GOLDEN GARDEN

The Golden Garden extends it's range to the area behind the coach bus drop off/pick up point. Occasionally, bouts of golden yellow flowers steal my attention from the other more subdued plants. 

HORTPARK 2

Today's weather - sunny

It is always such a a joy to visit HortPark and sometimes they bring back so many fond memories.


I love this native climber Tetracera indica that I planted at the Irrigation Pond area to conceal the manhole behind it.


The Clerodendrum quadriloculare across the Hands-on-House decided to show its beautiful pink tubular flowers that earn it the deserving common name Starburst Bush.


Over at the Prototype Glasshouse, the attention seeking Impatiens walleriana cultivars and the Tibouchina cultivar were wooing me with its amazingly beautiful flowers.


Then at the Golden Garden, I saw for the first time the unknown red flower Bulbophyllum in bloom. Since planting it, I have never seen it flower and I was definitely secretly excited by the excellent growth exhibited by the orchid on the Rain Tree fork. I hope they don't prune it away someday.


Just beside the Fruited Vegetables Garden, a clump of Strongylodon macrobotrys (common name: Jade Vine, Emerald Vine) flowers were hidden amongst the dense leaves covering the shelter.


Further up at the Floral Stitches, a sun lizard was so well camouflaged against the trunk of the tree that I almost missed it.


The unknown Terminalia was also fruiting for the umpteen time. As someone pointed out, the winged fruits reminded her of the plastic balls commonly used in washing machines to prevent the clothes from tangling together. Instead of having two glands on the underside of its leaves, typical of Terminalia trees, there is only one small gland on this one.


At the former Arbor Garden was a small bed of Lobelia chinensis, which I grew in waterlogged areas in the Car Park Garden in the past and which I have not seen in recent times.

HORTPARK PART 1

I decided to take some photos of this park again after an absence of several months, with the intention to showcase the changes etc.

The first photo was taken to show the Rondeletia odorata but also to show how tall the Acalypha godseffiana var. heterophylla (Family: Euphorbiaceae) looks next to it.


The next few photos were focused on the Golden Garden. There was a Magpie Robin that was sort of hopping around the mulch bed at the base of the Rain Tree. Interestingly, the sighting of this bird in Singapore has become increasingly more frequent, no doubt thanks to efforts to conserve the natural habitats.


As I walked towards the small pond behind the Hands-on-House, I saw a family of squirrels. It is a family of at least 5-6 of them and they were all running and jumping from tree to tree - the Peltophorum pterocarpum (common name: Yellow Flame Tree) to the variegated Ficus benghalensis and vice versa. When they spotted me, they lied low and it was extremely difficult for me to take clear photos of them amidst the dense branches.


On the way, I saw two cute pineapples and hence took photos of the inconspicuous Ananas comosus planted in the bed of Arachis pintoi. As I glimpsed back, I noticed the variegated Casuarina already grew way beyond the roof of the Hands-on-House. I am so proud of you baby, although I think in time to come, someone would come to chop you down or take you out of the site.