My work here in Indonesia is rapidly coming to a close. Last week I made my final business trip to attend a two day forum in Nongsa, near Batam in the Riau Islands. The island was pretty, and I had arranged to take Friday off either to have a look around Pulau Batam or to take the 40 minute ferry trip to Singapore for a day trip. I opted for the latter and headed straight for the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
These magnificent gardens were founded in 1859 and are an absolute treasure trove. I have way too many photos to share with you in just one post, so I thought I might do it in three stages: my first impressions, then the specialist gardens of the gingers and their relations, and finally, the orchids.
This was the first sight that absolutely blew me away, the Yellow Saraca, like a gorgeous golden cloud snagged in the branches.
 |
| Saraca thaipingensis (or S. indica?) |
 |
| The first variegated Rhapis excelsa I have seen |
 |
| The trunkless Silver Leaf Palm Johannesteijsmannia magnifica and behind them the Vanuatu Fan Palm Licuala grandis |
 |
| Epiphetic crows nest fern with red neck palms in the distance |
I became a little obsessed by both the stunning flowers of the Cannonball Tree and the unusual way they grew out from the main trunk of the tree, hence multiple photos!
 |
| Couroupita guianensis |
 |
| I loved the magnolia-like blooms of Dillenia philippinensis, but the only flower low enough for me to photograph had only two half-chewed petals left on it, I just bet it would have had a lovely perfume too. |
 |
| This stunning foliage plant is the Bat Lily or Black Lily Tacca integrifolia |
 |
| Flower of the Bat Lily |
 |
| This looks like a type of strangler fig where the host plant has died leaving just the aggressor wrapped around an empty space |
 |
| Glorious heliconias |
 |
| The Parrot Beak Heliconia rostrata |
 |
| Heliconia chartacea 'Sexy Pink' |
 |
| Talipot Palm Corypha umbraculifera |
 |
| The palm on the left had interesting foliage with the fronds ending in a cluster |
 |
| It was called the Manac or Long Thatch Palm Calyptronoma occidentalis |
 |
I have admired this tree many times in the tropics but still haven't managed to discover its name. It has lovely, tender, coppery-pink new leaves that droop downwards and look like flowers from a distance.
(Postscript to this: I'm home and reading through William Warren's 'Tropical Garden Plants'. He is talking about the Saraca I opened this post with and says: 'new leaves appear as pink or purple tassels at the end of branches, turning green as they stiffen', so I am thinking this is very likely a Saraca that is not in bloom.)
|
 |
| Here is the whole tree with its pink new growth. |
 |
| A young monitor lizard |
 |
| A whole garden bed full of Singapore's national flower - |
 |
| the orchid Vanda 'Miss Joaquin' |
 |
| Love the contrast between the lime fern and the chocolate begonia |
 |
| Burkill Hall, British colonial bungalow built in 1866 and now used for functions. |
 |
| Red ginger Alpinia purpurata |
 |
| The flowers of this are very similar to the Spider Lily Hymenocallis littoralis that I grow at home, but the plant is smaller and the leaves are a different shape. |
 |
| Fabulous inflorescence on this fan palm |
 |
| The beautiful sandpaper vine Petrea volubilis grows well in my home town of Brisbane. The dark blue are the true flowers, and the pale blue are the bracts. |
Hope you enjoyed my first impressions of the wonderful Singapore Botanic Gardens, and there is still so much more to see.
