Having heard so much about the
Secret Garden on the roof-top of 1 Utama shopping complex, it was enlightening to finally visit this botanical wonder during Christmas season.
Previously closed to the public, the garden has now opened its doors and welcome visitors since 2009.
There is a special elevator leading to the roof top. The moment we stepped out of the elevator, I was greeted by the beds of various species of flowers and landscaping plants.
It 's amazing to see such beautiful plants as far as the eye can see.
There are many trees, small waterfalls, leafy and floral plants, creeping vines , succulents and cactis. It’s worth coming to 1 Utama for that alone.
Even the archway is so inviting.
The entire environment is quiet and provides a welcome respite from the maddening crowd and noise of the shopping complex.
I admire the lush greenery that surrounds me and I could hear the birds chirping happily and the sound of water splashing into the pond is most soothing and relaxing but a word of caution. Do take good care of your camera as there are lots of water spray that dispenses a cooling rejuvenating mist spray wherever you go.
As admission is free, you only need to register at the entrance garden and collect a free copy of the garden brochure.
I was amazed to discover that this Secret Garden is an experimental garden using novel technologies to grow 500 species of interesting, rare and unusual plants in an open tropical roof -top environment. The soil medium is based on granulated horticultural carbon (a form of charcoal). Chilled water is provided by sprinklers at night.
Located on the rooftop of 1-Utama Shopping Centre's New Wing in Petaling Jaya, it is only open to the public on weekends, 10am - 6pm.
If you're a garden enthusiast and if you need some time to unwind, I'm sure you'll enjoy the serenity of this green wonder. This is a remarkable garden that has to be seen to be appreciated.
PhotoHunt
The beautiful park is besieged with large shady trees that provides great shades from the hot humid weather and the sweltering sun. It felt fabulous walking under those trees as I absolutely love the lush greenery in its natural setting. I could just sit here or even walk around for hours.
That said, any time of the day is actually great for a slow and steady stroll. However, the best time to visit will be in the morning though as it will be cooler. Not surprisingly, there are numerous people performing their routine exercises in the wee hours of the morning. While many in the world are still fast asleep, I love getting up at the crack of dawn and taking my kids for a walk. Everything smells so refreshing indeed.
Children are not left out as there is a huge playground for kids to enjoy their time.
Every Monday is 'No Plastic Bags Day' in Penang. Over the course to reduce the consumption of plastic bags and encourage the use of eco grocery bags, a 20-sen charge per bag will be imposed on consumers by most major stores. Proceeds will be donated to the state’s Partners Against Poverty (PAP) campaign to help the hardcore poor. With the hysteria surrounding global warming, I think it’s a great move to help protect the planet.
Doing my contribution for the environment, I try to bring my own bags when grocery shopping avoiding plastic bags. But seriously, I think more and more people should practise this initiative more often, if not daily. I keep some reusable bags in the back of my car, but the only problem is that I need to cultivate the habit of remembering to grab them along whenever I go shopping. Imagine if people consistently use reusable bags, eventually there will no longer have tons of plastic bags accumulating at home which are hard to recycle and that people feel sorry about throwing away.
This is another different sight of tea plantation that we've visited in Cameron Highlands. On the last leg of our trip, we stopped at the Cameron Valley tea plantation before heading to KL. As expected, the view overlooking the valleys are spectacular with low neatly, trimmed tea bushes covering undulating low hills like a green carpet. And with the low cool temperature all year round, Cameron Highlands is an ideal place to grow tea leaves.
Incase you are wondering, tea pickers begin their work among low hills before sunrise. Tea leaves are then transported to nearby factories for further processing.
Everything is so lush greenery
A close up, low angled view of the tea leaves.
tea plantations are the main tourist attraction of Cameron Highlands.
During the holiday season, it was not surprising to see many bus loads of people coming from all over the country. It's quite the norm to be caught in traffic jam around town and the tourist spots during the peak season. So, instead of covering the usual tourist attractions, we decided to take a less traveled path which was leisurely hiking up to Gunung Brinchang, the highest peak in CH. Since it was only a 2D 1N short trip, we only managed to visit the Sungai Palas Tea Plantation, Cactus Point, the famous morning and night market and Cameron Valley apart from the farm visit.
Going green and eco-friendly are the current buzzwords. With the hysteria surrounding global warming and climate change, it's never too early to get started on saving Mother Earth. Each of us can bring a significant role in adopting a more responsible and healthy lifestyle by doing basic things such as switching off the electrical appliances when they're not being used, practice recycling, avoid the use of Styrofoam and plastic bags and reduce water usage. These are some of the reasonable ways to protect our planet, before it is too late.
Happy Earth Day!
