Flowers in the Singapore Botanic Gardens

I want to make up for the lack of flowers since Monday. Today's flowers perked up my day with their colours and variety.

Like a frilly skirt.

Two trumpets.

Mother and child.

High and mighty blooms.

Morning glory.

Thalia dealbata (Water canna)

Clerodendrum bungei (Glory Bower flower)

Maximum zoom (14x) in.

Here are the fading flowers.

This is its name.

My favourite Octopus tree flower. This time the leaves seem to be more interesting.

Orchids planted on the trunk of the Palm trees at the entrance of the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

In reality, this flower was more brilliant in colour.

Bird of Paradise Heliconia.

Golden lotus Banana plant.

A specie of Heliconia not so commonly seen in our parks and gardens.

Water lilies enjoying the sunshine.

Below this gigantic Monkey Pot tree were the flowers that had fallen off the tree. They smell like butter.

The purplish flowers high up on the tree.

Maximum zoom again. This plant looks like it is related to the Pandan plant. From afar I spotted the lone, yellow flower.

Dragonfly on a water lily. Look closely and you will see the winged creature.

It was a great day for admiring flowers.

Autograph Series - Clerondendrum bungei

A primary school classmate, Wai Leen, who later came to live in my neighbourhood when we were in Secondary school wrote this in my autograph book:

"Drink hot coffee
Drink hot tea
Burn your red lips
and remember me"


Like flowers, memories do fade with the passing of time. This cluster of Glory Bower (origins: China and India) hold flowers that are dying amongst buds that have yet to begin flowering.
I remember that Waileen was tall for her age and like her, I sat in the last row of the class. That was when we struck up a brief friendship in the last year of primary school.
We visited each other when she moved into the same neighbourhood and then I moved out.

I would have forgotten about this friendship had it not been for these few lines she left in my autograph book. Since then I have not seen her.

Clerodendrum bungei - Rose Glorybower (臭牡丹 - chou4 mu3 dan1)

If joy has another name, it would be the name of these flowers.