Singapore Botanic Gardens: first impressions

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.

My Jakarta garden

I'm feeling very mellow at the moment. I left work early today, because the rumbling thunder in the distance seemed to be getting closer. I didn't want to be caught out as I nearly was on Friday: told that because of the afternoon storm there would be no taxis till 7.30. I was lucky and managed to walk home between downpours, while tonight there are still rumblings and flashes of lightening but no rain as yet. It is typically tropical weather here in Jakarta with an afternoon or evening storm threatening several nights each week.

With a little extra time on my hands, I have been able to catch up with lots of my favourite blogs. As always, I feel inspired but also a little nostalgic. I know how lucky I am to have the chance to explore this great city and country, but I do miss the dogs and can't help but wonder how my garden is faring back in Brisbane. How are the seeds I planted in early autumn going?  Quite a few seemed very slow to germinate but may have been washed out by the heavy rain we had before Easter. Others had emerged, but I don't know if they have had enough regular rain or watering to support their growth. The weeds I'm sure are thriving.

Fortunately, Jakarta is a generous host, and, for now, its streets and suburbs are my surrogate garden.

Hibiscus

Masses of crows nests and elkhorns established in this impressive specimen tree, with a bed of Spathyphyllum in the foreground.

More from the front of the same home, in a street full of mansions and embassies running between the antique market and Plaza Indonesia.

Love these little palms.

One of many impressive statues throughout the city.

This gracious colonial mansion had been converted to a  museum.

Not sure if this is a cycad or a palm; I love its spiky fronds. They were planted in groups of five along the traffic island.

Heliconia in bloom in the office grounds.