It’s because we have planted a flowering shrub called the Solandra Longiflora next to our front gate.
Solandra Longiflora
This is the Solandra Longiflora. It is also called the Trumpet Plant (光梭朗茄) or Chalice Vine. It has huge beautiful light yellow flowers which give off a sweet fragrance at night. As you can see from the photo below, it flowers quite profusely. As such, we occasionally have passers-by ringing our door bell asking for stem cuttings.
It is a very easy plant to grow. We grew ours from a stem cutting given by a neighbour. Another attraction of this plant; especially for oldie bloggers like me is that it attracts the leaf spider which I used to catch as a kid in my kampong days.
Datura metel
Besides the Solandra Longiflora, we have another trumpet plant called the Datura Metel or Angel’s Trumpet (洋金花 , 曼陀罗) according to this website. But I also came across another website which gave its common name as Devil’s Trumpet or Thorn Apple. Very confusing. Anyway, this one has purple flowers. It is also quite easy to propagate. After the flower dies, it leaves behind a big fruit with lots of seeds which can be used to propagate new plants. We bought a pot of from a nursery some years ago. And today, we have several of them growing in our garden.
A third trumpet plant
Recently, we acquired yet another trumpet plant. This one was a gift from one of my son’s pitcher plant forum buddies. We planted it in a pot and it grew quickly. The flower of this one is even bigger than the other two. Interestingly, the colour of the flower changes from white to a tinge of orange after a few days. Now with three species of trumpet plants in our garden, I suspect we have the largest collection of trumpet plants in the street where I live -:)
I leave you with a quiz question. What is the name of this third trumpet plant? Answer is found here.
PS – This article was originally submitted to Garden Voices more than a month ago but for some reason they have not published it.
22 comments:
Can I visit your Botanical Gardens and take away some samplings for my own garden. I might be interested to start one.
you can find the yellow trumpet flowers at west coast park 3. i blogged about it here
Peter. Tell me which one you like, then I plant for you in pot better. Anyone else?
The 3 plants in this article looks inviting. So I take all 3. If you have any others which flower easily, gives off a nice scent and easy maintenance, I take it. Just let me know when to stop-by your place. I must get back to gardening as it was my childhood hobby.
So Chun See is blowing 3 trumpets in one blog post. :p
Very nice trumpets... I mean flowers.
We look forward to visiting your informal botanical gardens on our visit to Spore in 09 but are not the local authorities onto you about blocking that pavement?
Brian
You need to understand in Singapore the National Parks Board or the authorities don't really care (this I am very surprise myself) unless you breed mosquitoes.
In my estate I have seen a Permanent Secretary of a government ministry, recently mentioned in the newspaper about government scholars, planted a coconut tree on the 5 foot way garden. In the process the leaves stick out on to the road.
There are owners who place large flower pots as big as a waist-level jar on the road next to the pavement.
It takes a pair of foreign eys to spot something that we have taken for granted. It must be quite a surprise for Brian to see that our "everything cannot" govt actually allows such practice. It is quite common in this type of estate. Some homes even dig up the concrete and convert into a mini-garden.
But to foreigners, we must appear incredibly inconsiderate. Lately there are quite a few Caucasion families; obviously expatriates, that have moved into our estate. I wonder what they think of us.
The authorities usually act only when there is a complaint. Obviously, Chun See has been a very good neighbour, so no complaints received so far.
Blocking pavements here in Cambridge is a serious business - but that is because most streets don't have off-street parking so the roadside is full of parked cars so if the pavement is blocked people are forced into the middle of the road - it does not look like this is the situation with Chun See's house - and I am sure he is a very good neighbour anyway!
Hey thanks for this post I finally got to know what this mysterious flower that is when i pass by serangoon!
check out my entry:
http://cynnedcynnerproductions.blogspot.com/2008/12/peculiar-flower-in-serangoon-uncovered.html
Love,
cyn
Hello Chun See,
Would you be able to spare me a cutting of your beautiful brugmansia? It would be my first attempt in planting flowers from this family. :)
Cheers!
Richard
Regret to announce that the Brugmansia died recently. Don't know why it just died suddenly like that.
I must confess that most of the plants I blog about are not planted by me but my son or my wife. I like blogging and felt that it is a waste not to share (or rather show off) their beautiful plants with my readers.
Since this plant is not high on their priority, we did not propagate any.
Hi love ur trumpet flowers.. can i have some to plant by myself...?
Or maybe tell me where i cn buy them so i cn hv them in my garden
Hi Eve Sam. No problem for the Solandra. You can help yourself to some stem cuttings. You can contact me by email.
But not sure about the datura mettel. Haven't seen them lately. As for the Brugmansia, it has died.
Hi looking forward to stem cutting.. i will drop by when im free.. ok u cn cntct me via email at eve_sam_sayangku@hotmail.com.. thanks alot.. actually really interested in datura metel they r gorgeous n u do have really rare flowers never seen them before real life.. so looking forward.. thanks once again..
Hi. I was looking for datura metel and found your blog. Do you still have the datura metel plant ? Will it be possible to pass on a sampling ?
I am sorry. We do not hv the datura metel anymore.
Wow, the last comments was dated 23 march 2015, almost 4years. Anyway, I have been trying to locate any Singaporean who has successfully grown "Angel Trumpet" also known as Brugmansia. This explained how I chance upon your blog. It is a pity that your Angel Trumpet has died.
Guess that I am only the Singaporean is now attempting to grow 6 different species of "Angel Trumpet" cuttings that I have gotten from the states.
Keeping Finger cross that I can manage to grow them and see their first bloom. At the same time, hoping this can revive your blog again.
Wah you have angels trumphet it was a notorious plant flower in south america even with them having cocaine and other drugs this plant is high up on the most scary powder they could ever encountered. This will make you a zombie and abide on the persons bidding but still in consious state. Highly dangerous it can kill once overdose.
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