ZH,

There are no midrise buildings where I live, the tallest buildings are only 4-stories high and there is just a handful of them. Our city center offers activities free of charge for seniors (yoga, tai chi, body fitness, art club, lunch). We also have parks with exercise equipment for all ages which people do use and enjoy. Around the country, I think such parks are rather common in cities but not in suburbs.

The plant in your 6th photo shows a mature Ti Plant (Cordyline). I had no idea they could grow that large. I planted one a few weeks ago in an area of my new garden that gets partial sun. I hope it likes the spot but now that I see how big they can get, I wonder if mine has enough room where I put it. 🤔

All the plants in your neighborhood look so lush and healthy. Very nice!

Hello Larisa!

That little bridge is so sweet!

What are those two large buildings? The mansion that appears in two of the photos must've been a private estate (maybe it still is)? And the yellow one, is it a museum?

How are winters in your area, normally? Is there still snow on the ground in May?

😱 tx_flower_child, that can strangle a tree. How long has that ivy been there? That thing is a monster!

Hello _Bleu_ !
This was the estate of Prince Golitsyn in the 18th century. Now it is a public park with museums. The yellow building is a restored equestrian yard. Now there is a stage and on holidays there are often musicians performing with classical music.
We used to have winter from the end of November to March. December is now warmer, maybe rain. Snow melts in April. In early May, I am already planting seeds in the ground in the garden. At this time, primroses bloom.

Larisa, your weather sounds like the weather in the North East, particularly the Boston Area (zone 5b). I assumed winters would be longer and colder. It's a good thing that the park was made public, so much land and beauty for just one family to enjoy is not right.

Do you see maples and oaks around? How about birches and firs?

It is so good to see this thread developing as It has in such a short time. So interesting and especially by those posting from other parts of the world, Singapore, Russia, Texas, Iowa and California. I also see Minnesota represented. The scenes of Singapore have big changes but I had heard that from younger folks who had been born there. It has changed a lot since i spent several days there in 1953 as you can imagine. I remember rickshaws and trishaws and any automobiles I saw seemed to have horns blaring or beeping whatever its called.

@lcl, oh wow u live here in Singapore in 1953? may I know how old r u if u r OK with it? Its so cool man, even my parents have not lived thru those times so I could only see old photos for a glimpse of how it is in the past. My grand parents don't speak English n most passed b4 I was born so I nvr got to hear any stories of how Singapore is like in the past:/

@_bleu_
Wow i think cuz the place/ country u live in has lots of land, haha a luxury Singapore doesn't have:/ one would need few millions of US dollars to buy a landed apartment in Singapore, n cars r really expensive here that u will be shocked too, cuz we have to pay something called the COE. It's meant to Control traffic congestion in Singapore due to lack of roads cuz of lack of land.

@greentara18
Your photos r beautiful! Love those climates n natural scenery n landscape. Would love to live in those places some day. Seem so calming n relaxing. Will there be alot mosquito there tho? Cuz here in Singapore, mosquitos will be a problem n hence there has to be frequent fogging to all these plants n grass in the neighbourhood. Something my country doesn't have we dh a single mountain/hill nor forest. The only famous hill in Singapore is bukit timah hill which is not exactly a hill too😅 n its a tourist spot so not really in the nature tbh too.

Here r some photos in my condo n neighbourhood too:)

Yes, lots of land here, ZH, but we also have the highest real estate prices in the country and, to make matters even worse, there's a housing shortage of 3 million units and the current building rate is less than 100,000 units per year.

One of your photos shows a beautiful and huge bird of paradise plant with so many flowers.

Is there a commercial area near your buildings? Do you have any underground malls?

Looks like it keeps raining. You must be going through a monsoon season now.☔️

Oh! I meant to tell you... If you would like to see how some neighborhoods in SoCal decorate their front yards during the month of December, I just started a thread here: The thread "What do you see around your neighborhood during the holidays?" in Sandbox forum

_Bleu_ said:😱 tx_flower_child, that can strangle a tree. How long has that ivy been there? That thing is a monster!

No idea how long the tree or the ivy have been there. We have a paved alley and I was walking down it with the thought that I might find something interesting to take a picture of. As I said in my post, the pictures show why it's not a good idea to plant ivy.

Here's a few pictures I took this afternoon walking down the block.

A Japanese Maple. Don't know what kind.




Nandina. It's pretty but it's also invasive. Plus the berries contain cyanide.


Miscellaneous



And 1 more tree because I really like trees. Those are clouds, not snow.

tx_flower_child, has it been raining a lot in your area of Texas? Those plants look so healthy. I thought that Japanese maples grw best in northern climates.

@bleu
Yup it's the rainy season now, tho its always very sunny n rainy here in Singapore, where it is almost raining almost every other day. N yea we do have underground malls tho it's most of multi level malls with an underground level I would say. What to say for a country with lack of land haha. There r even condominiums built on top of some malls! The carparks of High rise flats n buildings in Singapore r mostly underground

@tx_flower_child
I love the maple tree it's so beautiful. I don't think I have ever seen one in Singapore, prolly due to the weather.
@bleu
U sure know ur plants well, I honestly dunno most the plants I take photo of. I guess we Singaporeans mostly take the plants ard us for granted despite them being so readily available.

@bleu
But why is there a lack of supply of houses in your area tho? Lack of architects or construction workers?

@bleu, earlier u mention abt this plant, there is this green one (1st photo) too! Are they the same species? I notice that r alot similar looking plants here in my area just with diff colors.

@ZH it'd take me several pages to answer your question properly so just to give you an idea:

- Building in California is very expensive (building codes, higher energy efficiency, high government fees, very high labor costs, etc.)
- The state has complex environmental laws and tax structures.
- A lot of opposition to new development by existing residents (more houses>more cars>more traffic>longer commutes and also more pressure and wear and tear on the infrastructure).
- Land cost is very high and developers tend to build fewer houses at premium prices that only the affluent can afford.
- Fewer people can afford to buy (most of the workforce in CA does not earn Silicon Valley salaries yet an entry-level home with a reasonable commute goes for well above $500,000). And those who cannot buy also have trouble finding affordable places to rent...

It's a big problem and it doesn't seem like it's going to get better any time soon.

ZH You have posted some marvelous photos and I love those tropical plants! Thank you!
In the northeast where I live we get some beautiful tree and bush foliage especially in autumn when the maples and oak leaves change from lush green to what you see in the attached photos. The Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus) next door to me seems to be properly named.
Regarding my age, there are times as a youth one may fib about being older than they are and then in the next phase, a person may fib about being younger than they are. When one reaches my age I'm supposed to boast about being a senior citizen but it is just a number. When in Singapore, that was the year I turned 21. Best suggestion is to take good care of yourself, eat right, sleep well, work hard and exercise but the best suggestion is, "pick the right parents".