Birds Made Of Petals By Hong Yi

Remember Hong Yi aka Red, the Malaysian artist-architect who challenged herself to create a new piece of food art every day in the month of March? Well, she's making waves again - this time with her adorable, playful  creations of exotic birds using flowers, leaves, twigs and sticks she finds in her garden.

Thought it'll be nice too, to share some fun facts on the flora of the country where I live.

Peacock made from the petals of the butterfly pea and allamada flower, bottlebrush leaf and spines of the coconut leaf.

Allamanda aka golden trumpet

The Rhinoceros Hornbill

Malaysia's largest state, Sarawak, is known as 'The Land Of The Hornbills'. As its names suggests, hornbills are in abundance here. 8 known variants are found in Sarawak alone.

Flamingo made from the petals of pink gerberas

Gerbera - a member of the sunflower family

Rooster made from gerberas and leaves

A kingfisher made of gerberas, butterfly peas and purple shamrocks

Clitoria Ternatia (commonly known as the butterfly pea). This genus was named after the clitoris because of its resemblance to the female genitalia! The Malays and Peranakan use the blue butterfly pea as a natural blue dye for cakes, rice and dumplings.

Parrot

Dodo made of white, pink and orange chrysanthemums

Yellow chrysanthemums
Ever tried chrysanthemum tea? Yellow or white chrysanthemum flowers of the species C. morifolium are boiled to make a sweet drink in some parts of Asia.

Northern cardinal made of red gerberas and deep purple chrysanthemums

Bald eagle made of white, yellow and maroon chrysanthemums