Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Everybody’s blogging about moon cakes

It's the Mid-Autumn Festival and everybody's blogging about moon cakes; including my friends Victor and Laokokok. In that case, I'd better ……..........….



...... not blog about moon cakes! Haha .. gotcha.

I prefer to eat them! And what better way to enjoy moon cakes than in the cool of the evening with a whiff of the natural fragrance of the Moon Flower.

The Moon Flower (Ipomoea alba) is quite special. It only blooms at night. I read that it’s because, it wants to attract nocturnal insects like moths to pollinate it. It belongs to the Morning Glory family, but the flower is much bigger, and looks more like a hibiscus actually.

Propagation is by means of seeds and it’s quite a simple plant to grow. You can plant it in a pot. Make sure it gets adequate sunlight and plant it near to something to climb because it is a climber.

Someone gave us some seeds and we first planted them outside our house next to a lamp post because our garden was too crowded already. We did not expect the flowers to be so beautiful and to bloom so generously. So we planted another in our balcony.

Unfortunately, the flowers will wilt once it is daylight and so it's difficult to get a good photo of the flower. But here are some photos for you to enjoy. Sorry, too lazy to mount tripod etc. so picture quality not so good.


The flower opens very quickly. One minute it is still a bud, and the next (once it gets dark) and the flower is fully bloomed.


16 comments:

Ivan Chew said...

You seem to have lots of stuff in your garden! You sure it was a good idea to say that you deliberately planted outside your home? LOL. just kidding.

Anonymous said...

LIke Ivan said, I wonder where are you staying...Botanic Garden?? Flowers, birds nest....
???

Anonymous said...

chun see
u sure Environment ppl wont pay more attention on your garden?

Lam Chun See said...

Hey. I should be commended for helping Sporeans reduce their CO2. (What's that thing about carbon blue print?)

I even planted banana trees outside my house. And so did some of my neighbours.

Anonymous said...

When Yishun housing estate took shape in the late seventies, there were a few blocks of flats facing an acquired farm land opposite the Sembawang road. There were a few rambutan trees with ripen fruits which surprisingly left untouched. I asked my general worker Oh the reason for the fruits being left intact, which if happened in the old kampong days would have disappeared in no time. Oh's reply was: "Well people (including yougsters) nowadays are too lazy to pluck the fruits and prefer to buy them", but I thought otherwise - people were smart. What happened if they were caught stealing fruits (govt assets) from state-land? Anyway did Chun See obtain permission to plant in state-land? - serious offence (just pulling his legs).

Anonymous said...

well whatever Chun See has planted on state land becomes "available" to everyone. So folks help yourself.

Victor said...

Nowadays, even some grass patches near HDB blocks are planted with fruit trees, vegetables and herbal plants. There is one near my block, next to the Senior Citizens Corner. (Hmm... I will qualify to join them in a few years.)

Yes prior HDB approval must be obtained. I just saw on TV this week that there is one in Tampines (Blk 8xx?) started by a certain organisation. However, their request for a similar one in Aljunied was turned down.

Anonymous said...

That is exactly the point, HDB approval is needed. From the govt viewpoint, all laws must be respected, but sometimes can be 'bent' whenever the 'needs' arise' Not too long ago, I notice some passionate elderly residents who usually congregated at a coffeeshop near my home, planting flowers on an ampty plot of land next to the coffeeshop. Red roses were their specialty. I would appreciate the flowers whenever I passed by, wondering that these old folks must be ex farmers themselves, because the flowers were simply lovely, comparable to those from the florists. What happened? now all gone, most likely these guys didn't obtain permission from the rightful authority.

Lam Chun See said...

Some time ago, I saw a prog on tv - I think it was Get Real, where some families from a neighbourhood got permission to dig up the concrete pavement in front of their houses to plant herbs etc.

Over in Bishan Park, there is actually a huge 'farm' where residents planted flowers and vegetables etc.

Once in a while we should assume that if the govt doesn't say no, means it is allowed.

Anonymous said...

Normally the govt is benign enough to 'overlook' petty activities in high rised living, allowing some means of letting off 'steam' that arise from living in a crowded environment. We often see residents having potted plants fronting their flat. Occasionally we even come across a koi pool with the fish happily swimming in it, usually found in a corner flat. Sometime one or two fish may decide to leap out, and good neighbours would carefully put them back into the pool (hopefully no cats are around). Some residents would hold karaoke sessions to show off their vocal chords, while other are noisily partying. Often we see some gambling away in the midst of funeral rites. Generally most Singaporean are very tolerant towards each others, with the govt closing one eye. But should these activities carry a bit too far, inviting complaints, this is the time the authorities would throw in the 'books'. So better watch out.

Lam Chun See said...

Generally, I think Sporeans are quite tolerant as neighbours. My neighbours have been long-suffering about my children's pets, especially the noisy cockerel. Even help to feed him when we out of town.

Unknown said...

Hi,

I emailed you the other day in your email regarding your post on the motorsports in Singapore in the 70s. I wonder if you have received it?

Really appreciate your help on this =)

Kaylen

Lam Chun See said...

Sorry Xue. I did not receive any email about Motorsports. Can you email again. My email address is:

cslam[at]hoshin.com.sg

Unknown said...

Hello!

Sorry to bother again. I have sent you another mail but I think that they might have all ended up in your junk mail because I used Gmail to send :(

Could you help me check if it has reached your inbox or junk mail? I'm really sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Lam Chun See said...

Hi Xue,

I am afraid I did not received your email. Would you like to try my other email address: chunsee@lycos.com

Anonymous said...

I see owners in my area keep dogs but I usually observe the behavior of the pet animals. If bark too much Like "siow" n owner "bo chap" tells me more of the character of the person. Then there r owners who "bo chap" whetehr their dogs attack other road users or bark at them. I witnessed one case and so I think it was right of my neighbour to complain to AVA to take action. The owner didnt believe her dog can bite road users, so my neighbour took off his pants in front of her gate and showed her the wound. He insisted she bring him to see a GP. You know what was her answer. I need to make-up first...she took 30 minutes. Wah my neighbour said she showed "Chow Bean" as she drove the car.