my G@Rdening frenzY

03 August 2010

KOI

Finally, they were introducing kois into the pond at the Water Garden after more than 2 years.

SLIPPER ORCHID

I couldn't resist the temptation and eventually bought this Slipper Orchid at the SGF 10.

Please don't ask me what is the name because I don't really care. The flower dropped off 2 days ago. The slipper was so small that even my pet chihuahua Sandy's leg could not fit into it.

Of course, this is not the place I was going to plant it. It was just placed there for display. I am going to plant it in a terrarium to test and see how long or well it can grow under those conditions.

HELL

I received these hell notes in my letter box on two separate days last month. It was not because I gambled and owed the loan sharks.

Apparently, someone from the neighbouring block borrowed money from the loan sharks and could not make his payment. In the end, the loan sharks distributed these hell notes to every single unit in the few blocks, with the intention of pressurizing the person to pay up.

Of course the police was alerted and hopefully, nothing really happens to everyone.

ISTANA PARK

I used to manage this park. That was at least 5 years ago. Time flies.

These white mushrooms were sprouting from the base of the Bougainvillea planted in the trough lining the trellis along the front of the park facing Orchard Road.

When I was there, I made two structural improvements that I was proud of. In line with making the park more barrier free, I proposed the changes to the 25 years old park which was built in the early 80s.

I lowered the stainless steel bum rests facing the pool and shelter because every time there was a concert or stage performance, there were insufficient seats for the audience. The bum rests were originally constructed too high for anyone to really rest their bums on it without resorting to jumping onto the seats. They were lowered down so that anyone, and I really mean anyone, would be able to rest their behinds on these seats with ease and comfort.

I also broke away from the formal and symmetrical design configuration of the shelter and pool by hacking away part of a planter bed and converting it into a staircase to lead park users up from the walkway to the shelter and vice versa easily. Previously, access to the shelter was only possible via the back of the shelter beside the pump room. This small improvement also facilitated park performances and interaction by allowing the performers, audience and recipients of prizes etc to go up and down the shelter cum stage in the shortest possible time.

Finally, for once a year for one whole month, the red Singapore banners are put up before National Day to commemorate the occasion. National Day is around the corner, so here's an early happy National Day greeting to Singapore and all its citizens and residents!

WHITE FLOWERS

There was this pot of white flowers on level 3 of the Cathay Building. As real as they looked, they were fake. But yes, they were made after a real flower.

The plant that gave rise to this imitation is the Magnolia grandiflora.

GREEN BUILDINGS

From as far as the Marina Bay Sands with their sky gardens, to the green trellises on the SMU building facades and finally to the green skin on the facade of the School of the Arts and its amazing 'sculptural' Angsana tree at its frontage, they all have one thing in common.

They are all new buildings that sprouted within the last couple of years to recently and they all have greenery above the ground.

NORANTEA GUIANENSIS

Last night, I was tidying up the photos taken a few days ago, with the intention to post them over these few days.

In this first photo, don't be mistaken that I am trying to showcase the Bauhinia kockiana. Instead, I am showing off the large-leaved scandent climber on the left of the Bauhinia.

It is the uncommon Red Hot Poker Vine. I took pains to choose this particular large specimen and planted it beside the fencing so that there is some support for the plant. It has been doing well thus far, and had sprouted numerous new coloured waxy leaves and strings of inflorescences since it was first planted.

Although it is not a prolific in terms of its flowering, it is still a very reliable plant as there is always at least a sprig of the inflorescence protruding out from the plant. I managed to take photos of a developing inflorescence, as shown below. Interestingly, the red-orange structures on the inflorescence are not the flowers, but nectarines or nectar pouches that attract the birds and other insects.

Anyway, I won't be able to show the fully developed inflorescence in this particular post because the majority of branches were pruned off when I came back from my lunch today. To see the developing inflorescence, check out my earlier post.

A link is attached below for reference:

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

02 August 2010

RAFFLES BOULEVARD

I was bowled over by this visually beautiful green island surrounded by Marina Square, Pan Pacific Hotel and Millenia Walk.

From this area and angle, it looked impressively outstanding against the stark and monotonous concrete buildings and road. The tall Yellow Rain Trees and the ground shrubs do make the entire place more aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. When I was standing there, I imagined the site without this island and I didn't like what I saw in my mind.

MILLENIA WALK

This may not be a new mall but the colourful ceiling tiles have always been the highlight of this linear 2-storey shopping mall.

Recently, they just added another part BHG with 3 storeys at the end nearest Marina Square.

