PUNGGOL POINT

Today's weather - sunny

This is one of our last white beaches along the coast. Just looking at this, it is not hard to imagine one is not here in Singapore. How often does one get to enjoy such scenic views and  serene surroundings amidst our busy lifestyle?

Anyway, there are some plants that shouldn't be planted in groups or clusters, such as Jatropha and these Crinum plants. When the pests come a knocking, the devastating effect is unimaginable.

Over on the lawn laid a dead birdie. It looked kind of young and it is always sad to see a dead creature like this.

PUNGGOL WATERWAY

This is the night view of the recently opened Punggol Waterway by URA that is connected to the Serangoon Park Connector under NParks. A part of it is linked to the bridge leading to the Lorong Halus Wetland.

The design seems to draw inspiration from the Pennisetum, which is planted extensively throughout the linear connector, which came through in the form of the LED cool coloured changing lights along the waterfront and the pedestrian bridge. The public toilet along the way has an interesting design too.

I only managed to walk along the stretch that joins to the Punggol Promenade and stopped for a meal at Popeye but did not explore the rest of the area because it was too quiet and only a few people were around. The site must look very different in the day and I don't know when I will drop by this area again.

RHODOMYRTUS TOMENTOSA

I remember first seeing this plant planted by my friend at Punggol Park across the Bliss restaurant.

This photo was taken on 17 Jan 10 at HortPark's Herb and Spice Garden.

The flowers appear light pink and gradually take on a darker pink.

CASSIA MIMOSOIDES

I went back to work on Christmas Eve and noticed the Cassia mimosoides that I planted at end Oct 09 beside the Pasir Panjang Road entrance to HortPark was in bloom.

I only learnt about this butterfly host plant when I visited the Punggol fields in early 2009 with our Butterfly Garden adviser and my colleague, who collected the seeds from the numerous brown pods and germinated them in our nursery.

We were told that this plant was not easy to grow but my colleague did it again! In fact, we noticed that this plant, after attaining a certain size about 1.2 -1.5 m, would die back, much like some of the Crotalaria plants.

It is a host plant to some of the pierids, whose green long caterpillars camouflage very well amongst the fine leaves of this plant. The plant may not be very showy but it does have small yellow flowers that bloom frequently.