14 March 2011

Exploring a secret garden hanging in the sky


You don't have to hail King Nebuchadnezzar for a special invitation pass to visit his famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon in order to admire the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, or travel all the way to the lost city of Simeria to feast your eyes with one of the marvels. Quite recently I was tip-offed by a self-confess garden enthusiast that there is one right here in our Bolehland. A beautiful and inspiring garden hanging mystically above the ground.

With that very important piece of information, last weekend my entire clan headed to the location in search for the mysterious spot and with the intention to reveal that hidden treasure. The location was no other than One Utama Shopping Center. Yes, you hear me right, the place fondly known by our shopaholic kakis as OU has been keeping the best hidden secret to the unwary eyes for so many years (I have no prior knowledge on the existence of this secret garden as well).

This place really lives to its name. I mean in term of its secrecy. The location was so secluded and purposely designed to confuse visitors, it took us 45 minutes in a wild-goose chase to finally figure out through all the labyrinths (read=kedai makan, toilet pit-stop etc) to the hidden lift that lead us to this heavenly sanctuary. It is actually on the upper rooftop of the building and can be accessed via one of the lifts on the New Wing of OU (one situated in-front of HSBC bank on the second floor and another one, for excitement sake I let you guy to use your creativity and find it yourself :).

I can assure you the visit was worth all the sweating and some UV-exposure spending quality time with family. This is the type of place you want to bring your homesick mother or mother-in-law who longed for a serene and lush kampung surrounding. This roof-top garden of 30,000 sq ft. boasts 500 species of rare Tropical and Temperate plants. Admission is free and it open only on the weekend from 10 a.m to 7 p.m. Don't forget to bring along your camera and some sunscreen lotion too.

The garden is divided into many themes. You can get a brochure and a pamphlet at the entrance. This will guide you for a brisk walk through this marvelous garden. I don't want to write all my wonderful experience in this garden as it will spoil your excitement and this garden is supposed to be secret in the first place.

One cautionary remark though, if you want to bring your partner to this blissful and serene place, make sure your partner posses the same plant fetish as you are and doesn't mind exposing him/herself to the sweet smell of nature because you will be spending hours sweating and mesmerized by this natural wonder. Shopping is not advisable to be carried out on the same day.



As this secret garden is also an experimental garden, you will probably see some new plant species introduced to this garden in the future.


Right after the entrance, you will see this small cactus hill exhibiting some arid and semi-arid collection of the world.

My exploration team congregated in fascination and awestruck by some of the plant collection in the garden. Children can be a good candidate for this natural exploration as this garden will promote awareness and the appreciation of plants.

These peculiar plants (far left), Madagascar tree arum are one of the accent plants in this garden. They lead our eyes straight to this spot when we enter this section of the garden. In the background is the weeping willow - the leaves hang freely and move gently by the wind.


Big pergolas and patios provide shade from the raging sun. They provide a perfect place for city dwellers to unwind during weekends.


A cereal crop from Africa, Sorghum sp. can also be seen wilting in the garden waiting to be harvested.

This yellow passion (Pacciflora flavicarpa) fruit hanging down from a pergola among other climbers and vines. This fragrant fruit is used for juice extract and rich in vitamins. There are also purple passion fruits in the garden.


This particular plant, Jatropha podagrica (pokok jarak) shares similar family with the rubber tree (Euphorbiaceae) blooms beautiful flowers. Their sibling, Jatropha curcas is commercially planted for it promising biofuel production.


I didn't capture the name of this beautiful inflorescent, but it can easily become a focal point to any garden landscape.

Multitude array of colors from this cacti make a very pleasant subject to the eyes.


This brightly colored Heliconia lines the garden entrance.


This bizarre flower of a Brazillian Dutchman's pipe (Aristolochia gigantea) that shades the pergolas and patios looks very beautiful. But the smell is not that friendly and gives quite a strong scent to the nostril. My little explorers said the smell resembles rotten fish. (erratum : my life partner cum a full-fledged-botanist pointed out my mistake and gave the correct name for this flower - thanks darling)


My exploration team was very happy and looking forward to visit this roof-top hideout again in the future.


40 comments:

Hajjah Noraini @Nanie said...

