Saturday, April 03, 2010

Oh! Singapore's Own "Sakura"

 

What lovely flowers that remind us of cherry blossoms! But these are the pretty pink flowers of the Mempat trees.
 

Due to the strong wind and heavy rain, the petals of "Singapore Sakura" drop to the ground in abundance.

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Just as I came out of the Little India MRT station, I was extremely happy to see so many pink flowers in full bloom along Race Course Road. The lovely pink flowers remind me of the cherry blossoms in Japan. I regretted for not having my camera with me.

The next day, I brought along my camera and as it was starting to rain, I noticed that many of the petals had fallen to the ground. Although the weather was quite gloomy and misty, I was determined to snap some shots. Hence I quickly took some shots of the lovely flowers before the trees became "botak" or bald or bereft of the beautiful blooms.

Perhaps the Authorities should grow more Mempat trees so that even if the flowers do not stay long on the trees, the momentary beauty of the flowers will be etched in our memory. In Singapore, it is difficult for flowers to bloom luxuriantly as they do in countries where the climate is cooler. Orchids and bougainvilleas thrive very well in Singapore. I hope we can also have many trees like Flame of the Forest and Mempat trees, and that more flowering plants be grown in the city so that we can be always remembered as the "Garden City of Asia." Singapore will not only be a green city but a colorful one as well. :-)

Gan Cao

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