Red Hibiscus in my "garden" - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti
Welcome to Ichi's Garden! Look at the picture above, it is a beautiful and magnificent flower, isn't it? The red color makes this flower could easy caught in our eyes. The good thing is we can use it as a small Biology project if you want to learn parts of a flower and its functions. That's what I did when I was in the third year of secondary school. However, how Hibiscus become a forgotten flower and everyone ignore it?
I mention in my article before that Hibiscus was a common flower in the village where I lived and grew up. We could easy to find red Hibiscus on the side of the village streets, gardens, or villagers' yards. Everyone knew it and seemed nothing special about it because lots of households had this bright beauty flower that attracted butterflies. Not only butterflies, but villager's children also used to pick this red flower when they played. I could say, maybe the people in my hometown didn't realize that this flower is really beautiful and become one of the flowers that sold in the flower shop and an expensive price in another country for instance, in Singapore. The price for 1 pot of Hibiscus flower is around $8 - $ 10.
My red velvet flower aka red Hibiscus in my "garden" in rainy day - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti
Year by year, one by one flower and plants that common in my hometown goes to in the edge of cliff including Hibiscus along with another flower, for example, Jasmine, Periwinkle, Crepe Gardenia, Gardenia flower, Aglaonema, Caladium. I remember one of my Indonesian friends told me that the Jasmine flower that growing in my "garden" was priceless and rare. I just wondered how does it happen because as far as I know, the Jasmine flower was a familiar flower in villager yards. Even my father grew 2 kinds of varieties in his garden, single petals, and double petals.
It started in 2000an when many of the new generations didn't care anymore about their flowers or plants that had been growing in their yards and garden. Meanwhile, their parent grew old year by year and fallen sick. Many of them cleaned up the garden and their yards just because they didn't want to take care of the plants. I asked one of them, "Why you chop all those fruit trees and all the beautiful flower plants that had been there for so many years?" Here is how she answered my question, " I do not want to rake the leaves that are an annoying thing." I was speechless!🙄 Why I speechless? Because when I lived in my father's house, I did rake all the leaves in my father's big yards every day. Moreover, on Sunday I helped my father to take care of flowers and plants. I would pull the weed as well.
Red Hibiscus in my little "garden" - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti
Nowadays, I have seen many people in my hometown admire expensive plants that they think it is more have prestigious or could show their status in the community. One of those people is my classmates. They say it is their new hobby to collect plants that they call expensive. When I look at the plants that they claim priceless, I do not have any surprise. Why? Because it is some plants that actually exist in the past where many households in the village had planted in their yards or garden. The question is why these plants costly? I am sure you know the answer. First, they did not care about flowers and plants; second, as a result, many common plants and flowers in the village become rare every year; third, nowadays, they completely forgot their root and just following the wave where some people sells flower and plant that they claim as unique or inimitable plants. What I can say, some people took advantage of a business to promote flowers and plants that actually it was there in the same place many years ago before finally becoming a rare plant.
What happens when people take gardening as a hobby? After those plants or flowers do not have any prestige or the price in the market falls down which means the price becomes cheap or no value on it, they abandon those plants or flowers. I have seen these events repeat again, again. Moreover, they get bored because, in deep their heart, they buy that expensive plants or flowers for status in the community. Furthermore, taking care of the plants or flowers is just part of making the plants look good when their friends come to see them.
My pretty red Hibiscus in the morning - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti
In my view, people who love nature, basically, love flowers and plants without thinking about the status or prestige in it. They grow those plants because they want to. Me, for example, I grow flowers because I want to grow them and see the flower when it blooms. Moreover, it is a good thing if I can planting flowers that can feed butterflies and birds. That's it, Yes, just simple like that.😊
Back to the topic, why Hibiscus flower become a forgotten flower in the place where I lived. The answer is the same as many flowers or plants that I talk about. Hibiscus flower does not have any value in it which means there is no prestige or guarantee that will make someone getting high status in the community. If this happens continuously, someday Hibiscus will extinct for sure. Furthermore, when it happens, the environment has also gone where no more butterflies and nectar-eating birds around.
When I was thinking about why it does happen, I just can see it because most of the children in my village did not get to school which means they grow and become uneducated adults. Many of them drop off from elementary school or secondary school. Some of them because they think school is not important and rely on their parent's money. Some of them simply did not have money to continue their study or lived in poverty. When children do not go to school and study, they do not know how fun to study floral in class and knowing it as knowledge. Like I said in the first paragraph, I picked Hibiscus flower to study the Biology in-class experiment. I was just excited to study parts of flowers. That's how I grow my respect for nature.
Start the day with my red bright Hibiscus - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti
Growing Hibiscus as a part of my "garden" plants is not only to remind of good memories about my hometown but also to create harmony with living around for example Sunbird that has always stopped by to feed themself. Another reason is to enjoy the beauty of this red velvet flower. Furthermore, I give my respect to nature that I have believed if we care the Mother nature, it will bring luck for us. Like my neighbor said, "if we grow flower or plant then bird come that means a good thing will come to us."
I think every flower has its own story. For me, like another flower, res Hibiscus also has its story that I could share with all of you. The bottom line about this story is that we have to respect the environment around us. Doing a small thing such as planting just some flowers or plants, that will make better harmony between us and small creature for instance butterflies and birds. Moreover, it is not that bad to planting some kind of flower that call "cheaper" and "kampoeng" ("kampoeng" means village) because every flower has its own beauty.
Read my another article on Ichi's Fusion Recipe, link here https://ichi-recipes.blogspot.com/2021/03/veggie-fried-hokkien-mee-with.html
Note:
- Written by Acik Mardhiyanti
- Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti
- Do not copy this article without permission
- Do not reuse these photographs anywhere else without permission
