Gebiz Spiral Watch

Quotation No.: HDB000ETQ19300133 / DPG-QN190024

QUOTATION FOR ISA CERTIFIED ARBORIST FOR PUBLIC HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AT BIDADARI CONTRACT 14A & 14B

Company A - $6690
Company B - $26,500 (Awarded)
Company C - $15,400
Company D - $32,100

One of the rare departures where the lowest bidder did not win. Lowest bidder was about 56% lower than the second lowest bidder, which also did not win. Again, as with the tender below, the highest bid came from a recently incorporated landscape company.
 
Quotation No.: HDB000ETQ19300142 / DPG-QN190028

QUOTATION FOR ISA CERTIFIED ARBORIST FOR PROPOSED DEMOLITION OF BLK 1 TO 3, BLK 5 TO 22, FOUR SURFACE CARPARKS & ANCILLARY STRUCTURES AT REDHILL CLOSE

Company A - $8287
Company B - $5501 (Awarded)
Company C - $8500
Company D - $10360
Company E - $75000

Winner bidded about 34% lower than the second lowest bidder.
The highest bid came from a relatively unknown landscape company that was incorporated just 4 years ago.

Quotation No.: CAA000ETQ19300025

ENGAGEMENT OF A CERTIFIED ARBORIST TO CARRY OUT TREES ASSESSMENT AND TRIAL TRENCH WORKS

Company A - $69,300
Company B - $20,000
Company C - $20,000 (Awarded)
Company D - $78,300
Company E - $90,800
Company F - $66,100
Company G - $49,200

Winner bidded about 60% lower than the second lowest bidder. In addition, there are two companies that bidded at the same price. One could only guess why one company was awarded over the other. Again, the highest bid came from a relatively unknown landscape company that was incorporated just 4 years ago. A couple of "reasonably priced" companies did not manage to win too.

Quotation No.: HDB000ETQ19300101 / DPG-QN190019

QUOTATION FOR ISA CERTIFIED ARBORIST CONSULTANCY SERVICES AT DEMOLITION OF HDB RESIDENTIAL BLOCKS AT 54, 55, 56 AND 62 SIMS DRIVE

Company A - $4,444.44
Company B - $5,399.00
Company C - $2,900.00 (Awarded)
Company D - $6,560.00

Company C that won this tender is the same one that claimed to be established since 2005, which was mentioned here: http://openplants.blogspot.com/2018/04/gebiz-spiral-watch.html
But they were incorporated just 4 years ago.
Winner bidded about 35% lower than the second lowest bidder, which seemed to have entered a "troll" bid.

Observations at HortPark (and Elsewhere) on June 2019

Corymbia 'Summer Red' is a hybrid of Corymbia ficifolia and Corymbia ptychocarpa. It is grafted onto a rootstock of unknown species. Photo taken on 18 May 2019 when flower buds and flowers appeared.

Photo taken on 17 Jun 2019 when flowers have ended their bloom and producing seed pods.

New leaves are orangish-red and brownish-red and then turns to dark green.

 

In this photo, although the union between rootstock and scion is obvious, and the lignotuber has not appeared. 

The bulging part above is the lignotuber of a Eucalyptus sideroxylon.

Trunk of Eucalyptus deglupta (Rainbow gum tree). Still not as colourful as the images on the internet might suggest.

More light green strips on the smaller branches.

 

The only other Mesua ferruginea I have seen planted in a park, which is outside of Sembawang Park.

Espalier of Bouea macrophylla - a relatively unknown fruit tree in Singapore.

Rooftop garden at Singpost Centre - Garcinia subelliptica forming a greenwall appearance with Ficus microcarpa 'Golden' in the foreground.

Rooftop garden at Singpost Centre - Terminalia mantaly 'Tricolor' trees, and Ficus benjamina and Carmona retusa as topiary.

Observations at HortPark (and Elsewhere) on May 2019

I am taking the Certified Practising Horticulturist course that stretches over a few weeks (taking a few days each week) over at HortPark. When I say Hyderabad Road no-one knows it, but everyone knows HortPark.

A mistletoe attached to a (once) living brach of a tree. This is showing the cross section, and the haustoria seemed to have formed a "broad-head arrow" to penetrate into its host. Note the darker cells of the mistletoe, and the lighter cells of its host.

A look from the outside. Darker bark belonged to the mistletoe, and lighter bark its host.

I was exploring on mistletoes attaching themselves onto tree earlier here.

Kerriodoxa elegans (White-backed palm), a single species endemic to Thailand. It grows as an understory palm, and thus more suitable in shade.

Butterfly gardens attract bees as well. The lesson here is not to expect one type of insect (most people prefer butterflies) and reject the presence of the other.

The Hort Lawn, where event rentals and wedding photo shoots take place. They have installed the automated mower that I mentioned earlier here.

Note that the tenant (behind the fence on the left) has moved out and there does not seem to be a new one moving in. In 2015, the Hort Lawn was overhauled (which I imagine to some inconvenience to the tenant back then). And in 2017 when I attended a Kombucha making class there, NÓNG was the tenant.

 Floating islands that was on the irrigation pond were removed. They were overgrown with Cyperus papyrus and crowding the other species out.

Floating islands at Pang Sua Pond, Bukit Panjang. No Cyperus papyrus were used here, but mostly Cyperus prolifer.

 Chonemorpha fragrans (Frangipani vine), which is a great alternative as a native climber besides Tristellateia australasiae (Maiden's Jealousy). The origin stated on the label should have read "Singapore, India, and a whole lot of other countries". The leaves looked like that of Beaumontia grandiflora (Easter Lily Vine), but its flowers looked like that of a... Frangipani.

On the way to city centre, and I saw these tree containers along the centre divider at Esplanade Drive. Plumeria rubra and Tecoma stans - great choices as they are both drought tolerant. Diagram from NParks CUGE RTN 01-2017, showing a "downsized version" of the tree container that has an inner diameter of 1.3m and height of 1m.

Containerized Technology: Long Term Observation of the Growth Potential of Container Trees, Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology, