So on our visit to the beautiful Singapore Botanic Gardens, we started off the day there sunny and dry and after a couple of hours the gray clouds rolled in and the heavens opened up and poured it down with rain, in true tropical fashion too. Fortunately there was the visitor center to seek refuge in during the worst of it.
So was it that bad that it rained heavily during our visit? Not at all. The heavy downpour actually made the atmosphere much more comfortable afterwards as it became increasingly humid and muggy prior to the heavy downpour then afterwards the air was cooler and felt fresher. And one extra bonus is it made the tropical plants shiny and glossy, making them extra photogenic!
And shiny and glossy the bromeliads were as we visited the section dedicated to them in this botanic garden. And they were a sight to behold.....
The formal name of this area is, as seen above the Yuen-Peng McNeice Bromeliad Collection
A bit more info about the collection...
The display that greets you as you enter the netted area; Tillandsias, Aechmeas, Vrieseas, and...
They have a few Dyckias too!
Tropical and colourful Cordylines and Calatheas amongst the bromeliads
A winding pathway inside the netted area, which gives them shade and shelter but lets rain in
A bit more information about Bromeliads with Tillandsias hanging from the pergola beams, a nice touch!
The netted roof has been colonised by Tillandsia usneoides, very nice!
Huge specimens underplanted with smaller ones
A lovely mix of specimens complementing each other
A Farfugium water feature
If it was dry that bench would have been inviting to sit on
Beautiful, bright, and glossy from the rain
So tropical!
And as you go out from the netted area into the open one, Tillandsia usneoides arches frame the pathway through it. What a fantastic idea!
Even more bromeliads await you outside
And looking back into the arched pathway once again
It was also interesting to see an adjacent utility building were also covered/colonised with bromeliads. Lovely!
The only thing that could do better is the labelling of their plants as very few were labelled. But apart from that the specimens they have are all healthy and in their best condition, and they were displayed beautifully too. And in true Singapore fashion, the place was immaculate.Mark :-)