BLACK BIRD-OF-PARADISE

This is the newest Strelitzia metallica 'Shadow'. It was found at the Millenia Walk. Wasn't it impressively classy?

TREE

Is this a Callistemon tree? If yes, what species is it?

I only noticed the red leaf flushes on a few occasions, but never the flowers, so it's hard to tell its identity. Well, let's wait and see then.

CALATHEA 'SILVER PLATE'

These are the Calathea 'Silver Plate' plants at the Silver Garden.

Compared to some Calathea, they seemed more hardy than others in that they can take slightly dry conditions without their leaves curling up. Only when the weather is extremely hot and when they are exposed to full sun do they show signs of water stress. The upperside of the leaves is completely white or silver whilst their underside is purple. I guess the white does help to reflect off some of the light and heat? They are best planted in semi-shade conditions with indirect sunlight so that there is sufficient light to induce flower production.

The colourful pink bracts that subtend the small flowers resemble that of the Calathea loeseneri that is far more sensitive to water stress.

THE CRAZIES 2010

The Crazies 2010 was a remake of the 1973 movie of the same title. It tells the story of Ogden Marsh, a small town of Iowa, known to be the friendliest place on earth, with a population of 128,000, whose residents were slowly infected by a virus via their drinking water.

Within 48 hours of infection, the sane townsfolk all slowly but surely turned into blood-thirsty zombie-like killers, who went on a rampage to kill others in sight. The military implemented a containment protocol that involved killing everyone, including the infected and normal residents. The whole town was decimated in the end with a massive explosion. There were seemingly only 2 survivors at the end of the movie; the upright town sheriff David played by Timothy Olyphant and his doctor wife Judy played by Radha Mitchell. Unfortunately, the movie ended with a zoom-out view of the town that showed the words "initiate containment protocol" for the second time, which likely meant they would too be exterminated.

It was an entire cast of unknowns to me. When I first saw the trailer, the song Mad World haunted me so much that it had my full attention. I was completely mesmerized by the sad, distant song but it was not played throughout the entire movie. Anyway, at first glance, I mistook the male lead as Josh Duhamel.

Yes, there were a few frightening scenes but well, I didn't find it as scary as the other zombie movies like "28 Days Later", "28 Weeks Later" or "Legend". At least in "The Crazies", the virus was not contagious and could not be spread by blood or touching the victims. The latter movies were definitely a lot scarier. These were almost like end of the world or hell on earth movies and the notion itself freaked me out. Imagine being infected simply by touching the blood of the infected, who were almost everywhere, and within a matter of seconds turning into blood-thirsty zombies who go around eating and killing others. In such a world, it may be better off being dead than to be killed in the most frightening way. And I just read that they are or may be making the movie "28 Months Later". I am so looking forward to watching it.

01 August 2010

DINGY BUSH BROWN

I took this photo just outside the Butterfly Garden enclosure. I am not sure if this is the Dingy Bush Brown butterfly (Mycalesis perseus cepheus) though.

The hind wings were already partially damaged. I bet they were damaged by predators that tried to prey on it from behind.

DENDROBIUM BRACTEOSUM

I bought this Dendrobium bracteosum (Bracted Dendrobium) at the recent SGF 10. In fact, I bought 2 of them.

Dendrobium is one of the largest genus in the Family Orchidaceae. The name is derived from "dendro" (tree) and "bios" (life), which basically refers to the habit of this orchid as an epiphyte that grows on trees.

When this one in the first photo was sold to me, the seller (from Taiwan) explained that the bunch of flowers would open in succession and hence would last for up to 6 months. Hmmm, was I gullible to believe him or it is really true?

Assuming the 2 of them grow and send up new stems regularly, then this is really a good buy. I hope I can successfully grow them well under my care into a large bunch, like those that were on display during the SGF 10.

From online sources, I read that it grows on forest trees near rivers or in mangrove swamps. Hence, they require high humidity conditions to thrive and grow well. Whilst the root system needs to dry out slightly between the waterings, they also cannot be completely dried out. Their leaves may be shed from time to time because they are deciduous. A link is attached below:

http://www.yonggee.name/Notes/Den_bracteosum.htm

MELASTOMA MALABATHRICUM

These are the fruits of the Singapore Rhododendron, Straits Rhododendron or Sendudok taken at the outdoor Butterfly Garden. It seems that some butterflies like to feed on it at the forest fringes.

But there was another seed that was hanging on the left of the cluster of fruits. It looked like the seed of perhaps the nearby Calotropis gigantea (Crown Flower, Giant Milkweed).

The attached is a link on the common Singapore Rhododendron:

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/plants/melastoma.htm