It was a late Sunday afternoon when I gazed outside my window and looked at the children’s playground below my home. Amidst the green turf and the crowns of the trees in the landscaped garden around the playground, I caught a glimpse of a white bird flying swiftly by and landing atop the lampshade of a lamppost.

There it was again, this unusual ‘white’ Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus) that I had observed for the past two years flying around this estate and probably nesting somewhere near the Bukit Batok Community Club building across the road. The typical Javan Myna cheeps and chirps and is predominantly black. This ‘white’ one is considered a rare occurrence.

A member of public was at Jurong Hill Park last week and took a picture of this hugh reptile on a durian tree. He sent it over to me enquiring about it as he had never seen anything like this before in Singapore. So do I!

Try spotting the Green Iguana! (Photo from Mr E.L. Toh)

It was only after finding out from my colleagues at the National Biodiversity Centre (NParks) did I found out that what it was apparently a Green Iguana, scientific name is Iguana iguana. I was told that such species is from Central and South Amercia, with a distribution from Paraguay and southern Brazil northwards to Mexico; there are also populations derived from from released animals in several parts of the USA. It is arboreal and herbivorous.

This animal spotted could probably be an escaped or released pet. As they can grow up to 1.5 metres long (biggest recorded up to 2 metres) and up to about 9 kg, people may be reluctant to care for an adult, as this one appears to be.

The National Parks Board discourages the release of such pets and prohibits it within the nature reserves and parks, as such animals can disrupt the ecology of our environment. Let’s all do our part in making the environment a better place!

Shirley Ling

Is there such a thing as a ‘retro’ plant? Well, I believe so – just like the latest fashion trends, some plants do get ‘phased out’ and are no longer used in landscape or plantings as new introductions find their way into the market.

For instance, the Mussaenda (Mussaenda erythrophylla ‘Dona Lux’) with the dark pink bracts can hardly be seen nowadays but I am sure many will remember it as a popular shrub back in the 70’s and 80’s. If you do see a Mussaenda being used in landscaping now, it is likely that you will come across a white flowered form, or a species with orange-yellow flowers. That I have been told, is because some contemporary gardeners consider the dark pink flowers outlandish (how trends have changed!) as it reminded them of the pink colored serviettes being used in the earlier decade!

There are ‘retro’ plants that have stood the test of time - the hardy Dracaena fragrans remains a popular indoor plant even now. As a child, I used to marvel at how a little woody stump of this plant could grow in a very shallow dish of water when it did not have any roots! While my mum is not a plant person, she was very protective of her Dracaena as she believed that it would bring good tidings to the household if it flowered. Apparently, the local Chinese population believed that ‘铁树开花’ was an indication that prosperity would be on the house. As I grew up, so did the plant, but it did not flower and eventually we gave it to a neighbor when we moved out of our apartment.

Many years later, while I was on a plant survey trip, I finally had the chance to see a magnificent clump of this plant flowering and fruiting profusely at an abandoned kampong. I remembered showing the photos of the flowers and the red berries of the plant to my mum and she could not believe her eyes! I guess she did get her ‘wish’ eventually of seeing a flowering specimen of this although it was not in her own house.

Recently, I was greeted by an intoxicating fragrance while leaving Raffles Building in the evening. I had thought that it was the Tembusu (Fragraea fragransi) but it turned out to be a ‘old friend’ instead – the Dracaena at Level 3B had put on a flowering display with a cascade of intensely fragrant, white star like blossoms!

Dracaena fragrans is native to Africa and makes a good houseplant for those who would like to keep this species indoors as it is tolerant of lower light levels and is relatuvely fuss free. Planted outdoors, it will achieve a much larger size and as such has been planted as a ‘screen’ in some of the older bungalows. This species is readily available in most nurseries and plant retail booths in supermarkets. Forms with variegated leaves are sometimes available.

Back to the Chinese saying of ‘铁树开花’ – it’s a case of mistaken identity as the authentic ‘铁树’ in Chinese literature refers to a Cycad (or ‘苏铁’) and not the Dracaena! The Cycad is a very slow growing plant and takes many years to reach maturity and flower, hence the Chinese saying of ‘铁树开花, 哑人说话’ (‘A mute would gain the power of speech if the Cycad flowers’). Ironically, I’ve seen a lot more Cycads flower locally than the Dracaena!

Lily Chen

A thriving gardening scene in Singapore is forthcoming judging by the array of events the ‘Community In Bloom’ team experienced on 23^rd & 24^th April 09.

First up was a workshop for IKEA’s Småles members, where children were treated to a wonderful presentation on plants, and were guided to make their very own dish garden.

At a mass planting event in HortPark, Mr Sharif from Al-Istiqamah mosque shared his experiences on how to take care of indoor plants, giving valuable insights beneficial to the other community groups present for the talk.

Mr Sharif sharing his experiences at the CIB plot in HortPark

At Cedar Girls Secondary School, Minster Assoc Prof Yaacob Ibrahim launched the Evergreen Food Garden which is a project fronted by Kolam Ayer CCC.

Assoc Prof Yaacob Ibrahim tasting the peanuts grown in the garden

Opera Estate NC hosted a mini garden festival called ‘Opera-in-Bloom’ at Linear Park where Minister Mr. Abdullah Tarmugi was invited to give out prizes to the best roadside garden in Opera Estate.

CIB friend, Gina, sharing a twig of rosemary freshly cut from her garden

Over at Hillview Neighbourhood, Member of Parliament, Mr Ang Mong Seng planted the shrub Wrightia religiosia.on a resident’s roadside garden in support of the Hillview Community Gardening Day.

Rounding up that afternoon’s events is Mr. Wang Cheow Phen from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) who shared with gardening enthusiasts tips on growing leafy vegetables at the Jurong Regional Library.

The next morning, Minister Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan launched a new garden set up by Springleaf ECO club. Finally, drawing a closure to the exciting weekend buzz was Punggol Periwinkle Residents’ Day where MP Ms Penny Low interacted with the residents.

Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan revealing the plague of Thong Soon Green Eco garden

Eleanor Soh