As green, and good, as it gets at Melrimba Garden

As green, and good, as it gets at Melrimba Garden

By Mehru Jaffer

PUNCAK, West Java (JP): Next time hubby waves yet another
business-class air ticket to where ever, do not despair. Forget
the flying and concentrate on the advantages of having feet
firmly and forever on the ground.

The plan is to spend a restful weekend with the family. But
come Monday morning, get the rusting alarm clock to roll you out
of bed before the cock doodles-a-do and then meet up with that
gang of soul mates before you breeze into Puncak.

Been there, done that? No, not at the Melrimba Garden, you
haven't. While much of Puncak is nothing but a ride on the
beaten track, there are some treasure spots still to be
discovered. Melrimba Garden is one of them.

Exactly an hour's drive from Jakarta, the Garden stands 1,400
meters above sea level. On arrival at 7 a.m. the temperature is
fresh, around 15 degrees, and the dew still sparkling. A boon is
the sprawling parking place inside the premises of Jalan Raya
Puncak KM 87, that seems capable of accommodating not just your
own but all the cars of the entire neighborhood.

First to welcome visitors here is the wandering mist, and
there are hugs galore from the fog. A steaming cup of tea brewed
from homegrown lemon grass helps to loosen those stiff joints in
preparation for the long walk along the undulating contours of
paradise that is a combination of flower, rock, water and herb
garden.

A guide will keep company but only on request into the dense,
decadent beauty and is happy to explain how the mossy parts got
so dark, what that patch of green is about and what exactly those
luminous flowers are.

It is also possible to get the birdsong translated or, if you
so wish, to keep the long silence further suspended for a second
or two more, at least until the first rays of the sun decide to
fling away their cloudy covers and to kiss the cheeks a very good
morning.

Once the walk is over it is best to get back to the feet of
the hills lush with tea plantations where you can choose a
sumptuous breakfast from 11 food stalls. However, the best thing
to do is to inform Melani Rimba about the meal of your choice
from Jakarta itself so that the appetite made so ravenous by the
combination of mountain air and scenery is not put to further
trials.

Talking to Melani over a cup of cappuccino at the Sendok
Garpu, the barrack-like structure converted into a restaurant, it
was difficult to believe that this picturesque spot of such
beauty, repose and seclusion was once a pharmaceutical factory.

When her husband, a partner in the factory, moved all his
machines to Bogor, Melani refused to part with the property. For
a few years she came here from Jakarta to relax. What eventually
filled her with great anticipation was gardening. She was content
to clear the weeds from around ancient trees and in cultivating
fruits and herbs. She tamed the ferocious forces of water from a
nearby spring into streams and ponds, and released fish of every
hue and color which can be admired from quaint little wooden
bridges. She imported flowers from the Netherlands and Australia
and when the surroundings began to display an attractive blend of
contrasting colors and forms, she wanted to share all this beauty
with others.

Melani, who is chairwoman of the Indonesian Association of
Flowers, now looks forward to visitors who will also participate
in flower arrangement and bonsai growing sessions organized by
her.

So the very prosaic looking, pencil-long, front portion of the
factory was given a facelift and renovated into a restaurant with
open arches and a souvenir shop. Apart from Indonesian cuisine,
Italian, Japanese and Chinese food is also served here.

"For all those interested, we provide cooking tips and
demonstrations in different cuisine from across the archipelago,"
Melani said.

The garden employs about 130 people from the nearby villages
making Ace, 35, happy at being able to earn a living in his
beloved Sunda highlands.

"I cannot bear to be in Jakarta for more than a couple of
hours," said the chief gardener and graduate of the Bogor
Institute of Agriculture, in a refreshing contrast to thousands
of other able-bodied young people who are abandoning their
villages and flocking to cities like Jakarta in search of work.

Ace loves working on the land and proudly shows off Bunga, the
well stocked shop adjoining the garden that sells potted plants,
tools and other accessories for the garden. It is possible to
spend an entire afternoon here, admiring the wide range of
decorative plants, flowers and herbal bushes from Indonesia as
well as abroad. Also spotted at the shop were other items to
further beautify the garden, like lamps, statues and pots.

Like all Sundanese, Ace recommends plenty of greens on the
plate; he is able to tell which herb is able to cure what ailment
and how soothing to the soul which leaf is.

Open to the public since December 1998, the garden offers
another service in providing tricks on professional landscaping
as well as technical advice on gardening in your own home. But
Melani's dream remains to provide nature lovers with overnight
accommodation on the premises, so that each moment from dawn to
dusk is spent in the lap of the luscious landscape is experienced
personally and not merely told to you by writers like this one.

The garden is open seven days a week, between 9 a.m. and 10
p.m. on weekdays, and between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. on weekends and
holidays. The advantage of a visit on a weekday is that it
prevents one from wading through the oceanic traffic jams
flooding the main road at Puncak on holidays. Just remember to
inform the garden of your early morning date with the lark at
telephone numbers (0263)523204, 523205 or 523206.