DREAM BIG in a tiny Tropical Garden (280 sqft) + Pro Gardening Tips ft. the legendary Farren Wayne

Welcome to my channel, Leafing Around. My name is Irene and today I'm taking you to a garden that I am so excited about. This is the garden behind the Instagram account justplanted and I have never met the man behind. His name is Varun and his garden and plants are just so amazing. I am so excited. I could barely sleep last night. So I'm here today and it's quite surreal seeing all these plants that I've only seen on Instagram in real life. So let's get started. Hi Varun. Hi Irene, nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. So good to see you in person at last. Yeah me too. Your garden is just so breathtaking. Thank you, thank you. Can you tell us a little bit about how you started planting or how did your love for plants started? Oh actually it started around four years ago when I moved into this house. Yeah. So I had some space here and I, you know, I didn't know what to do with it. So I thought I just wanted to put some plants, you know, just to have some a simple garden. Okay. So yeah, I started from there and the more I learned about plants, you know, I stumbled upon some exotic plants. Yeah, I could see you have a lot. Yeah, that's all how it started. But yeah, but back then in the days, you know, it's really hard to get those plants, like three, four years ago. Yeah. Mostly I got them from collectors or, you know, people who went to Thailand and they got the plants and they bought the plants for me. Yeah. So back then they were really rare. Yeah. Compared to now. I mean, now it's like, you know, if you have the money, you can get it. If you have the money, you can get any plants right now. Yeah. So I can see here, you're mostly a foliage guy. Yeah. Huge foliage at that. Okay. I don't know where to start, but this Calacasia White Lava really, really caught my eye. Yeah, true. How long have you had it? I've got this about two and a half years ago. Okay. From Zenith actually. Yeah. Back then it's so hard to find one. And people were not really talking about it two and a half years ago. Yeah. Back then it was cheap as well. I mean, yeah. And only, you know, not many collectors have the White Lava. Yeah. Back then, yeah, Zenith had it. So I got it from him back then. Free promo for Zenith. Zenith is a seller in Ipoh. He sells amazing plants like this. And then the prices for this just shot up incredibly, right? Yeah. Especially Calacasia. Yes. Oh my goodness. And do you have them planted in a lot of water? I hear they like water. Yeah, yeah. I plant them in a pot and I just put a tray and make sure there's water in there. No, I just use my water hose and I change the water every day. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So usually by afternoon it will dry up already. So, okay. Yeah. I just refill it every day. You know, every single plant here is kind of like amazing in its own right. I don't know what to look at next. I see, this is the Flying Fiddle. Yeah. Flying Fiddle. Yeah, yeah. This is one of my oldest Fiddle. Yeah. I started with a long time ago. Yes. Yeah. Back then this was quite rare as well. Yeah. Maybe three years ago, right? Yeah. Yes. So, yeah. But nonetheless, not many people have it at this size. Yeah. I think you've got some inflows as well. No. Oh, okay. So you have creeping up your moss pole. Right. And then we have here Alocasia Cleopatra. Yeah, yeah. The green shill. The green shill. I think this is the newest leaf here. Yep. Oh, okay. Wow. Yeah. I, oh, and then that's your Licuala Macula. No. Mapu. Mapu. Yep. Yep. Oh, this one, I always tell all the viewers, this is endemic to Sir Alocs. Yeah. And I'm very proud of it. Yes. I got it really small last time. And yeah, it's a very slow-growing palm. Yes. Yes. Under a lot of shade. Yeah, and it's very big. Wow. Is this the Jose Bueno? Yeah. Yes, this is the Jose Bueno. Oh. Yeah. This guy is about, I think, two and a half years old. Okay. Yeah. I got it really small last time. But you see, it grew bigger. There's not much variegation anymore. Yeah. Okay. The thing is, I have had plants I got two years ago that small, and they pretty much didn't grow. And then yours is like, boom. Yeah, yeah. But I have to ask you, what do you feed your plants? How come they're so huge? I just give them Osmocote, you know? Yeah. Okay. And also I use some liquid fertilizer for the moss pole. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then also on the foliage, the foliar spray? Yeah, yeah. Together for when I use the liquid fertilizer. Okay. Can I ask what's your regimen? How often do you spray your leaves? If maybe, if I'm not lazy, one month once. Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay. It's not that often. And that Osmocote, just every what, three or six months? A couple of months when I see. Yeah. Okay, good. So that's his regimen for ultra huge. And then what else? Oh, yeah. This is the Philodendron Esmeraldense. So huge already. Yeah, yeah. When did you get this? This one about, I say about a year ago. But I got this really small, like this small for, because it was cheap for like 150. For that small? Yeah, yeah. The leaf. About one year ago. And it's this size now. Can you come and take a look? I'm not sure how the old leaf died. Maybe, yeah. It's still here. It's quite small. Yeah. You see? Oh my goodness. