Back to the Future – Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

The Frustrated Gardener

I’ve seen the future …. and it’s kind of strange!

There’s been lots in the UK travel press about the development of Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, so I was desperate to squeeze a visit into our 7 hour stop over on the way to Burma. Despite being groggy from a 12 hour flight, our lovely friends Louise, Rick and their little boy Archie treated us to a strong cuppa and then transported us in air-conditioned luxury to this horticultural extravaganza.

To describe the Gardens by the Bay to anyone in the UK, the simplest comparison would be with the Eden Project, in my beloved Cornwall. However this is Singapore, so everything has to be bigger, better and more high tech. And of course, when it comes to the conservatories, the tables are turned. No need to pamper tropical species in hot houses here, so the precious indoor space…

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Daytrip to Gunma

Tyler Sherrod Bonsai

In this post I am going to show you the collection of a client we have who lives in Gunma. Gunma is located about an hour southeast of Nagano. The first half of these pictures were taken last fall. We had made a trip to clean old needles from his pine trees and a general cleaning of any weedy pots. The second half of the pictures were taken in mid February. We had made that trip to deliver a few trees and do some work on a few of his juniper trees, but it snowed and…well you’ll see.

These trees sat under a covered area toward the side of the house. Gunma has very hot summers so many of the smaller and deciduous bonsai are kept in the shade during these hot days.

 When this client decided to build his garden, Oyakata assisted him in creating the layout. Its is very cool to…

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Journey to Japan Part 5

Bonsai Eejit

I believe this is the final instalment from Andrew Sellman’s trip to Japan.

The main focus is on the ASPAC Convention. He had made a grand job of condensing the multiple demos into a quick snapshot of before and afters.

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Bonsai Journey Part 6

Bonsai Eejit

Here’s the last in the series Bonsai Journey. Some truly stunning Japanese Gardens and as you would expect, bonsai.

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Garden Visit

futterwithtrees

Ian young, Bertie Greer and myself had a very  enjoyable Monday Evening in Hugh Wilkinson’s garden. Bertie’s role and mine was to sit, observe, drink coffee and eat boiled cake. Hugh kept us entertained with his banter while Ian futtered with his trees and gave them a bit of a tidy up. It was a lovely evening, Hugh’s garden was beautiful and the chat was good. Here are a few pics of the garden and a few of Hugh’s fine collection of trees.

Garden View

 

Display Area

Putting Hugh to Work

Just far too busy to even look our way

A striking display of Lilies

Although Hugh’s trees  are set  in a lovely display area he has plans to create yet another one to allow his pines to benefit from better light throughout the day. This should be worth seeing.

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mt coot-tha botanical gardens: flowering succulents

world aridland gardens at roma street parklands

An excursion to the garden center

Insert Cheesy Title Here

And here is yet another eons-old post which I never published due to not having any pictures uploaded. This one I originally wrote on June 4th. (Which means the actual trip to the garden center was in mid-May.) Enjoy!

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On Monday two weeks ago I finally made it to the garden store to buy flowers for the balcony. I know this is really nerdy and lame, but I LOVE visiting garden centers, even just to look. It was always one of my favorite activities to do with my mom, and sometimes back when I was living in Paderborn I would just ride my bike over to the closest garden center and explore all of their beautiful displays.

In our new apartment we also happen to have a wonderful long balcony which was woefully void of all plant life, and ever since January I have been longing for the day…

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Olwyn sending info on Orchid grower in Townsville

Slideshow of Alice’s Orchids in Townsville

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Subject: Olwyn sending info on Orchid grower in Townsville

From: Olwyn Jones

Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2012 08:05:45 -0700 (PDT)

To: SoundEagle

Hi SoundEagle,

Alice’s Orchids

57 Octagonal Court

Kelso Qld 4815

Ph: 07 4789 0165

Email: alicesorchids@bigpond.com

Found this eye pleasing market stall at the Sunday Cotters Markets at Flinders Street a main thoroughfare, in Townsville, Queensland’s second largest city.

Townsville is a big country town and the CBD does not stay open late as I’m used to in capital cities of Australia.

Take away food venues are few and far between, which is not a bad thing from dietary and healthy points of view.

There are lots of cafe/restaurants offering sumptuous menus however, food prices are quite high in supermarkets I’m guessing, due to transportation costs to the area.

The Strand that straddles about 5kms of Townsville and coastline.

The locals are protective of their city not becoming an overdeveloped concrete jungle in the tropical far north of Queensland.

Humidity is high in this part of the state, which is why plants thrive.

The population is diverse with many younger and middle-aged tourists, Europeans, middle-Asian and East Asian ethic groups in this area along with army and some navy servicemen and women from the nearby government bases.

When not enjoying the relaxed lifestyle of this tropical coastal town, it is advisable to be inside in air conditioned comfort in the warmer months.

Check out Alice’s Orchids Nursery online and find yourself a living treasure to purchase.

Attached photos of some of Alice’s Orchids from the Cotters Market.

Kind Regards,

Olwyn Jones

Society for Growing Potted Plants

New Farm

Brisbane QLD 4005

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Sunday Cotters Markets on Flinders St

Colonial Building on Flinders St

Sunday Cotters Markets on Flinders St