Hortpark Pelican flower

The pattern on this flower looks as though it was painted by hand. Today on the side wall of one of the glass houses of the Hortpark, I found only one flower whereas in the past I have seen two to three flowers in bloom at the same time. Actually the presence of this lone flower made me more attentive to the unique characteristics of this flower - the shape, the texture, the pattern as well as the shape of the leaves. The only thing I did not notice about this flower was its smell or fragrance. I was too engrossed in making sure that there were a few flies around the cavenous mouth of the flower for my photo-taking and also I was in a hurry to carry on with my walk to want to spend more time and to smell this flower. Maybe unconsciously I really did not want to know. Anything with flies hovering around is not likely to smell of bath soap.

Silky Hortpark flowers

I tweaked the colours because somehow my camera did not seem to pick up the colours that I had perceived. I keep photographing these flowers, always in the same spot, always there to welcome me with its presence. One day I will paint them all in various presenations as I have seen and recorded them on camera.

Hortpark flowers on a bag

I bought a recycled carrier bag from the Hortpark office some time ago. It was simple with green outline of what I thought were bunches of flowers. It cost only $2 and I thought it would make a nice gift for friends whom I have not seen in a while. Today I decided to take a better look at the design on the front of the bag and then it dawned on me that I could actually fill in the outlines with some fabric paints. I started enthusiastically for the outlines looked like there were many flowers that I could paint on. After some time of dabbing yellow paint on what I thought were petals I realised that they were not petals but leaves. By the time I finished 2 hours later, I have managed to transform the outline into a picture of a frangipani tree. These are the flowers for today!

Hortpark blooms

It is raining everywhere and the rains in China and Taiwan have brought misery and disaster to people in those countries. We have rain here, more than what is usual at this time of the year. We have to be thankful that apart from the freak floods in Orchard Road last week, the rains have brought about fresher air and thriving vegetation. Today, Kentridge Park and the Hortpark were alive with the calls of kingfishers and we saw two brilliant blue kingfishers, a mother bubul teaching her two young ones to fly and a few other birds that we heard but did not see. There were many butterflies and we saw two or three beautiful ones. Of all days, I left my camera at home. Luckily I had a 5megapixel handphone camera and at least, I have some memories of the flowers I saw today.

These trees have always had red leaves at the top. Today, instead of the familiar red leaves, there were these flowers.

The ever-blooming Rangoon Creeper vines draping over the fences at the back entrance of the Hortpark.

I have seen red, pink, white and yellow flowers of the hibiscus mutabilis plants but not flowers of this colour.Yellow Pagoda flowers.

Wolfe's Vine

Curcuma ginger flowers.

Not a boom microphone but the fruit or was it the flower of the breadfruit tree.

The giant hibiscus flower that looks like it has the power to receive radio signals.

Hortpark flowers

My daughter called me to wish me Happy Mother's Day. My son asked what I would like for a present and I told him I would like to have his presence instead. Nevertheless, I am warmed by their thoughts for me.

Trinidad Pink Trumpet Vine.

Hippeastrum hybridClappertonia ficifolia (Bolo bolo)

Samanea saman (Rain tree)

Megaskepasma erythrochlamys

Kopsia fruticosa - Pink Kopsia

Combretum erythrophllum (Bush Willow)

Hortpark flowers

Walking from Kentridge to Hortpark and back. The flowers are not the same everyday. The leaves too grow from young to old, the path remains the same but the surroundings change because nature is never static. The plots of landscaping belong to various companies undergo various design changes and each time new plants and trees and flowers are planted to please our senses as we walk through them. It sounds a little cliched to say that the only thing constant about the Hortpark is change and the lovely thing happening now in Kentridge Park is that the Tembusu trees are flowering profusely in unison and the air especially at the hill-top carpark is filled with their lingering fragrance.