PHYLA NODIFLORA

This Phyla nodiflora (Frog Fruit, Sawtooth Fogfruit, Turkey Tangle) is a groundcover that was planted at several parts of HortPark.

It has tiny flowers that reminded me of Lantana camara. But it is not surprising considering that it is also from the Verbenaceae Family.

Interestingly, it is also a host plant to one of the Pansy butterflies.

TECOMA STANS

It's the flowering season of the Tecoma stans (Yellow Trumpet Bush, Common Yellow Elder) again.

When I see bees, I feel both happy and scare.

The world's bee population is dwindling and this is bad news because bees are very important plant pollinators and their presence is something to rejoice about. So I feel happy just to see them.

I feel scare because I am allergic to some insect stings. I have been to the hospitals twice for severe allergic reactions that caused me to develop hives and to have difficulty in breathing.

EUCALYPTUS DEGLUPTA

Finally, this transplanted Eucalyptus deglupta (Rainbow Eucalyptus) flowered!

Too bad I wasn't able to capture close-up photos of its flowers.

SNAIL

On first glance, it looked like a common snail to me. But upon closer look, somehow its colour seemed much lighter than the common brown ones. So I took these photos for documentation.

WEED

On my way to lunch, I came across this beautiful self-sown Celosia weed at the roadside drain.

It was flowering and it looked pretty under the light drizzle. But the plant was no longer there by end of last week.

BIODIVERCITY

The BiodiverCity 2010 photo competition was launched to promote the International Year of Biodiversity to remind everyone to do their part towards conservation of flora and fauna.

The submitted entries etc were put up outside Mandarin Hotel recently for the public's vote but they have since been removed.

I love the 2 artificial trees framing the main BiodiverCity signage board.

PRELUDE TO SGF 2010

These mascots and landscape is put up across the Heeren to promote the upcoming Singapore Garden Festival 2010.

Guess what are the names of the Bee, Ladybird and Grasshopper?

313 SOMERSET ROOF GARDEN

I posted photos of these column plantings from the ground some time ago. These photos were taken of the column plantings beside the food court.

I attended a workshop with the designer/implementor of this recently and according to her, these columns can be rotated to allow all the plants behind the columns to have equal exposures of sun light. How interesting.

By the way, the large chess pieces are interesting too!

CORRIDOR

These were photos taken on 5 Jun 10. Wait till I post the photos taken a few days ago.

Seeing is believing, so I shall not say anything more here on the 3 trailing plants that overhang the parapet wall.

I got this Bauhinia recently and it is still not planted in an ideal spot. Anyway, these are photos of its small orangey-yellow flowers.

RODENTS

I seldom see pet shops selling gerbils but this one in Suntec City did.

They looked halfway between a mouse and a hamster with its long tail.

Whoever said three's a crowd is wrong here. The triplet hamsters almost looked like 3 furry wool balls.

CARDINAL FISH

Why on earth did they call this a Cardinal Fish? I love most marine coral fishes but this is one I would never keep.

I don't know but its weird bodily pattern and large mouth somehow always managed to give me the creeps when I see it. When it moves In a school, I would freak out and get nightmares.

I know some others would appreciate this fish more than me because one man's meat is another man's poison.

I prefer damsels, angels and clowns anytime.

YELLOW VENTED BULBUL

When I started pruning the Cordia cylindristachya near the foreground of the photo on 20 May 10, I startled a bird that flew out from amongst the branches and perched itself on the white-flowered Calliandra towards the right.

Upon closer inspection, I saw a nest with 2 brown mottled eggs. Ah, so this must be the parent bird, presumably female, trying to hatch the eggs. Apparently, it loves to build its nest amongst thick dense vegetation, so I stopped pruning the Cordia to provide some form of shade, screen and cover for the nest.

As I stepped away towards a corner, the mother bird flew right back to its nest. Only a doting parent would provide such dedicated attention to its young. Unfortunately, days later, the eggs were damaged and the parent was nowhere in sight. The eggs never had a chance and neither did I get to see the nestlings. What a pity!

DAWN

It was a rare occasion for me to see such a beautiful sun rise. It was so spectacular that I couldn't resist capturing the photos of the fast evolving skylight that changed within a matter of minutes. The clouds in the sky looked like a rolling sandstorm.

At that brief moment, I wished I could just indulge myself in watching the sun complete its rise till the sandstorm turned into the blue sky. Unfortunately, it is not so easy to capture photos of a thunderstorm, which I am trying to do.

BUTTERFLIES

Everything I go to the Native Garden, I would drop by the Butterfly Garden because they are located next to each other. So these photos were also taken on 19 May 10.

I never really know the Lime Butterfly until I worked on this project. Since then, I love it so much. The wing design patterns are just so spectacular and I am happy that it is the most common urban butterfly. Occasionally, I see it laying eggs on my lime plants and have caterpillars to watch frequently. However, recently I have not seen any caterpillars for a while even though I now have 2 lime plants. I hope the adult butterflies come soon.

The other big butterfly that was successfully bred in the BG was the Tree Nymph. Its black and white beauty is so clean and classic. The ones in the attached photos look so pristine, so they must have eclosed only recently. Even in the animal kingdom, some animals are very clear and everything is in black and white and have no shades of grey in between. Visitors never fail to be in awe of this butterfly because of its size and slow clumsy flight. Unfortunately, it is not a native butterfly.

NATIVE GARDEN

These photos of the Native Garden were taken on 19 May 10, more than a month ago. They would have looked slightly more established today.

I loved almost everything about it - from the flowing waters of the meandering stream, to the logs and driftwood across the stream, to the vast biodiversity of flora and the fauna it attracts. I know it would only look better in time to come.

It is a garden I look forward to seeing everything I am there.

CAMBODIA BUTTERFLY FARM

I read in The Straits Times, 1 Dec 09, Page C3 about South-east Asia's biggest butterfly farm in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

It has about 1,500 butterflies with a koi pond. There is a restaurant that serves tropical cuisines from breakfast to dinner and has a host of activities for the whole family. Built at a mere $69,000, the centre gets its butterfly supplies from 12 villagers at its inception and hopes to increase the figure to at least 100 farmers to provide a regular source of income to the poor.

A garden enclosure measuring 40 m x 26 m houses about 30 species of butterflies at any time. Whilst it is nowhere in comparison to the world's largest or most expensive butterfly gardens, it is a project of humble origin that appeals to one's sense of belonging to nature and to cambodia's rich culture.

Check out the link http://www.butterfliesofangkor.com/