Saraca flowers

Flowers in clusters always give the impression of cauliflowers. These were golden in the strong morning sun. Fresh blooms with many tiny flowers still in buds. A few huge bees were hovering around the flowers attracted by the promise of a sweet drink.

Hortpark flowers

Our friends dropped in on us on Sunday just as we were going out for a walk and we decided to go to the Hortpark together. I brought along my Olympus camera with the 18X optical zoom lens. A few of these photos were taken some distance away.

The leaves of the Breadfruit tree attracted my attention because of the backlighting. I saw a couple taking close-up shots of these flowers and I was glad to be able to get this shot of the frangipani flowers without jostling with them for space to take a photo of these flowers.

I did not really take many shots because my friend and I were chatting as we were walking.




My friends were captivated by these beautiful passion flowers as they have never seen them before. I, on the other hand, have seen them countless times.

The flower of the Golden Lotus banana tree.


I was eager to show my friends the unusual blooms of theAristolochia grandiflora - Pelican flower The usual plants were not flowering but luckily we found these in another location.

I think this plant is related to the Japthropha podirica (Gout Stick Plant) because the flowers are similar except that these were white instead of red.

We were young
and then we got older
now we are old
our children tell us
but not too old
to miss the sunset

Lotus, not in Singapore

These photos could have been taken in Singapore but they were not. I took them in an Orchard in Can Tho, a city on the Mekong Delta. For five days I have been away in Vietnam on a free-and-easy trip. As expected I took tons of photos and have created a blog to document my trip.

Flower tree

When I first saw this piece of art installation, I only saw an attractive object - a replica of what nature produces. Now looking at it again, I saw the hidden message. Let us pray that the day when flowers only exist in artificial forms never arrives.

Water Lilies

Water lilies in the Hortpark. There are not many, not like there are ponds full of these delightful flowers floating on the water surface. Each time you get to see a pair like these together with an isolated purple or dark pink one not far away in the same pond in between the glass houses. You always hear the deep throttling croak of a particular frog but it is not easy to spot. I like this pond with its assortment of weeds and reeds and flowers - man-made and yet it retains a little wildness here and there.

Rainy day flowers

The arrival of the monsoons I reckon. When it pours in torrents it is nice to stay indoors. I hope we will have a fine and cool Saturday tomorrow and then it can rain all it can on Sunday. Next week will be beautiful.

Ixora

I never get enough of these flowers. They never get enough of me. We are one and the same - they keep blooming and I just keep taking pictures.

Ixora

Lipstick colours
soft petals
stubborn tears
refusing to drop
and disappear
Pretty Ixora
The heavens cry
when you die and cry
when you live
I do not shed tears for you
because in my life
you live forever.

Bird's Nest Fern

It was a very hot Sunday afternoon when I saw this pot of Bird's Nest Fern. If the weather could transmit messages through plants, then this fern told me that I should stay away from the scotching heat.

Delonix regia - Red Flame Tree

While backing up my files I found these shots of the lovely flowers of the Red Flame of the Forest. They were taken with the first digital camera that I owned at Langkawi where I was holidaying with my family. It was the first time that I was able to take such close-up photos of these flowers that are usually high up on these towering trees.

Pachira macrocarpa 1

On Sunday, we noticed the the bud and today, 4 days later, I saw this lovely flower! The previous time when I saw a flower on this tree in my backyard, it was already on the downside of its existence. I was lucky to have seen this flower today because it was the only cheerful occurance on a dismally wet and cold day.

Pachira macrocarpa 2

In my enthusiasm to photograph this flower in the best possible light as it was high above my head and I was shooting against the sky, I pulled the branch towards me get better shots. Suddenly the flower dropped onto the floor. I was stunned for a moment and did not know what to do except to pick it up. But when I did, the flower fell apart. So I decided to make the best of the situation and stuck the parts onto my lily plant so that I could take close-ups of it.