OLD AND NEW

Darling, I am sorry I have to let you down and let you go. I noticed that you have been unhappy but you are not the problem. You have been excellent and have given me lots of excitement and joy when we were together. The problem lies with me. I just don't think I have the house and the means to provide for you anymore. I realized this recently and think I have found you a better place to be.

Just like the many others before you, you are the old one and I have found another new one who is better, who can probably give me more happiness than you. Let me introduce you Strophanthus preussii to Ipomoea tricolor from Mexico, who has taken over your place in my plant container. Before you were Quisqualis indica, Mirabilis jalapa, Lonicera, and you were all my favourites at some point. Sadly, all of you were very demanding in your nutrient needs and my miserable plant container could not sustain you in a healthy condition. You were often showing symptoms of nutrient deficiency that I could not correct, so I have to transplant you somewhere where I think you will have all the space and nutrients necessary to grow optimally, just like the one I grew in HortPark that climbed at least 6 m up the Parinari corymbosa (synonym: Maranthes corymbosa; Family: Chrysobalanaceae) tree.

On a separate note, let me introduce another new member of my plant collection the variegated Gynura aurantiaca (common name: Purple Passion Plant, Purple Velvet Plant; Family: Asteraceae/Compositae) from Java. This is not the first time I have this plant and I simply love this plant for its velvety purple colour and texture and serrated leaves. It's amazingly beautiful and I definitely hope it survives this time.

HORTPARK

I saw the opened flowers of the Aristolochia grandiflora (common name: Pelican Flower, Calico Flower) at the outdoor Butterfly Garden but when I went to the site to take the photos the following day, they were closed. When opened, the center looks like a black hole and attracts insects such as flies. When closed, it reminds me of a stomach or an alien creature that I imagine would open and gobble me up when I walk up to it. Nevertheless it has one of the most unusual large flowers. A link is shown below:

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

Then there was the very common Breynia disticha 'Roseo-picta' (synonym: B. nivosa,Phyllanthus nivosus; common name: Snowbush, Leaf Flower) that is planted in gardens with variegated plants. As opposed to the variegated Pithecellobium dulce that I posted recently, this shrub has slightly bigger leaves and a more upright habit. When grown under lower light conditions or in less fertile soil, the leaves do not develop the pinkish white coloration that is more apparent under full sun and better soil. It was only when I worked in HortPark that I realized that the green or variegated flowers look just like leaves, hence the common name Leaf Flower. It was also here that I learnt that it is a host plant to the Common Grass Yellow butterfly, hence it is a good plant to have in a garden especially since the caterpillars are so inconspicuous and small and any damages to the leaves are not obvious.

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

This curved trellis used to be grown densely with Aristolochia acuminata and was home to several fruit bats, but now all are gone. There was this uncommon Strophanthus gratus(synonym: Roupellia grata; common name: Rose Allamanda, Climbing Oleander; Family: Apocynaceae) planted on the slope but it is too far for anyone to appreciate its beauty. 2 links on this shrub are attached below:

1. http://www.rareflora.com/strophantusgra.htm
2. http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/strophanthus_gratus.htm

There was this lizard gazing at me warily from amongst the Antigonon leptopus along the railings. Don't worry my friend, I am not going to harm you.

NURSERY

I love going to shop for plants in the nursery and for that, I feel I should sometimes be banned because everytime I go, I will buy back some plants even though I have no place to plant them at home.

Just yesterday, I bought a Clerodendrum thomsoniae, Strophanthus preussii, Selaginella and last week, I bought the Fuchsia.

These photos were taken from the Spa Nursery and Far East Flora along Thomson Road and they have some interesting plants e.g. Crinum 'Menehune', Clerodendrum speciosum, reddish leaved Saxifraga stolonifera, which I was tempted to buy but did not because of mealy bugs. There was this beautiful succulent and I ended up buying a Dendrobium orchid, a small-potted Gardenia and Selaginella, the latter which I subsequently used for the terrarium demonstration at Suntec Convention Centre, as part of the Active Aging event, on 1 Apr 11. I knew there would be bud blast for the Gardenia with the sudden changes in environment (temperature, humidity) but I bought it anyway because I was intrigued by the miniature-size it came in and the numerous buds it was carrying.

STROPHANTHUS PREUSSII

I posted about this Strophanthus preussii growing on the Maranthes corymbosa tree near to HortMart. The plant was growing up to 5-6 m on the tree and I think it can climb even higher.

FLORAL WALK

I was so thrilled when I first saw the Strophanthus preussii Engl. & Pax. (common name: Corkscrew Flower, Spider Tresses, Poison Arrow Vine, Tassel Vine; Family: Apocynaceae) plant, which behaves like a scrambling climber when there is a support for it to lean on. These ones at Floral Walk are getting taller but the one I planted at the base of the staircase landing beside the HortMart has climbed at least 4 m up the Maranthes corymbosa Blume (synonym: Parinari corymbosa, Parinarium corymbosum, Parinarium griffithianum, Parinarium palauense; common name: Kayu Batu ; Family: Chrysobalanceae) tree. I guess a photo speaks a thousand words and I will take some photos to post it separately.

It always amazes me to find the slightly fragrant flowers having such long filamentous ends. What ecological function does it serve, I wonder? 2 links on the bearded plant are as follows:

1. http://titanarum.uconn.edu/198500461.html
2. http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/strophanthus_preussii.htm

Next to this patch of plants is a rain tree with a huge cavity midway up the trunk. To prevent water collection that may breed mosquitoes, I did an unorthodox thing by planting the common garden weed Asystasia gangetica ssp. micrantha within the depression. I love to try such unconventional methods of planting just for the fun of it. Surprisingly, it has been doing well for so long and there was no necessity for us to water it. In fact, there are flowers from time to time. Hopefully, what I did would not contribute to further decay of the tree within a short span of time though.

Floral Walk and Home Garden have undergone extensive relandscaping in the last couple of months and with relandscaping comes newly introduced plants. Somewhere near the rain tree was planted with a batch of spotted-leaved Heliconia cultivars. I do not know the cultivar name though and where it was bought since I wasn't the one who purchased or planted it.