My mom is in Singapore!

We spent her first afternoon working off jet lag and learning to use the MRT with a trip to the Botanic Gardens. We spent a long time in the fruit section, where I saw things growing that I’ve never seen before:

We did learn the name of this one — it’s a candlenut tree:

My mom was also interested in the tropical greenery. It’s amazing to see this place through her eyes — she loves things that I’ve grown used to, and she sees other things with entirely fresh eyes. She is much more likely than I to notice exciting patterns in shadows and in leaf structures.

We went to one of my favorite sections of the park, the Evolution Garden, which walks you from the first era of plant life on earth through to the development of flowering plants. The cycads are some of my favorites, especially when it’s possible to look in and take a careful look at how they are grow:

And we saw flowers, of course!

This Dutchman’s pipe was huge. It starts out as this (the green pod will eventually eat bugs) …

… and then grows to this (the green pod is now back behind the central yellow section):

We also saw little tiny beasties, from a beautiful dragonfly to a tiny unknown bug to a spider no bigger than my pinky nail:

Mom spent her second day here visiting the National Gallery while I went to work. For her third day, we paid a visit to Gardens by the Bay. The orchids there, are, always, amazing:

We spent a good deal of time in the Cloud Forest conservatory dome, which takes you from the ecosystem at the base of a cloud forest …

… all the way up to the top:

The Cloud Forest also has amazing view, both down from the upper levels…

… and out to the world beyond:

The Cloud Forest dome also plays host to a wide range of art, from indigenous carvings of various tribes to contemporary sculpture:

Note the whimsical carnivorous plant Lego structures, which have become so popular that they’re now in a new prime location on the very top level.

The carnivorous plants are clearly tempting, because they’ve earned their own sign:

Mom and I share the same blood — we could both look at flowers all day long.

The Cloud Forest dome has a strange section on stalactites and stalagmites with mirrors over the head, which puzzles me every time. I have no idea how it’s meant to fit into the garden concept, and the layout is very strange.

Mom and I went to the gift shop …

…shared a snack …

… and played outside in the gardens:

We took a little time to enjoy the strange art that lines the walls of the MRT station leading to the Gardens by the Bay exit:

Speaking of the MRT, the Graciousness Kids now have friends (or are, at the very least, engaged in parallel play)! Here’s Hush-Hush Hannah reminding us not to share our music and videos with the world …

… and here’s Stand-Up Stacey showing us how to give up our seats to those who might need them: