Gardening in Indo: suggestions for learning resources

[serious_fun]

Do any of you have suggestions for websites, podcasts, books, etc. which focus on "local" plants?

I'm more interested at this point in resources for gardening rather than field guides for hiking/natural history, though any suggestions for those would be welcome too!

makasih

 

[Wisnu]

you can find lot of information of gardening local plants in youtube; mostly in Indonesian. Depend on your specific interest, you can search: berkebun tananaman obat for herbs, berkebun bunga (flowers), sayur or more specific berkebun lemon.
Gramedia is also good source of local gardening books. Trubus magazine provide good source of gardening and farming including the current trend and technology. You can also visit the store to get good quality seed, ready potted plant or hydroponics.

 

[serious_fun]

Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate it.

I used to use a book called the "Sunset Western Garden Book" which was an invaluable resource for me (and millions of others) with sections on plant selection, care, climate zones, a great plant encyclopedia, etc. I'd love to have one of those for SE Asia.

Ja, one of the local nurseries has a knowledgeable man working there that I've asked for direction/advice.

 

[vocalneal]

Hire a local gardener who will come once a week. He/she/it/they will get you started. You end up being the designer

I lived in a company village and every expat paid for a man to come by routinely and tinker around for a few hours.

 

[serious_fun]

Hire a local gardener who will come once a week. He/she/it/they will get you started. You end up being the designer

I lived in a company village and every expat paid for a man to come by routinely and tinker around for a few hours.

Not a bad idea, and some of our neighbours do that. I'd rather do it myself though; I haven't had a garden in over 16 years and so it's definitely time to get my hands (and feet) dirty!

 

[Pak Tani]

Anything specific you want to grow, besides the lemon tree? Fruit trees, vegetables, flowering plants/trees, what about shade? In planter bags or in soil?

 

[serious_fun]

Anything specific you want to grow, besides the lemon tree? Fruit trees, vegetables, flowering plants/trees, what about shade? In planter bags or in soil?

Mostly container gardening - our front garden (with lawn) is small and exposed to direct sunlight most of the day. Our back patio (tile and gravel - please see attached photo) is much more sheltered.

Fan palm, myrtle bushes along the front, aglaonema modestum (Chinese evergreen), sansevieria (Snake plants), and then some herbs/chili/tomato...

 

[Pak Tani]

Mostly container gardening - our front garden (with lawn) is small and exposed to direct sunlight most of the day. Our back patio (tile and gravel - please see attached photo) is much more sheltered.

Fan palm, myrtle bushes along the front, aglaonema modestum (Chinese evergreen), sansevieria (Snake plants), and then some herbs/chili/tomato...

Sounds nice. Is this the garden of the house you were going to build a few months ago? Do you have a tap in front to water the lawn and your plants?
We used to have a lawn, nice and green. The type of grass we planted was rumput jepang. This type of grass handles spells of drought pretty well and loves full sun. It wilts if it is in the shade for more than a month or so. It's quite strong, so kids can use it to play on.
Another popular type of grass is rumput gajah mini. This type of grass likes shade and needs a lot of water when in full sun. It doesn't like to be stepped on, so kids shouldn't play on it.

 

[vocalneal]

Not a bad idea, and some of our neighbours do that. I'd rather do it myself though; I haven't had a garden in over 16 years and so it's definitely time to get my hands (and feet) dirty!

You can tinker yourself once the bulk of the work is done.

 

[Bad_azz]

I guess it all depends on what kind of garden you want, your soil quality , location, growing conditions etc.
RHS is always a good source of info.
They have 2 webpages that might be of use- one is greenhouse plants & the other is this (exotic & subtropical) https://www.rhs.org.uk/garden-design/exotic-and-subtropical-plants

We have a massive mix of plants in our garden even though it is not that big. Hubby is completely addicted to bonsai so all the trees are on a small scale - my 2 coconut trees are less than a metre tall.
We love bougainvillea, this grows very easily here, & again it also got bonsai-ed. This could be a fun option to try - loads of channels on you tube.
Jasmine & orchids do very well at our place as does rosemary and mint. Basil is more convoluted.
If you want vegetables there are lots to choose from
I've had problems growing potatoes and cauliflower- zero problem growing tomatoes & chilli.
I tend to grab the seeds from fruit/ veg that I like & throw them in some soil to see what thrives- hap-hazard but fun.
Maybe see gardening as a long term experiment and enjoy the wins.

It took me 5 years to grow a pineapple from the top of one that we'd bought. It was tiny but delicious when it eventually got picked. This was not part of the bonsai stuff haha it was just unsure if it was happy at our place I guess

I will now attempt to list some of what I have in the garden-
chillies, tomatoes, lemons, rambutan, onions, lemongrass, rosemary, ginger, aloe-vera, orchids, ferns, bamboo, jasmine, anthurium lily, jambu monyet (cashew), Loropetalum chinese, coconut tree, pineapple, mulberry, tamarind, lantanas, kaliage, serut, tausi (streblus asper), ficus benjamina, ficus loa, dayang, bougainvillea (several species), waru merah, cassava,box, something from korea but forgot name (-direct quote from hubby), premna, anting putri (water jasmine) melati kosta (brunfelsia uniflora), kemuning japan, sakura bungur, 2 types of hibiscus & now my brain melted trying to remember names.

 

[vocalneal]

zero problem growing tomatoes & chilli.

I noticed in Dago these are grown together.

 

[fastpitch17]

Just be careful with plants that spread like bamboo or those beautiful flowing plants some call ginger. Plants that spread here don't mess around and in a short time will conquer your entire yard.

 

[serious_fun]

Sounds nice. Is this the garden of the house you were going to build a few months ago? Do you have a tap in front to water the lawn and your plants?

maaf, I thought that I had replied to you. (I swear that I did...hmmm...dementia setting in...)

Yes, this is the same place that I mentioned previously. Thanks for remembering.

We do have a tap in the front -- but the spout on the tap is smooth and so I can't screw a hose on. I use a bucket or slip on a length of hose without any adapter (just blank tubing), but must keep the water pressure very low so that the the tubing won't slip off. I'll switch the tap to a threaded one.

 

[john madden]

Or use a hose clamp?