A tree from the Verbenaceae Family, this is one of my all time favourites for 2 main reasons - the amazingly beautiful orange leaves and the fragrant strings of white flowers.
Commonly known as the Fiddlewood, the synonyms include C. spinosum and C. subserratum. I first came across this tree in my junior college days when I used to go jogging at 6 am when the early morning breeze was so cooling. That was when I encountered this strange overpowering fragrance every time I ran along a certain stretch of the footpath. It was only later that I realized the smell came from this row of trees along the new block of flats.
The love was sealed there and then. When I started working, I learnt more about this tree and ever since then, I always try to use them in my landscaping projects. Some of the roads and parks include CTE near the Balestier Road / Whampoa stretch, Kampong Java Park, HortPark etc.
In recent times, I learnt to appreciate the beauty of a single specimen of these trees. The brilliantly beautiful tree would spot orange leaves from afar that remotely reminded me of autumn. Coupled with the strong sweet fragrance, the tree is simply hard to ignore. Anyway, a link is provided below:
This Variegated Flax Lily from the Phormiaceae Family is a native of Australia and has bold white striped variegated leaves, unlike the normal Dianella ensifolia.
This is a small tree from the Malvaceae Family. Its synonyms include Kleinhovia serrata and Grewia meyeniana.
A synonym of this tree is Amerimnon latifolium.
A tree from the Verbenaceae Family, this is one of my all time favourites for 2 main reasons - the amazingly beautiful orange leaves and the fragrant strings of white flowers.
From the Musaceae Family, this uncommon Musa coccinea (common name: Scarlet Banana, Red Torch, Red Flowering Thai Banana) is growing so well at HortPark's own Heliconia Walk.
In comparison with the orange dwarf Tithonia rotundifolia that I posted recently, this shrub from the Asteraceae Family at the Nursery Holding Area grows to above 2 m and has yellow sunflower-like flowers.
I seemed to say this so frequently, but it is true I love this combination of white flower Plumbago zeylanica (Family Plumbaginaceae) and red flower Euphorbia geroldii (Family Euphorbiaceae).
This is a view that I always enjoy although I was on the wrong side of it. I eyed the shelter for quite some time and when it was affected by some works, I moved in on the kill, I mean moved in to request for it to be relocated to this corner of the garden.
I deliberately planted this Holmskioldia sanguinea (common name: Chinese Hat Plant, Cup and Saucer Plant, Parasol Flower) from the Verbenaceae Family along this drain with the intention that someday they would grow big and bushy enough to allow their overlapping branches to provide a beautiful bed of orange flowers.
I had not been looking out for my bat or butterfly friends recently. So I went searching for some of them and I was straining hard against this mass of climbing plants to see if I managed to see some familiar friends.
