Anyone who came to my community garden before would have been greeted by the Yellow Bells tree, Tecoma stans. It is affectionally called “Mrs Lim’s Tree” because the tree, pruned to be a standard, was planted by my constituency’s advisor and MP, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua.
The tree was planted during the opening ceremony of my community garden. A plaque was erected near this tree and a glimpse at it reminded me that the garden is reaching its first year of age!
The tree is now in bloom. At its peak, almost 80% or more of the canopy can be covered with the bright yellow flowers. The recent rains have caused some damage to the blooms.
A close-up picture of a bunch of trumpet-shaped Yellow Bells flowers.
The Yellow Bells tree resides in the central circular garden bed. The tree was chosen for its graceful form and frequent flowering. In full bloom, it is a sight to behold. The flowers that fall which often litter the ground below gives a sense of the autumn season. The golden yellow colour of the flowers is an auspicious colour for the Chinese since it can be related to gold and hence wealth.
The tree’s small and lanky canopy is also an important consideration since we do not want a tree that will cast excessive shade on the neighbouring flower beds. The Yellow Bells can take hard pruning that is essential to keep the tree in good shape and size.
Surprisingly, the Yellow Bells has folk medicinal uses. The leaves and roots of the plant contain bioactive compounds have been found to contain monoterpenes, which may have medicinal properties. It is a member of the Bignoniaceae family, similar to the African Tulip tree.
