been part of my world. Once in a while, they popped up in a basket or hand bouquet to remind me of their existence but those moments were far and apart. Of course, working in the city like KL does not help – their voices, if they have one would be drowned by the concrete jungle. Too bad, they just happened not to be the majority in this side of the jungle. They shall always remain at the background, modestly wooing us with their silent beauty.

Last year, a move to a landed property changed my perspective. A piece of bare land was before me. What am I going to fill the land with? Suddenly, I heard their voices.

Flowers and plants are actually an integral part of our lives. It has to be. It must be. Now with my vision filled with flowers, I cannot imagine myself living in a world devoid of such lovely creation. Now, I take time to examine each flower petal and admire the intricately designed pattern. I cannot help but marveled at the Creator’s imagination when these exquisite wonders were put together. Wouldn’t it be a waste if we did not take time to enjoy them?

(The four pictures above were photographed by Gary Ng)

But, I have one problem. I do not know most of their names. I called the gerbera, “something like daisies”, the melampodiums, “the fertile yellow… daisies (again)” and etc. You can imagine the frustration of my listeners when they try to figure out the type of flowers I have at home.

Last week, I stumbled upon this nursery and what a delight…they had labels on them.

I quickly took out my camera and proceed to snap snap snap…