WARSCEWICZII?

I cannot remember the name of this plant but I thought I saw it in Australia before! What a beautiful inflorescence that is so showy.

BAY SOUTH

There are always lots of stuff to look out for when one visits the garden. I, for one, usually look out for the Melicope elleryana to check if it is flowering. It is a butterfly attracting plant that occurs in Australia, at least that's what I think.

This year, the Arrival Walkway is beautifully decorated with cut-out Cherry Blossoms and red lanterns. I was glad the Combretum paniculatum was flowering again.

This garden is also apparently popular with dog lovers, who bring their beloved pets out for a walk and to socialize with members of their kind. Not far away from the Arrival is the vibrantly coloured Children's Playground. 

pink flower Melicope elleryana

Arrival walkway

Chinese New Year adorning the covered walkway

Combretum paniculatum

A gathering of dog lovers and their dogs

I call this the runway

Pathway to the Children's Playground

Children's Playground

FLOWER DOME - AUSTRALIA AND SOUTH AMERICA

After the Baobab Village are the Australian and South American gardens stops, although most of the plant photos shown here are from the former:

• Anigozanthos cultivar (Common Name: Kangaroo Paw; Family: Haemodoraceae)
• Callistemon (Common Name: Crimson Bottlebrush; Family: Myrtaceae)
• Xanthorrhoea australis (Common Name: Grass Tree; Family: Xanthorrhoeaceae)
• Jacobaea maritima (Synonym: Senecio cineraria, Senecio maritimus; Common Name: Silver Ragwort, Dusty Miller; Family: Asteraceae / Compositae)
• Nicotiana cultivar (Family: Solanaceae)
• Araucaria araucana (Common Name: Monkey Puzzle Tree; Family: Araucariaceae)
• Grevillea brevifolia graft (Common Name: Cobberas Grevillea; Family: Proteaceae) 

HIBISCUS MUTABILIS

I saw a beautiful clump of rose-like Hibiscus mutabilis (Common Name: Confederate Rose, Cotton Rosemallow; Family: Malvaceae) in Australia almost 3 years ago that took my breath away. 

Before that, I already planted it at HortPark and was honoured to witness the beautiful flowers, which opened white in the morning and gradually took on a pink colour till it turned a dark pink by the end of the day. Such physiological changes never fail to amaze me, especially when there are multiple flowers on the plant and one can see a range of white to dark pink flowers since they open on different days.

So here I am, waiting for the same plant species at the Chinese Garden to flower, so that I can once again be enthralled by its ephemeral but timeless beauty. In ancient China, beautiful maidens were sometimes referred to as 出水芙蓉, which refers to the Cotton Rosemallow out of water.

FLOWER DOME PART 3

These photos captured the Baobabs and diversity of succulents, Australia, Africa and South America gardens which feature the following amazingly beautiful plants:

• Anigozanthos (common name: Kangaroo Paw; Family: Haemodoraceae)
• Grevillea cultivar (Family: Poteaceae)
• Strelitzia reginae (Family: Strelitziaceae)
• Protea cynaroides (common name: King Protea; Family: Proteaceae)
• Rhododendron (Family: Ericaceae)
• Jubaea chilensis (common name: Chilean Wine Palm; Family: Arecaceae)
• variegated Weigela florida (Family: Caprifoliaceae)