Last Sunday, I was at the Singapore Botanical Garden. As it was a Sunday, there were not only a lot of tourists, but there were also a lot of Singaporeans. Some were jogging, some were just taking walks and there were some who were having picnics with their families on the grass patches.

What were I doing at the Singapore Botanical Garden? I was intending to take some pictures of the place, with my Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot camera phone, to take part of a competition. However, the picture did not turn out all that well. Nevertheless, I still managed to get some pretty decent photos to share with you. I guess it was worth spending $55 to get the camera phone fixed.

There is a Symphony Stage in the Singapore Botanical Garden which sits in the middle of a pond. While I was taking photos of the Symphony Stage, I saw these white flowers growing out of the water at the side of the pond. And there were dragonflies and bees.

Finally found out the name of this with help from someone. This plant is called Sagittaria latifolia and is sometimes known as broadleaf arrowhead, duck potato, Indian potato, or wapato. This is usually found in shallow wetlands

From my previous experience trying to take photos of the Leopard Flower and the bees, I tried to move in slowly this, to steal some shots of the dragonflies and bees.

Apparently, they were much more ‘cooperative,’ comparing to the bees at the Singapore HortPark and I managed to take a few shots. Frankly speaking, I am quite impressed by the Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot camera phone although it has its limitations. Perhaps, I have yet to master the usage of it completely.

If you want to take a break from all the shoppings in Orchard Road, the Singapore Botanical Garden is definitely an ideal place for some family bonding activities in the heart of the city. The best thing is, there is no entrance charge; you can bring your whole family along.

This was taken with Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot Camera Phone in the Singapore HortPark, marked as Leopard Flower and origin from China. In Wikipedia, it was stated that it is used in Chinese villages for its medicinal values. The first thing I saw in the car park of HortPark was this beautiful flower. And there were bees busy pollinating the flower. I tried to take shots of the bees on the Leopard Flower but I was too slow.

According to Wikipedia, Belamcanda chinensis (Blackberry lily, Leopard flower, Leopard lily) is an ornamental plant in the Iridaceae family. In 2005, based on molecular DNA sequence evidence, Belamcanda chinensis, the sole species in the genus Belamcanda, was transferred to the genus Iris and renamed Iris domestica.

The plant grows 60-90 cm tall in full sun and is often found blanketing hill sides, the flowers can range form red to yellow to orange or mixed and bloom in summer to early autumn (fall).

This is a beautiful flower, which I have always seen along the paths I walk from home to the MRT station or vice versa and also along the path from a bus stop to my sister’s house on some Wednesday. I finally got a chance to take photos of it, with my Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot camera phone, the other day when I was in Sembawang Park. I do not know the name of the flower. Sometimes the flower can come in red colour too. But the one that always catches my attention occurs in soft pink with a mix of white and a little yellow in the center.

The interesting thing about this flower is that it usually blooms together and looks like the shape of a ball (as in the first shot). However, once in a while I caught a solitary bloom (as in the second shot). Anyone know the name of this?

No matter how beautiful it blooms, eventually it will drop to the ground and the cycle starts again - the beautiful work of nature.

My brother and I brought our nephews to the barber for their regular haircut. I saw these blooming red flowers and just had to take out my Sony Cybershot camera phone again. And one of the photos was taken by my 5 years old niece. Sony Cybershot camera phone is indeed quite easy to use. I just have to give my 5 years old niece some simple instructions and I was amazed at how her shot turned out.

Could you tell which shot was taken by my 5 years old niece? And what is your reason for choosing the particular shot?

Now to unveil the mystery: The second one is the one taken by my 5 years old niece. Some of you have made a logical guess that the first photo is the one taken by my niece as children like close up. You could have been right if not for a small drain between the flower and my niece. Her arms were not long enough to get a close up at the flower.

There were some of you who guessed the second one because there are more details in the first shot. I must say you are absolutely right as I had intentionally gone up very close to the flower and set the macro mode to take the shot. Yes, the Sony Cybershot camera phone has a macro mode that allows you to take decent close up shot.

So have you guessed the right one?

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Thank you Jack from Tom’s Cats for passing me the Zombie Chicken Award. Don’t know what is this award about. Beats me too! But when I read about this award at Tom’s Cats, I was humbled by what I read. I can only continue to strive to love and to inspire.

“The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken - excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all…“