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. I am just so stunned. I don't know what to say. And then is that your Patricia? Yeah, yeah. This is my Patricia. Yeah. Wow. I have to ask you do you enjoy your garden or your plants? There are so many gems here. No, no, no. I don't. And then what is this one? Oh, this is a Alocasia albatuan. Yeah. If you look at the back, this is really nice. You can see the veins. Yeah. I can see, you know, it would make a very beautiful dress. This pattern and texture. Is this native to Borneo or do you know where it's from? No, hybrid from Indonesia. Okay. This is a leaf that's upright so you could see better. Ah, I want to ask you, what is your potting media for Alocasia? It's my question to every Alocasia collector. Actually, all my plants, I just use soil and perlite. Yeah, that's about it. Yeah. Really? Only soil and perlite. Yeah, you can see. Everything is soil and perlite. Yeah. That is shocking. Okay, come have a look. Okay, I can see perlite has all floated to the top. Yeah, mostly all soil and perlite. You can see all my phyllodendrons, my anthuriums. Yeah, everything is just soil and perlite. Yeah, I keep it simple in my garden. Wow. And I want to ask, could you share what ratio of soil and perlite? It depends. For the plants outside, I put more perlite for better drainage. Yeah. Maybe about 50-50. Okay. Yeah, but for the ones inside, it's like maybe 70-30 or 80-20. Yeah. Okay. Okay, that's amazing because we buy stuff like aroid mix, bark, pumice and charcoal and stuff and then you just soil and perlite. Yeah, keep it simple. Oh my god, I hope I don't damage it. Oh, what is this one? I'm not familiar with this. Oh, this one is the variegated giganteum. Is this a... They call it blizzard as well. Oh, yes. It's amazing. It's really beautiful. Yeah, very nice variegation. Yeah. Is this one known for quite stable or it kind of loses its variegation also? I don't think so. It has never lost its variegation so far. Okay. Yeah. Because some plants are notorious for instability, like the bilia tea. I've cut this a few times and it still gives me variegated leaves. So, later we will discuss you cutting this for me sometime in the future. But I just want to show you how Farhan has grown his plants so well because the previous leaves you could see are just about the size and then it kind of just goes boom, so huge under his care. I think it's also a healthy amount of light that you have. Yes. The light and environment is very important. Yes. I have a feeling my plants are growing quite slow because I have a very shady garden. Oh, okay. Yeah. It depends. Some plants do well with low light. For variegated plants, of course, they want very bright light. This is a Monstera Obliqua Amazonas. Are you serious? I've never seen a specimen that is so huge. They're usually like three leaves but about so tiny. This one grows really fast. You see the new leaf has not hardened yet and the new one is growing. I need to extend that moss Yeah. Do you not think about planting some trees so that you can get your phyllos to climb on it? Yeah. I mean, I want to but I don't have much space. So, I keep extending my poles. Yes. Extending your pole like that one. I always offer Farhan my trees for his phyllos. Free hotel stay if you like. Okay. Wow. The Pharaoh's Moss. Yes. Another very hot Colocasia now that's in the market. How long have you had this? Just recently. A few months ago, I had a plant shop with a friend. Okay. Wow. It's quite an easy Colocasia to grow. I kind of both love and a little frightened of it because it looks so aggressive. Yeah. It's quite unique. Yeah. It's a very aggressive looking plant. I thought this is another white lava. No, that's Nancy's Revenge. Oh, I have not heard of that. Okay. First of all, what is this? This is huge. Yeah. This is a Phyllodendron Meloniae. Actually, there's a very nice hidden gem inside. It's a Daphne Bacchia. Yeah. Very good Daphne Bacchia. Is that called the Big Ben or something? I'm so proud of myself. I know names of some plants now. Yeah. Okay. Oh, wait. And this thing is the Aesculator? Yep. This is Aesculator. Farhan, this one is so huge and it's got inflow that I've never seen. Correct. Yeah. What is this plant? This is the Monstera sp. tina. Yeah. Okay. I've grown this for about one and a half years, I think. Yeah. And this is my first time seeing the inflow as well. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And you have quite a few at a time. Yeah. Beautiful inflow. You tried to pollinate them yet? Yeah. Yeah. I took the pollen off the first one. Okay. So, I'm seeing how on the second one. But it just opened last night, actually. