ROSE GARDEN

The Rose Garden was one of the features. There were so many cultivars of roses planted throughout this garden.

There were no trees in this part of the garden and it was completely sunlit.

The rose in the photo was named Bandung Rose and true enough, when I smelt the flowers at close range, they emitted a Bandung smell. So I guess the rose syrup used in our Bandung drink is from this rose?

GLASSHOUSE & BAUHINIA

The massive glasshouses stood out from a distance and it was not difficult to be in awe by the scale and elaborate design.

Growing out from the tallest enclosure is a Bauhinia climber. It was absolutely beautiful.

CASSIA

The truth was, when I alighted from the van and saw this tree from afar, I actually jumped up and down in excitement. Throughout the whole trip, this was really one of the pink moments that I would remember for a long long time!

No one shared my crazy enthusiasm though. They all took photos of this tree so calmly, unlike me.

I know we would not be able to have this extensive flowering in Singapore even if we have the tree here, just like the Cassia fistula that usually flowers disappointingly in our climate.

There were hardly any leaves and the pinkish-white flowers completely took my breath away. I know that this is nothing compared to the flowering cherry blossoms in Japan, but still it was a spectacle to me when almost all the trees in the vicinity were just green and blended against the background.

WALLICHIA DISTICHA

The Wallichia disticha was so beautiful with its laterally compressed trunk and fronds that extend from the base to the tip.

The high planting arch was also so stunning and would definitely be a bold feature when the climbers are fully grown.

TABEBUIA CHRYSOTRICHA

Up on the hill were a few flowering Tabebuia chrysotricha. The trees were also completely defoliated. Compared to the Tabebuia argentea along the highways, they do not looked as appealing.

STREETSCAPE

This is the center median of the major road that I took on the way to the Queen Sirikit Botanic Gardens.

It struck me that the trees and Bougainvillea cultivars were so manicured compared to some other roads. They must have very good skilled workmen who pruned these plants so immaculately.

BUTEA MONOSPERMA

The last time I saw these trees more than a year ago, they were covered with orange flowers.

On the morning of 12 Mar 10, I took these photos and there were just a few of them on this almost bare tree.

According to my friend, these trees were pruned every few months.

LANTANA CAMARA

Somehow, I seemed to be featuring quite a few variegated plants in the last few posts.

Called me ignorant, but I don't think I came across this variegated Lantana camara anywhere in Singapore.

The white-green leaf variegated gave a slight silverish tinge to this plant, which was very different from the more common yellow-green variegation.

PANSY

This is a tropical Viola species (Pansy).

Though smaller and not as showy as the cultivars, they did catch my attention.

CLERODENDRUM QUADRILOCULARE

Another variegated plant with lovely Ixora like flowers.

Actually, I prefer the normal green-magenta leaved species because the flowers do stand out. With this strong variegation, it somehow looked jarring and distracting to the eyes.

Nevertheless, it is another natural beauty.

VARIEGATED AZALEA

I have never come across a variegated Rhododendron until then.

I was lamenting to a visitor from Frankfurt yesterday on how difficult it is to grow Rhododendrons in Singapore and his comments were the problems lie in our soil because there is inadequate phosphates.

Rhododendrons are another favourite plant group of mine and hopefully we can eventually up a collection of them.

FERN

I loved how the fronds of this fern looked from the reverse. One can see the brown spores amongst a background of silverish green and a prominent midrib on the underside of the fronds.

The way the fronds branched and overlapped each other without interfering with the growth was so natural and well-balanced to portray a beautiful tapestry.

GRAY, WHITE & GREEN

I like this combination of different shaped leaves of gray, white and green colours from the Graptophyllum pictum and Polyscias balfouriana.

This is subtle beauty achieved by putting together some common plants. So who says you always need something out of this world.

DENDROBIUM

These Dendrobiums were stunningly beautiful. I used to buy them in Singapore but I could not manage to make them happy.

But here, there were so many of them. Just admiring their beauty made me happy.

WHITE PETREA

Ah, a white-flowered Sandpaper Vine (Petrea volubilis).

Although not as attractive as the blue Petrea, it is nonetheless still beautiful.

BROMELIADS

They just love bromeliads. You could see so many stalls displaying and selling them everywhere and you wouldn't miss them.

WHITE DOG

At Chiang Mai's Kampthien Market, I was greeted by this white dog that I acquainted last year. It is the dog of a friend and whilst it didn't recognise me, I recognised it.

I heard she gave birth to a litter of puppies recently. And here it is, chasing after it's tail.

FORMAL GARDEN

From the Suvarnabhumi Airport's food court, it overlooked this formal garden.

What struck us was that they hardly use uncommon plants to create their gardens, including these formal gardens. From afar, one could see how well-manicured the plants were maintained. There was barely any plant that was out of place or weeds in sight.

Also, one would not forget the Garuda, because they were perched high up on their street posts.

MISCELLANEOUS

These were taken on 11 Mar 10.
The first was a beautiful double-petaled Adenium obesum. I don't think I have seen them in Singapore, so I bought one of them including a few other variegated ones.

The second photo was that of a double-petaled Ochna shrub. Well, I bought not because it is stunningly attractive, but because we have not come across this variety in Singapore yet.

Finally, the always alluring Slipper Orchids never fail to catch my attention again.

There will be more to come.

HOYA

Hoyas are not uncommon in Singapore too, but once again, I get drawn to these beauties. Anyway, I am trying to amass a botanical collection of them for our new Butterfly Garden facility.

COUROUPITA GUIANENSIS

These flowers were redder than the ones I took earlier at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and it is always difficult to ignore such natural beauties.

OTHERS

This uncommon flowering tree has white flowers with a spirally-arranged anthers.

The Chorisia in the second photo is a tall tree in the nursery and I was looking for it for a while.

The third bromeliad is not commonly sold in Singapore but I have seen it before.

The flowers in the fourth photo are from a cactus-like plant.

Then we came across two unusual looking Leucophyllum shrubs. The leaves and flowers appeared more compact than the common ones that we so often see.

The last photo is of a dwarf looking Wrightia antidysenterica shrub with curved-back flowers.

DOGS AND CAT

I could not hold myself back from taking these photos of 3 puppies that barked incessantly at me and this lazing siamese cat with smothering blue eyes. It looked like she was carrying a litter of kittens.