just wanted to share these blooming leeks in my garden – aren’t they gorgeous? I didn’t know leeks bloomed!
and if there’s a horticulturist out there, could you possibly identify it? the googling ain’t helping!
x
here’s to a brand new week (in a couple hours)!
after a walk through the flower dome to view tulipmania, we went on to the cloud forest conservatory and were greeted with a tall streaming waterfall, and high humidity amidst cool air air-conditioning.
if you do go, I think you will notice a discernible difference between the two conservatories – the flower dome is a veritable cacophony of color, and the cloud dome a more muted (almost bleak) landscape. the roof garden holds a bit more colour – most of which these photos are of – but it’s pretty cool how they hold to their names.
tulipmania was really a mini garden of imported tulip flowers within the larger garden that was the flower dome conservatory – strips of color delineated by tulip petals, as well as the distinction between buds and blooms. it was a gorgeous display – these flowers very obviously aren’t native to our sweltering, tropical climate, but the wonders of air conditioning and glass-domestruction meant I had the chance to share these beauties with grandma.
warning – this is a photo post. you might like to look away now if you have a fear of colours, are a man, or if the sheer beauty of nature literally takes your breathe away.
I brought my grandma and grandaunt to the conservatories at singapore’s relatively-young gardens by the bay for a look at tulipmania on mother’s day, and we spent a ridiculous amount of time wowing and fawning over the varieties of succulents, cacti and blooms there.
it’s a beautiful place: exotic, luxuriant growth encased in bright natural light (and air-conditioned to boot).
view part 1 here!
I know, I know, this isn’t a flower blog – but will you forgive me for the flowers I’m bringing you? regular programming coming right after this!
and if you want a head’s up to start your very own chinese new year tradition of potted plants, then you can’t go far wrong with a pineapple, which phonetically sounds very much like the chinese term for fortune coming your way. that red-and-purple-tinged variety in the second photo up there probably isn’t of the eating variety, but is gorgeous as a festive ornament.
just part one of a batch of photos I took while at the nursery today – my parents buy a number of potted plants every year in preparation for chinese new year (10 february this year), and it brightens up the garden wonderfully. this is one in a long list of traditions – and I think the easiest one by far. many plants have significance based on the sounds of their name – essentially if the name of the plant shares the same pronunciation as something lucky, you buy it.
this is the first in four years that I’m back for the celebration, and it’s a little bittersweet, as with many things: it’s going to be great having steamboat with the family and stealing slices of abalone in the kitchen while my grandma prepares the meal (I am a favourite grandchild), but having a reunion dinner with friends and my partner in the midst of the cold of winter has its charm too.
but anyway, aren’t these gorgeous? the second half of my photos will be coming up!
andmorefood 