Surprises

And something else I love about living here. The way that plants appear suddenly in places where you don't expect them.

Large white mushrooms sprang up on the lawn overnight. The gardener took them (and lived to tell the tale - more fool us who were too slow!)

Today I see my African tulip tree (already a riot of raucous reds) is sporting two orchids, leaves like green tongues, though not flowering yet.

The monstera against the verandah pillar (variagated leaves as large as serving platters) grew there apparently from a seed dropped by birds (oh so conveniently, in exactly the right spot.)

My birds nest fern appeared in a pot where something else was growing, as if by magic.

And no crumbling shophouse is so poor, it seems, that it does not have a glossy ficus benjamina sprouting from its roof.