CLERODENDRUM INDICUM

This is one of the tall and straight growing Clerodendrums. From the Verbenaceae Family, it is known by its common names Tube Flower or Skyrocket.

Interestingly, the few Clerodendrums e.g. C. calamitosum, that I know with white flowers typically have showy red hard sepals that remain after the flowers are shed. Unfortunately, this one does not have fragrant flowers. A link is attached below:

http://www.floridata.com/ref/c/cler_ind.cfm

HANGING PLANTS

Petunia and the drooping Periwinkle make good hanging plants.

The white Petunia looks so pure while the purplish-pink one is what I have. The darker pink Periwinkle provided such good coverage that the brown hanging pot is almost completely concealed.

These are good plants with big beautiful blooms that do not require too much water. How interesting it would be if there are double-petaled varieties.

PHYLLANTHUS CUSCUTIFLORUS

From the Euphorbiaceae Family, this Pink Phyllanthus is one of my favourite small trees.

Not only are the pinkish new leaf flushes pretty and subtle, the pink flowers occur in dense sprays from the leaf nodes and give an effect much like sparklers. When planted close together, they would form a beautiful screen.

COMMERSONIA BARTRAMIA

I saw this amazingly beautiful tree Commersonia bartramia (common name: Brown Kurrajong, Scrub Christmas Tree) at Villa Bali in July last year.

From the Sterculiaceae Family, the flowers are fruits are just so showy and attractive. After I checked with a very knowledgeable colleague, I discovered that this tree is not native and is normally regarded as a weed in the landscape because when it is not flowering or fruiting, it just looks plain, unappealing and possibly even ugly. Looking at the branching and the leaves, I could actually understand why it is perceived as such.

Thankfully, I saw this tree at its peak and best with its numerous small white flowers, yellow to brown rambutan-like fruits. I could also understand how it got its interesting common name Scrub Christmas Tree from the flowers resembling snow covering the branches. A link is provided below:

http://www.ntbg.org/plants/plant_details.php?plantid=11923&rid=2213

FAUNA

A colleague was asking me for some photos of park fauna and I found some of the following which I did not post before.

The 1st is probably of an Asian Toad (scientific name: Bufo melanostictus) hiding in this pot that I planted up with some water-loving plant.

The 2nd photo is likely the 4-lined Common Treefrog (scientific name: Polypedates leucomystax) although the bands were not very apparent. It looked so cute and beautiful that I feel very tempted to create a planted vivarium for it.

SUNDA PYGMY WOODPECKER

The other day, I walked past this Eugenia grandis near my house and I saw this black cat staring up the trunk of the tree. Immediately, I knew something must be on the tree.

So I walked around to the other side and stared very hard up the trunk. Finally I saw it. It was a woodpecker and I got it identified as the Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker (scientific name: Dendrocopos moluccensis).

Strangely, it was supposed to be found near coastal areas, so what is it doing in such an urban area. I only managed to take these few photos before the lucky bird took off and the poor cat stared towards the distance as its meal literally flew away.

CHONG QING HOT POT

I was there on Saturday and I was so touched by their services. They really remember their regular customers' needs and everytime I was there, they would know what food to prepare for me.

This time round, immediately after I sat down, they served me warm water as well. They remembered that the last time I came, I asked for warm water instead of cold water.

Oh, this is what I call service excellence.

HOLMSKIOLDIA SANGUINEA

This is another batch of the same Holmskioldia sanguinea with pretty orange flowers grown in our nursery. But they looked so well-fed and produced much more flowers.

RUTTYA FRUTICOSA

This is another interesting plant from the Acanthaceae Family. I remember we were stopped at the Malaysian customs when we tried to bring this in. That was quite an incident.

After so many months of propagation and fertilizing, this plant now looks rather pretty with its numerous attractive orange flowers. A few months ago, we purchased the yellow-coloured flower variety. There is apparently also a red flower variety around.

A link on the plant is attached below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruttya_fruticosa

BIDENS ALBA

These are more photos of the Bidens alba and the interesting seed heads, which look like pincer claws of crabs.

NORANTEA GUIANENSIS

Here are more photos of the Norantea guianensis. The true flowers and nectarine sacs are shown clearly in the photos.

WEEDS

I am always happy that the planting areas along the drain of Pasir Panjang Road are not often pruned off the plants. This gives the opportunity for the weeds to colonise the drainage reserves so that they can grow beyond the tolerable standards.

The Oxalis barrelieri contrasted very well in texture and colour with the dark drainage wall.

The weedy Tridax procumbens (common name: Coast Button) from the Asteraceae (Compositae) Family, shown in the 3rd and 4th photos, looked interesting and its flowers do provide nectar to some butterflies. A link is shown below for reference.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tridax_procumbens

Even the wasp loved the Melastoma malabathricum (common name: Sendudok, Singapore Rhododendron) shown in the 5th to 8th photos and flit from flower to flower to collect nectar.