Spider Lilies

Crown for a Queen.

White flowers, Woodlands Park

The rain came in the late afternoon and after that the weather was nice and cool. So we went to the newly opened Woodlands Park to take a walk. The park had much to distract us from our usual interest in flowers. In any case, there were not many flowers except these:

Canon 400D captures

I took our two-year old Canon EOS 400D for a walk in the Singapore Botanic Gardens to get a different kind of photography experience. So I have said that I like small, compact cameras and that I adored my Canon IXUS 80 for its simplicity and convenience. The Canon 40oD is of course a lot bulkier but thankfully the weight is not proportionate to the mass and it was rather fun handling it. The pictures have that depth and clarity that I do not see very often with the smaller cameras. This time I was trying out the 18-5mm lens with Image Stabilizer. The joke was I did not know that the IS was in the 'off' position. Next time I will try out the 55-250mm.

Giant Spider Lilies (Crinum Asiatica)

Hibiscus

Allamanda

Hibiscus

Bauhinia Kockiana

Alpinia Purpurata

Pagoda flower
Unknown

Hibiscus mutabilis

Spider lilies in Kentridge Park at sunset

Spider lilies, the air around them has a pleasant fragrance.

Mother and child

Beauty with flowing long hair.

Old man.

How flowers must feel when the sun sets.

Spider lilies

Today's date: 20 08 2008

These spider lilies are white in colour. Or are they?
These orchids could be described as having white petals with tinges of pink on them.

This painting was a still life of white crockery on a piece of white table or beige coloured table cloth. It was one of the early paintings I did under the guidance of my art teacher. I had thought that his choice of still life on that night was kind of boring. Afterall, white is just white and my painting, I imagined, would be really dull without any vibrant colours. At the end of the session, my painting did not resemble what was actually before me. In fact it turned out to be rather interesting. All because my teacher said that white is not what it seems. When you look at something white hard enough, you begin to realise that white takes on the colours of its surroundings. 有时候望着云朵会可能见到彩虹。

Nature's comforts

When I need assurance that all is well, I turn to nature. There is no need for words, no need for lengthy conversations. All I ever need to do is to focus on the parts of nature that appear before me and concentrate on its being - the form, the texture, the colours and how it responds to the time of the day. Yesterday, I found all the assurance that I needed on the premises of a condominium that I was visiting. When I emerged from the underground carpark, the first sign of beauty greeted me from high above against a lovely blue sky was this fruitful palm:

Next were the rich purple flowers of the Bauhinia x Blakeana or the Hong Kong Orchid tree.The orange Ixoras were quietly adorning the flower beds.And leaves so green you forget that elswhere they have no chance to grow.And the final burst of evening sunlight make the fragrant spider lilies hungry for another day.Finally, by the pool, these heliconias enjoyed the last rays of the sun before retiring for the night.

Spiders and flowers

Tiny spider playing hide-and-seek with me on the leaf of a bird's nest fern.
A more elegant version of the real thing. The blooms of the Giant Spider Lilies (Crinum Asiaticum) Indisputable beauty in numbers.
Lots more of these beauties are stored within these lily bulbs

Spider Lilies

Botanical name: Hymenocallis sp.

Family: Amaryllidaceae

Native: South East Asia

These lilies are frequently grown as part of the landscaping efforts of our parks and gardens.

The following photos are of Giant Spider Lilies (Crinum Asiaticum) found in the park at MacRitchie Reservoir behind the cafe that overlooks the reservoir.

Stalk of heavily laden bulbs.

They are not called giants for nothing.