Tristellateia australasiae - Maiden's Jealousy （星果藤 - xing1 guo3 teng2)

Now if ever I think of dressing up my fence, I would consider planting this vine because of the perpetual flowering. The only downside is that like all vines, it needs constant pruning and trimming so that it does not intrude into the neighbour's garden.

Common Name: Maiden's Jealousy
Family: Malpighiaceae Juss.
Origin: southeast Asia to New Caledonia

Garlic Vine - Cydista Aequinoctialis

Around noon today I came across these attractive blooms in the neighbourhood. Though I have photographed them before, flowers are never the same at another time and place. These were new flowers judging by the deep rich purple colour. Older clusters have a more faded look with lighter shades of purple in other parts of the same plant. These were conveniently located under a tree next to an orchid plant that the owner has hung on one of its branches.

These pictures were taken to celebrate the wonderful day it was today because we had great sunshine. We enjoy nature's love in Singapore and are grateful for that. When I saw these flowers, I only wanted to show off their beauty and I feel privileged to have been there at the right time to witness such loveliness. Despite the heat that came with the generosity of the sun, we are blessed with warmth and abundance in just the right quantity in Singapore. What more can I say for the flowers have said all.

Five days later, these flowers are showing signs of aging:

Family : Bignoniaceae

Origin : Tropical America

Wolfe's Vine - Petraeovitex wolfei

This climber in the Singapore Botanic Gardens (SBG) is dripping flowers. I have photographed these flowers a few times but only found out the name of this plant from one of the 2005 SBG's newsletter.

Family: Verbenaceae

New year blooms at home

Like Cherry Blossoms that faithfully grace the Spring season in Japan every year, my bougainvilla plant is likewise treating us to a feast for the eyes this Chinese New Year as it did last year. I should seriously consider inviting friends back to have a bougainvilla viewing session one of these days. Beer instead of sake and new year goodies like pineapple tarts, bak kwa and mandarin oranges - that will be fun.

Garlic Vine

A garlanded fence in the neighbourhood. How can one see and not look? On this particular day, I stopped my car in the middle of the road after ensuring that there were no cars behind mine to take a picture of the floral display that only nature could produce.

Camoensia scandens

Once a while when you least expect it, extraordinary flowers appear before you surprising you with their size, fragrance, shape and colour. I stumbled upon the Camoensia scandens which is a native of tropical West Africa that boasts of the largest flower belonging to the family Leguminosae in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. This plant is a climber and is grown for ornamental purposes. If you look closely at the photo below you will see several large, white flowers amongst the leaves.Each flower is as large as the palm of my hand and a few of them are still at the peak of their flowering although some have wilted. Here are two flowers that share the same stalk and look almost like identical twins.
Here are two beauties waiting for their debut.Older relatives with impeccable good looks.
Mother and child.

Antigonon Leptopus - Coral Vine

A creeper that goes by the names of Honolulu creeper, Mexican creeper, Bride's tears and Coral vine. In Mexico, it is also known as "chain of love" and I happened to have captured the reason for this name here:

Quisqualis indica - Rangoon Creeper (使君子- shih3 jun1 zi3)

Today is Deepavali, also known as the Festival of Lights. It is a public holiday in Singapore celebrated by our Hindu friends and is a time for rejoicing to mark the triumph of good over evil . It is akin to the celebration of a new year and there is much colour and festivity amongst the Indian community in Singapore. In deciding on a flower to mark the celebration of Deepavali in Singapore, I could only think of this vine that I have seen many times especially adorning the fences of houses or growing in pots outside shophouses. This particular bloom was photographed in Ann Siang Hill park.

Family : Combretaceae

Origin : Tropical Asia, New Guinea The flowers are such a joy to behold as the flowers change from white to pink and finally to red as they mature. For me it represents a community where a few generations live harmoniously in a close-knit formation. I like this flower very much. Happy Deepavali to all who celebrate this blessed day!

With the support of of the Nparks, these

metal structures will soon be covered completely with Rangoon Creepers.

I think of Indian ladies in colourful saris walking down Serangoon Road with these fragrant flowers adorning their shiny black hair.