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.