Beautiful garden, I should get my children to take me there..
TQ for sharing

DrSam said...

Marina Monroe,
Yes, you should. Bring along some delicious lunch pack and have a good family picnic over there.

TheFusionTea said...

Thanks for revealing the garden's secret. Very appealing photos. InsyaAllah, will pay a visit.

Admin said...

Wish I had a genie in the bottle...so the garden can be mine....

Afida Anuar said...

Dr, Unbelieveable...in OU shopping complex? wowww..

Ok, think i should pay a visit too..

Anonymous said...

Aslmkm.
Yeah, so very true. Very commendable indeed.
Of course Kak G love it too. Its also almost in my neighbourhood.

Adliff said...

Dr.Sam,

Hm...baru tahu. Bagaikan tidak percaya namun bukti depan mata. Subhanallah,cantiknya.

hazeleyed lady said...

Thanx for sharing DrSam...

Afzainizam said...

,=====,o00o Ponn..Ponn.Ponn..
//__l_l_,\____\,__
l_---\_l__l---[]lllllll[]
_(o)_)__(o)_)--o-)_)___
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Antara kau dan aku
Blog ini sebagai pengantara”
http://firestartingautomobil.blogspot.com/
http://bukandoktorveterinar.blogspot.com/

Apa khabar orang kampung
Lama sudah tak berjumpa
Minta-minta semuanya
Di dalam sihat sejahtera

Apa khabar orang kampung
Bilakah dapat berjumpa
Kirim-kirimlah berita
Janganlah senyap sahaja

uihhhhh cantik cantik sungguh sejuk mata aku melihatnya tenang jiwa ni

kucingorengemok said...

wah, all these on a rooftop? macma jalan² belakang rumah atok kat kampung je..

Mulan said...

tqs for sharing.. tak sangka ada garden secantik ni..

sahromnasrudin said...

assalamualaikum..

terima kasih atas semua gambar yang sangat menarik ini..saya sangat enjoy melihatnya

DrSam said...

TheFusion Tea,
Hope you will be inspired by the visit.

laylihamid,
Your genie will be mesmerized too with the beauty of the garden :)

DrSam said...

Afida Anuar,
Yes, You should go and get that wonderful experience yourself.

DDrFauziah,
Bring the whole family Kak G and enjoy one good weekend with them.

Wan Sharif said...

Looking at the pictures of those exotic plants and flowers.. I will agree with you that a visit there will be worth all the sweating and some UV-exposure ...
Thank you for doing all the spying work for us and allowing our tired eyes to feast on those fabulous pictures.
May Allah bless you and your exploration team :)))

DrSam said...

aliff muhammad,
mungkin bagus juga buat aliff merawat kaki yang sakit tu. Bila dah sembuh sedikit, taman tu boleh dijadiakn tempat physiothraphy jalan pelan-pelan (sambil menenangkan fikiran)

hazeleyed lady,
No problem madam. The pleasure is mine.

Afzainizam,
canggih pantun tu sedara. Kita yang tinggal kat bandar ni, tu le kekurangan sikit. selalu sangat mata dihidangkan dengan halwa konkrit yang kaku. sesekali jumpa kehijauan tu memang seju mata memandang. Orang kampung untung sangat.

DrSam said...

KOG,
memang teringat suasana kampung. Nyaman gitu.

MULAN,
mungkin lepas ni akan selalu pergi ke sini. Kalau pergi pagi lagi bagus.

shahromnasrudin,
waalaikumussalam. Jika ada kesempatan boleh lah juga melawat taman tu dengan keluarga.

Wan Shariff,
glad to do all the hard work for all the blooger friends. Glad also to know all my covert activities up the roof-top being appreciated :)

Hunny said...

Macam tak percaya ada taman syurga di OU...

DrSam said...

Hunny,
Memang tak jauh dari Shah Alam OU ni :)

MaizaC'Joe said...

Assalamualaikum doc..

cantiknya.. indah ciptaan Allah ni kan.. nak pergi pun jauh.. maiza nikmati kat kg ja la.. :)

thanks for sharing doc!

Sir Pök Déng said...

Please don't tell me that you've composed a haiku while exploring the garden.

DrSam said...

