GHOST

It is another nostalgic night. Right after "Pretty Woman", I was reminded of "Ghost" also released in 1990 starring the recently deceased Patrick Swayze, then very refreshingly beautiful Demi Moore and the very funny Whoopi Goldberg. Unless you are too young, who could forget this movie which topped the US box office takings in the year 1990.

The pottery scene was most classic and the memorable song "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers also came to mind. 2 video clips of the song and a link to the movie are attached below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_(film)

PRETTY WOMAN

I heard the song "It Must Have Been Love" just now and it reminded me of the classic american love comedy movie "Pretty Woman" in 1990 which propelled Julia Roberts to stardom. She starred opposite Richard Gere as a streetwalker and since that movie, she went on to take on many other roles in many other movies.

Wow, it has been 20 years since then. Yet, the movie's main theme song by Roxette still remains so vivid in my mind. So I am attaching 2 video clips of the song below, where the latter contains snippets of the movie, and another song "Listen to Your Heart" from the group below.

A link on the movie is also attached below:

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

ALOCASIA MACRORHIZZOS 'LUTEA'

Now all the plants around these clumps of Yellow Stem Alocasia were removed and they are now more prominent than forever, especially the larger and more established clump.

PORTULACA GRANDIFLORA

The Pasir Panjang Road entrance of HortPark was replanted with this beautiful bed of single-petaled Japanese Rose from the Portulacaceae Family. It is a pity the colourful flowers only open at certain times of the day and close sometime after noon.

My mum used to grow them when I was younger and I can still remember how she potted them from cuttings. A link on the groundcover is shown below:

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

PELTOPHORUM PTEROCARPUM

I have not posted about this common roadside tree before but it is actually quite pretty with its numerous small yellow flowers and brown pods.

From the Fabaceae (Leguminosae) Family, it is commonly known as Yellow Flame Tree. A link is attached below:

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

NATURE'S ART

Nature is really beautiful if we look carefully. If I did not show the top few photos, would anyone know that the yellow and green mosses are growing on the trunk from this tree?

This Rain Tree was deliberately planted with lots of epiphytic plants e.g. orchids, Dischidia, but I think the ferns and mosses were either stowaways or grew naturally.

Either way, I think nature is a good artist, judging from the way some of these plants were growing.

VARIEGATED GRAMMATOPHYLLUM

I posted about this variegated orchid that I bought during SGF 10. The growth has been slow since then and the variegation is actually quite weak. It is definitely not one of my favourite orchids at the moment.

TYPHONODORUM LINDLEYANUM

From the Araceae Family, this is known by the common name Water Banana although it is not related to the Musa or Family Musaceae at all. 2 links are shown below for reference:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhonodorum
2. http://plantwerkz.blogspot.com/2009/02/water-banana-typhonodorum-lindleyanum.html

NEW PURCHASES

These were my recent purchases. The first was an interesting plant that I have never seen before. They told me it is a Philodendron but I am doubtful.

Yes, I bought the Plumbago zeylanica since it was so cheap at $4.90 and got it planted it my planter trough. Just yesterday, I finally removed and discarded the lovely Pink Petunia that was badly infested with another case mealy bugs. It was growing over the parapet but I had no choice but to clear it. Now there is void in that planter. Maybe I should try the Calibrachoa next.

I also got myself another light-coloured slightly wavy-leaved Aglaonema to brighten up the shady corridor. I actually haven't seen this one around the nurseries, so it could be a new introduction.

Finally, there was the pink Pelargonium hortorum cultivar which I removed yesterday because it rotted right up from the base. When I bought it, there was already a slight rot from the top but the stems eventually turned all black. Hmmm, I know it is hard to grow it in our climate but I was just trying it.

IXORA CONGESTA

The native Ixora congesta that I posted recently finally opened its flowers. What a beauty.

I have always love the orange colour and this definitely reinforces it.

HOUSE SPARROW

I was out for breakfast the other day and saw these few House Sparrows on the roof. I have lamented before that sparrows are far and few these days, compared to 1 or 2 decades ago.

Known as Passer domesticus indicus, they are one of the passerine bird species that occupies the urban niche and have been successful until recent years. Could it be due to the prevalent use of pesticides, chemicals etc that pollute the environment knowingly and unknowingly by us humans? I am certain it is not due to predation because they have few natural predators that are larger and more successful than them in this urban environment.

Well, the males are apparently bolder in plumage colouration compared to the drab, dull brown females. I saw in a magazine recently that they have one mate for life, and each year they can lay a few broods of eggs with each brood between 3-6 eggs. The eggs hatch within 2 weeks and the young are able to breed soon after that. In premise, it seems promising that they have a very prolific life cycle but in reality, something is not quite right.

A link is attached below:

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

I bet on my dollar that the one shown below is a male with its chestnut brown crown.

夏日香气 - 孙艺珍

I was watching the korean drama starring the very sweet and pretty 孙艺珍 and I was reminded of the earlier 夏日香气 (Summer Scent) when I saw her for the first time. This was supposed to be one of four drama installments on spring, summer, autumn and winter starring the hottest actors and actresses of korea during the peak when korean dramas were shown everywhere in this region. I am not sure if I mentioned this before but she has the effervescent kind of rresistible beauty.

Anyway, the 2 songs 秘密 and 左右为难 from the drama were really beautiful and I have not heard it for a while. The youtube videos are attached below.

HAZE

The haze is finally gone. But just a week ago, this was how the sky still looked like.

The Supreme Court, Westin Stamford Hotel and distant Marina Bay Sands building were shrouded in a layer of ash. But the conditions were definitely better than the days before that.

The last photo was taken 2 days after that.

OLIVE-BACKED SUNBIRD

On the way out last week, I saw this Olive-Backed Sunbird perching on the grove of Ixora 'Super Pink' and it was flitting from flower to flower.

It took me a good 5 mins or more to capture a series of photos on this beautiful subject. Now I know the flowers of the Ixora do provide nectar to this common urban bird.

VISIT

These were the few places I visited on that day when I was with my mum. The chinese physician, the muffin shop and the chinese temple.

And I also saw this fat chihuahua that reminded me of Sandy.