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) 

CALLISTEMON

I was walking across the Dragonfly Bridge the other day and was drawn to a red patch on the slope of the Heritage Gardens. With my naked eyes, I wasn't able to make out what trees were they?.

But with the help of my camera, I was able to zoom in and identified the trees as Callistemon. They say red colour advances and it is very true, I must say.

TOA PAYOH TOWN PARK - PART 2

After the pergola, I approached this rustic part of the park. You see, when we were redeveloping the park, there was a part of the park that was occupied by a temporary bus interchange before it was moved to its present permanent location across the road and there was this other part that was nostalgic to most residents who lived in this area.

The decision then was to redevelop this latter part with a more modern look to it and retain the rustic feel of the former. This is the former part that leads to a chinese-design bridge over a pond. The old and bent Callistemon viminalis trees were kept because of the beauty they give to the pond with their arching branches. The reflection of the landscape in the pond was just splendid and the small islands of plants in the pond add a different dimension to it. The landscape architect was brilliant and suggested the use of Phoenix palms in the water as a trial and they are still there in the pond today.

Amongst the marginal aquatic plants was a Waterhen that moved quietly through the thick growth. Part of the old concrete footpath along the pond edge was laid with wooden blocks salvaged from an Australian railway, at least that was what I was told. Then I was back on the red-bricked pathway that led me out of the park where I was greeted by the majestic rows of silver Bismarckia nobilis that is so iconic of this location.

CALLISTEMON CITRINUS

We seldom see the Crimson Bottlebrush being planted these days because of its short lifespan. From the Myrtaceae Family, the inflorescence looks like the bottle-brushes used to clean the the milk bottles for babies.

A link is provided below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callistemon_citrinus

CALLISTEMON CITRINUS (WHITE FLOWERS)

I planted a few Callistemon citrinus (common name: Bottlebrush) with white flowers months ago and now one of them is flowering.

From the Myrtaceae Family, the inflorescence of flowers really look like a brush that is used to wash milk bottles for babies. Hence, that was how the name came about.

I guess the idea for the real bottle brush for milk bottles was derived from these group of plants? A link on the Callistemon is shown below:

http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/callistemon_sp.htm