Thursday, October 28, 2021

SUBURBAN LIFE IN THE CITY

 is not all bad. I would prefer to live further away with more greenery and trees. But getting to work and back would have involved fighting traffic. Thus, in exchange for less driving time, I live a suburban life where condominiums tower over terrace houses.

Residents have learnt to nurtured their front and backyards with flowering plants, vegetables and fruit trees. This post is dedicated to vegetable plots and fruit trees which are not all that interesting, unless one finds them blooming along main roads and drains.  

This purple sugar cane plot is beside the main road with cars zipping along and maybe some lead pollution. 

    The morning glory vegetable or Chinese water spinach patch is doing very well. Stir-fry with prawn paste and chilli, it is delicious with just white rice 😋😋. 

Can you imagine mangoes hanging by the main road? DRIVE BY and PLUCK!
Bananas at our front gates. Many of these trees do no require any care. Malaysia's sunny intersperse with raining days are perfect growing conditions.

Papaya trees are common and another easy-peasy fruit to grow in the tropics. Dig in some seeds, and harvest in a few months. We share our fruits with the bats, birds, squirrels and monkeys, and occasionally some wayward humans who steal the entire stalk overnight.



Noni, a fruit featured in traditional medicine is now reported to have antibacterial, antiviral and even immune enhancing properties. 







I know it sounds yukky to have fruits growing beside drains, but this is very common in Malaysia. The pomegranate shrub is flowering and fruiting.  

So is this passion fruit tree,

but Kim Lian's passion fruits grown in pots inside are better specimens. GOOD JOB. 
Lots of banana and papaya trees next to monsoon drains. These idle plots are called "no man's land"  as they belong to the municipality, who are happy the plots are taken care of for them. 
Abundance of coconuts by the drain. If there is a space, there is a fruiting tree.


Another very common farming practice here is "backyard farming." 
Here we have sugar cane, banana trees, screwpine (pandan), lemongrass (serai) and pumpkin along a narrow strip of soil. Vegetables and fruits for a family's needs.
 Another flourishing "backyard farm" just outside the back door. 
We may be boxed in by choice to live in the suburbs
but we have turned our "no man's land" FRUITFUL and GREEN.

24 comments:

  1. What a wonderful practice to make use of every bit of green space. Goodness knows we have taken over so much of it. The more greenery in a city the better. The best example of this that I have seen was in Singapore, without doubt the finest city I have ever visited. And it was my springboard to Malaysia too!

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    1. Singapore is incredibly GREEN. It can be a sweltering 30 C and yet Spore is cool with the many trees.

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  2. A big yes from me too.
    Growing up every yard in the street grew fruit and vegetables (and we children filched some of the best). It is much less common now but still wonderful to see.
    And as an aside, mangoes are my favourite fruit. I would LOVE to live somewhere they would grow (though suspect I would not like the necessary climate).

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    1. One of my favourite fruits too. It is such a common sight here with many mango trees laden with fruits sprouting along the road side.

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  3. I like all green.
    Coffee is on and stay safe

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    1. Plant more green for Mother Nature to recover.

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  4. I always love to live in a house with enough space around to grow plants and trees, but I didn't have that opportunity except for a year's stay at a house in the suburbs, and before we do something, we moved out. It's nice to see many houses with home vegetation there, and for trees, I think they take any water as its source to grow. Amazing to see mangoes hanging beside a busy road and sugarcane on the roadsides!

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    1. Most houses here have small gardens so fruits and veggies are planted on the tiny stretches beside the roads. They do quite well.

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  5. Wonderful photos! I'm your new follower. May you follow me back?
    Thanks and have a nice day!

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    1. TQ for visiting. Following you on your book trail.

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  6. Boa tarde. Suas fotos são maravilhosas e importantes para as grandes cidades.

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    1. Yes, maintaining greenery is important for cities. It not only cools the cities, a lush green belt also makes stops too much urban development

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  7. It's nice to see so much green around! In our neighbourhood we have a mango tree on the corner and it's always tricky to get mangos from it as everyone who walks past it takes some as it's not in anyone's yard, haha! We have our own mango tree so that usually keeps us pretty happy with mangos luckily!

    Hope that you had a great weekend :) We had a busy but fun long weekend!

    Away From The Blue

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    1. How nice to have your own mango tree. It is like getting instant dessert.

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  8. What a nice urban area with pomegranate shrubs flowering and fruiting! I have heard of figs and blueberries along the street, but not of bananas and cononuts ... It's great to see such quality fruits near you!
    Malaysian people are so privileged to have "backyard farming". I'm curious to see Malaysian environment through your blog, Kestrel.

    Have a nice weekend ahead of you!

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    1. Figs are really common here too but the birds get to them first. We are lucky our municipality allows us to use the land in the front and back of our houses. This extends our gardens and land area by quite a bit!

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  9. I really don't mind about growing plants beside drains. The only problem is, I won't be able to harvest the fruits, as the stealer will do 🤣🤣.

    But the concept like this, I often find at small villages, where so many plants, veggies scattered around, and can be consumed by public.

    Before living in this current house, my husband offered me to stay at his another house, which is bigger, but in suburban area. I refused, due to a very heavy traffic jam 🥵😫. It can take time around 2-3 hours by car, and take longer by public transport. As the Indonesian public transport has not as good as Malaysia's, I think it's not worth it my time.

    Maybe, after the connection of public transport's going better, the wider route of MRT Jakarta, then, I will move to suburban area, but not for now 😅.

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    1. a very wise decision fanny. It is a waste of time to be stuck in traffic and also very stressful. In traffic for 2 - 3 hours will drive me crazy.

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  10. your garden look so green.... even with coconut tree ... wonderful.

    # Have a great day

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  11. Thank you very much for the interesting informative post and for the cool photos!

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  12. Oh very interesting fruits darling
    Thanks for share

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  13. TQ, I think the residents have done a good job

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  14. Yes Ratana, it is a good idea to make sure of the side walks to grow fruits

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