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, you've got some baby making to do later. Yeah. I'm trying. But so far, I've never, you know, I was never successful before. Yeah. It's quite hard to pollinate. It needs some luck. Yes. Yeah. Okay. So, let's see. Okay. Before we go in and we have a lot more plants inside, I want us to continue the outside. We forgot to continue on the outside and we want to do that before the sun gets too hot. So, let's see. Ah, this is more Colocasia. Yeah. Yeah. That's the mojito. Ah, okay. And also standard, just soil and some perlite. Yeah. Yeah. Just soil and perlite. Yeah. Okay. I have to ask, do you find this a more demanding mojito? Yeah. Yeah. It's a more fussy mojito for me, actually. Yeah. That's a comfort because I killed mine. Yeah. I killed mine twice, actually. Yeah. Yeah. This is my third one and I think I got it, how to grow it. Yeah. Oh. So, what is the secret? What did you do differently this time? I gave it partial sun, partial shade. Yeah. Okay. Because the last one, I gave it too much sun and it wasn't happy. Yeah. Because it feels so thin and fragile. Yeah. Yes. Correct. Ah, okay. Oh, is this the black satin? Yes. Correct. Yeah. Yes. I got that as a buck from a shoppy. Ah, okay. But only RM25. Ah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And yeah, it's, yeah, it grew two shoots for me. Hey, your anthurium has also inflow. Yeah. Yeah. Do you, do you do something about these ones? Ah, no. Oh, wow. Okay. Let's see what other gems is there. You kind of like this is a treasure hunt. Yeah. Oh, okay. I see a alocasia cuprea inside. Yeah. Yeah. The one rotted a while back and it's growing again. Yeah. It went dormant and rotted and growing back again. If you're missing one, I can always give you because I don't know how, they kind of pop up. Everywhere in your garden? Yeah. Everywhere in my garden. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mysteriously. Alocasia. Yes. Okay. And this is anthurium magnificum? This is a hybrid crystal magni. Yeah. I'm just eyeing at all your inflow and that you should do something with them. Yeah. I'll try. Maybe these two. Yeah. Yes. Yes. That's right. Oh, we variegated banana. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Ah, you have quite a few, but I noticed you don't have the white one. Yeah. I used to, but I sold it because the, the white variegation, they, they brown off easily. Oh. So yeah, I didn't quite like it. So the yellow one is fine. You see the variegation stays. Yes. Yeah. So I think it's better. I am also feeling, yeah, your variegated plants rarely have this white variegation. Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I sold all of them because they, they turn brown eventually. So yeah. Okay. I didn't quite like it. So it costs more hard eggs. Oh, this has been on my wishlist for some time. The maximum. Yeah. Yeah. Ah, it's also a climbing plant. Is it? Yep. Yep. I decided to plant this in the ground. Oh yeah. Yeah. I cut this many times. They, they grow really fast and uh, yeah, and they grow really huge. Wow. Okay. This is really nice. I love it's um, prominent veins can grow really huge. Okay. What else? Oh, this is a variegated something. What is it? That's a variegated Chiku. What? Yeah. You know Chiku? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a fruit plant. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my goodness. How did you find a variegated plant? I got it from Shopee. What? I saw someone selling it one day. Then I just got it. I got a small plant. Oh my goodness. And then what is that? That's a white princess. Oh yeah. Okay. Yeah. You can see the, the new leaf. It's got lots of white. Yes. Yeah. And then this is the fish palm. Yeah. Yeah. Fish tail. Wow. Okay. What other gems are there? Oh, this is a, is it a glorious? Yeah. This is a glorious. Okay. Yeah. My quite sad looking. Oh my God. I didn't see the one up there. Because I cut it. Okay. Yeah. All the leaves started dying, but of course I just wanted to reset it actually. Yeah. Actually now why did you cut it? Uh, it was growing too fast actually. So you see, and I, I didn't know what to do about it anymore. I can't extend the pole. So you cut this because it was growing too fast. Maybe later I'm just going to cut, cut here a few more. Oh my God. I'm just gonna, you know, remove this extension. This will be another plant and this will grow another one. Okay. Oh, that is a problem. Not many of us have. It grows too fast. This phylodendron grows really fast. Oh my, I wish I have this problem. This is the lime gecko. Yeah. Yeah. This is the regular lime gecko. Wow. I can see it can take a lot of sun. Yeah. Yeah. It can. Okay. And then what else have we got you like to highlight to us? Is that a cactus? Yeah, that's a cactus I got a long time ago. Wow. I don't know what cactus is that. It lives happily amongst the other tropical plants. Yeah. I don't, I don't, I never watered this guy. So it lives in neglect. Yeah. It's got sharp thorns. Thorns are like quite something. Okay. Good. All right. Let's head on to the inside where he has more gems. Farhan, this thing caught my eye. It has a very special variegation of yellow and pink. Can you tell me a bit more about this Anthurium? This is the Anthurium hookeryi. Okay. I saw people auctioning it for, I don't know, thousands and thousands, like 8,000 I think. Yeah. Yeah. It's quite insane nowadays. Yes. I saw a lot. In Thailand. It's famous in Thailand. Yes. Yeah. Okay. What else? Oh, let's see. Oh, this one, is this a Raffirodora? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a Angusta. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Anthurium Angusta. Raffidophora. Raffirodora Angusta. It originates from Borneo? Yeah. I think, I think here also lah. Here? Yeah. I think so. I think so. Yeah. Okay. Now jungles, they have this as well I think. Yeah. This is actually. Or maybe someone took it from Borneo and then it came here. Yeah. I'm not too sure but it's Malaysian, yeah. It's like really nice and rippled. Yeah. I think rivaling the Anthurium Veitchii, maybe. Yeah. Maybe the Philaenodon Hetero. Yes. Philaenodon Hetero.