FERNS

From within the Athyrium fern sprouted another fern with incredible feather-textured leaves. It's just amazing.

BEAUTIFUL PLANTS

These are some of the beautiful plants, which range from weeds, ferns, trees and climbers.

The first is a weed that I have seen before but am not familiar with its name. The second is the Microsorum punctatum with amazingly artistic leaves with prominent midribs. The third is an interesting Macaranga with red inflorescences and flowers. The last two are the climbers Aristolochia with trumpet-shaped flowers and an unknown ivy-like plant with strange knobby extensions which help the plant to attach itself to the smooth surface wall.

They are all beautiful in their own way. Such is nature's art.

NB on 28 Jan 13: I found out that the unknown creeper is Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Common Name: Japanese Ivy, Grape Ivy, Boston Ivy; Family: Vitaceae) from the grape family.

SINGAPORE GARDEN FESTIVAL 12 PART 2

Today's weather - sunny

It's the fairy tales garden, a gold award winning display, created by Damian Tang. It got people curious to seek out the fairy tales and characters in the exhibit. I certainly was.

First, I was captivated by a huge but beautiful spider. Interestingly, I was told it is not part of any fairy tale and was there to create interest.

Alright, I saw the dwarfs from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Why were they all facing inwards without revealing their faces, I wondered? Then there was Pinocchio but it wasn't just one or two puppets of him. There were quite a couple everywhere, including one in a bird cage, one lying back on a Bird's Nest Fern and I was amazed and intrigued by the Pinocchio shrine.

On the other side, there was the little red riding hood and the wolf, if only one can see it. Once again, the girl in the hood was hiding her face away from the masses. Around the turn was Tinkerbell, I think, sitting at the base of an Olive Tree.

So what's the reason for getting the characters not to face the crowd? Other than creating curiosity, was the designer's intention merely for us to imagine the characters' looks on our own? I don't know.

CLOUD FOREST PART 3

This is the highest point of the Cloud Forest. Known as The Lost World, it features some of the most interesting plants such as the following:

carnivorous plants 

American Pitcher Plant (scientific name: Sarracenia species and cultivars)
Sundew (scientific name: Drosera)
Butterwort (scientific name: Pinguicula)
Pitcher Plant (scientific name: Nepenthes cultivars)

orchid - Miltoniopsis cultivars
gesneriad - Stretocarpella
fern -  Adiantum sp.
Rhododendron
Begonia