With so many leaves falling in the gardens and the previous failed attempt of a compost heap in selected areas, Kenny has devised compost bins throughout the gardens. Litter bugs will be dealt with severely! [we are serious about our rubbish sorting!] – by Compost Kat, a pet name from my sister Roz – how [...]

We recently were donated a titan arum from a kind unidentified donor. Kenny had been looking for this species for a long time since we already have its sister species Amorphophallus paenifolious. Actually we were given 2 and one strangely disappeared much to Kenny’s  disappointment as these are extremely rare plants which are only found [...]

Absolute success! We just completed our 4 day eco kids sessions and I couldn’t believe that we could have packed so much in and still left tongues wagging for more. And I still can’t believe the energy levels of primary school children! In fact, one supporter of the gardens and workshops commented that we should [...]

I love nutmeg. I have grown to love it more and more since being at Tropical Spice Garden. After reading Nathaniel’s Nutmeg by Giles Milton – I named my new born son, Nathanael. The name is Hebrew meaning ‘Gift of God’ also. Yep, I love nutmeg! As I lay on my post-maternity bed, I was [...]

Learn to cook Nyonya Food at Tropical Spice Garden today. The Nyonya’s of Penang are indeed an ‘endangered’ breed. So I had the pleasure of having Pearly Kee, a Nyonya descendant and passionate Nyonya cook, to stroll down memory lane as she regaled me with stories of what being Nyonya means to her. Ever ready [...]

We welcomed Agilent Technologies (Penang) to the gardens recently for a corporate teambuilding session. They got all nice and sweaty in the gardens on a treausre hunt followed by some great team effort in putting a curry together. Usually teams are greeted by a white banner – the Agilent team were in for a pleasant [...]

A splash of bling in ones garden wedding never did any harm did it? Ieong in a chic silver suit and the chairs decked out with gold sashes – perfect! Ieong Tok and Chocco were married last Sunday under delightful weather. I’ve figured out that weddings actually do make me cry – when the bride [...]

Victoria amazonica Nymphaeaceae Having spent the last year germinating from these Victoria amazonica seeds, Tropical Spice Garden has the pleasure of presenting the near adult species of this glorious lily. Kenny,  the Garden Curator, has earlier been in touch with Water Garden International after many failed attempts to germinate false, unviable seeds from other questionable [...]

Spice Island Maps circa 16th/ 17th Century The East Indies Nutmeg, Buah Pala Clove, Buah Cengkih The importance of these 2 precious spice commodities could not be emphasized enough in the history of the spice trade. And the history of Penang. Here’s some noteable facts on the origins of nutmeg & clove: Nutmeg is found in large [...]

Hey folks We are having a jumble sale selling mostly kitchen and household wares for cheap prices. We are also looking for buys for the slightly larger stuff too! Here are the details of the event: Venue: Tropical Spice Garden, Front Entrance Date: Wed, 24 March 2010 Time: 2 – 5pm Tell your friends about [...]