COSTUS SPECIOSUS

The Crape Ginger or Crepe Ginger is very free flowering under sunny conditions, as evident from these photos taken at the Nursery Holding Area.

PURCHASES

These were just some of the other purchases I made during SGF 10.

The 1st photo showed a Cirrhopetalum Elizabeth Ann 'Buckleberry' orchid. The attached image shows a flowering sample from the web.

The 2nd variegated Dendrobium is one of my favourites. There was no name given to it. I have never seen such a variegation before. Where most variegated orchid leaves were green and yellow, this one is green, white with pink edges. Maybe I should have bought more of it as stock plants.

I think the 3rd is a miniature Oncidium without a name too.

The Tillandsia funkiana and T. ionantha were not new to me. I saw the former as an outstanding huge clump that measured at least 1.5 m in height at Philippines before and the latter is one of the most common Air Plants. In fact, the T. ionantha clump sent out multiple-flowers recently.

Then there was this flowering Bulbophyllum lepidum (I suppose?).

As I was watering my plants just now, I remembered a few other orchids were not posted here e.g. Bulbophyllum lasiochilum, B. lepidum (yellow). The latter had a floral bud that was developing, so I should be able to post photos of the flowers soon.

HAMELIA PATENS

I finally bought the Hamelia patens from the Garden Shop. I wonder how soon would it be before I can see the flowers.

There has been sightings of an Olive-backed Sunbird around my plants recently. On a few occasions, I had to freeze my movements to prevent frightening it off. Too bad I could not whip out my camera at will to capture its photo. I am not sure if it built a nest on any of my trailing plants but I do hope the Hamelia flowers can provide it with some nectar with its flowers when the plant blooms.

SINGAPORE GARDEN FESTIVAL 10

There are more orchids and colourful displays in these few photos. The 4th photo shows an Ardisia comosa plant.

By the way, this is one weird nyonya family of 4. Or should I say cute?

THE MAN

Remember the man I posted in an earlier blog at the Singapore Botanic Gardens?

Here he was at the level 6 of the SGF 10. Did you see him in a different then and now? Too bad I couldn't see his face. Maybe it was someone familiar.

SINGAPORE GARDEN FESTIVAL 10

Obviously I cannot show all the photos that I took of SGF 10 here. But I can show a few.

I won't write too much but let the photos do most of the talking.

The 1st photo is of a coffee table that I love very much. But I wish the lights were better hidden from view.

The pattern on the petals of the Phalaenopsis species (Moth Orchid) is unnaturally beautiful. This year, I was tempted to buy the variegated Phalaenopsis but didn't. Instead I bought lots of other orchids that I would post separately.

The pear espalier was unusual and the last photo was that of a moth caterpillar that freaked one of my colleagues out after she grabbed hold of it by accident on a Datura metel leaf at the Garden Shop.

POOL

There was a pool above the glass on the ceiling. Is it a swimming pool? That I don't know.

But it was interesting enough for me to capture a photo of it.

ARCTIC FOX

The brand is Arctic Fox. I bought the donkey/horse cap first during the Great Singapore Sales. I fell in love with the cute designs and went on to buy the bumble bee and ox caps. Finally I bought the red tiger cap for someone.

The brand is interesting. The real arctic fox is fluffy and beautiful. Don't believe what I said, check out the link below:

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

Now I know the arctic aurora is also called the fox fires. Images taken above the Alaskan sky and an arctic fox are attached below.

KUALA LUMPUR

Actually, I do love to go to KL and I did that from 11-12 Jun 10.

The 1st photo showed the silhouette of an artistically shaped tree covered by climbers. It was taken near the evening time. Guess what shopping centre was shown in photo 2?

Photo 3 showed the flowers of the beautiful Leea angulata. The 4th and 5th photos showed a pretty adult cat and a kitten. Well, the final and 6th photo showed the birds on the wall of the hotel at 1 Utama Shopping Centre.

DENDROBIUM SENILE

I bought this orchid Dendrobium senile during SGF 10 and I found the name to be intriguing. I must admit that other than the first photo, the rest were not my own photos. They were taken off the web.

The entire plant is covered with filamentous hairs and I was wondering how the flowers look like. From my own blurred photo, it did not do justice to the plant. So I put up the other photos here as reference. The common name is aptly named Old Man Orchid or White-Haired Dendrobium.

It is apparently a cool growing orchid with fragrant flowers that bloom around January to March.

I always don't have much luck with orchids but I certainly hope mine would eventually flower in time to come. Below are two links that I found on this unusual orchid.

1. http://www.orchids-flowers.com/orchids/dendrobium-senile-orchid/
2. http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchidtalk/cattleyas-vandas-dendrobiums-bloom/17553-dendrobium-senile.html