I have always love the Sweet Basil or the Ocimum basilicum with the purple bracts and white flowers. The contrast in colour and its leaf fragrance, especially when crushed, are alluring. I am glad I planted it in the Malay Garden and can enjoy the sight of this wonderful plant when going about my rounds.
On a separate note, I saw a beautiful butterfly with a very obvious blue streak across its wings at the Colonial Garden on last Friday. I suspect it was a Common Bluebottle (Scientific Name: Graphium sarpedon; Family: Papilionidae) which hosts on the Cinnamomum iners tree. What surprised me was the fact that this butterfly is a forest species and to see it here in the new gardens was just amazing.
Who knew that I would have an interesting find at a construction site at Punggol. Next to the entrance was a clump of Basil. I do not know the exact variety but the crushed leaves sure smelt fragrant. The flowers provided nectar to a few of the Mottled Emigrant butterflies. Herbs like this have a long history and are often used for culinary purposes and a link on the Basil is provided below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil
Then, there was the beautiful grass with yellow inflorescences. The fluffy seeds of the other weed are wind-dispersed and it reminded me somewhat of the Bidens.