MaizaC'Joe,
Waalaikumussalam maiza. Manalah tahu ada peluang ke ibu kota ni, satu hari minggu boleh lah jenguk. Insyaallah.

Sir Pok Deng,
Ha...ha...not this time sir. The heat was so unkind, it didn't stimulate my creative mind at all.

zino said...

cantik...

Afzainizam said...

,=====,o00o Ponn..Ponn.Ponn..
//__l_l_,\____\,__
l_---\_l__l---[]lllllll[]
_(o)_)__(o)_)--o-)_)___
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Antara kau dan aku
Blog ini sebagai pengantara”
http://firestartingautomobil.blogspot.com/
http://bukandoktorveterinar.blogspot.com/

uihhhhh nengok benda hijau ni mmg baik untuk mata.... kita dok bandar ni mata sakit tengok wanita pakai baju sexy.... terbeliak nak tersembul biji mata...

Fly said...

wahh cantekknya taman ni Doc, boleh bwk family gi sana nih..Landskapnya pun menarik ..

besi said...

dr sam...kat one utama? nampak sgt lama dah tak penah pegi sana...
tq for info this place..

DrSam said...

zino,
sekali sekala boleh cuci minda bawa keluarga ke sana.

Afzainizam,
Susah juga kalau asyik terbeliak aje tu :)

Fly,
Sementara cuti sekolah masih berbaki ni, boleh ajak Cat dan si somel jalan-jalan KL. Lagipun tempat tu saya rasa kalau Fly buat backdrop photoshot...memang cun habis.

besi,
saya pun sebenornya memang dah lama juga tak jengok OU ni. Kalau bukan ada agenda tertentu (taman ni) memang tak pergi juga saya ke sana.

JohnJenin said...

Dr Sam. Thanks for the tip. I never know bout this thing. The only thing that bring me to Damansara is IKEA. hehehe :)

3yearshousewife said...

How refreshing, a garden on top of a shopping mall.
Can this garden be seen from the highway? I was wondering about one OU rooftop full of plants I saw recently.

Afzainizam said...

,=====,o00o Ponn..Ponn.Ponn..
//__l_l_,\____\,__
l_---\_l__l---[]lllllll[]
_(o)_)__(o)_)--o-)_)___
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Antara kau dan aku
Blog ini sebagai pengantara”
http://firestartingautomobil.blogspot.com/
http://bukandoktorveterinar.blogspot.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Keindahan dan ketenangan alam semula jadi adalah santapan manusia. Tumbuh-tumbuhan yang digabungkan dengan unsur alam memberi ketenangan berkekalan.tak payah susah susah kan OU kjan aderrr

puspawangi said...

aduhai, nyaman sungguh.

zafi said...

Doc

It look alike an Eden Project Cornwall :P
One happy family trip though!
Such A bless

Faisal Admar said...

cantik betul doc!

suka sangat. nampak bersih dan sedap mata memandang :)

baca saja tajuk terus teringat dengan babylon :)

Naddiea said...

Doc,good info!!thanks for sharing this..might be our next place to visit instead of the shopping mall.heheh...

Tikno said...

It was nice to bring the kids over there, at least to train their heart to love nature.

DrSam said...

JohnJenin,
No problem pakcik. it is good to share the good thing.

3yearshousewife,
Probbaly you are right because we can see the road from rooftop.

DrSam said...

Afzainizam,
kadang-kadang tu memang tak perlu pergi jauh. memang dah ada depan mata.

puspawangi,
nyaman mewangi.

zafi,
the only different is that the one in OU you can have all the fresh air instead of confining yourself in a big glass container.

DrSam said...

Faisal Admar,
semua pencinta alam semulajadi pasti suka dan tertawan.

Naddiea,
Probably a family gathering too...hutang tak jumpa hari tu.

tikno,
yes you are right. Best to start them young.

Anonymous said...

Teringin nak buat garden begitu di rumah sendiri nanti. Nak tunggu abang pencen baru boleh balik, entah larat ke nanti.

Menarik sungguh taman tu... sejuk mata memandang.

DrSam said...

kayteeze,
tak payah le tunggu cik abe tu pencen tie...buat je sikit-sikit dan pelan-pelan... sebelum pencen ni boleh cuba dulu buat ekperimen di KB tu.

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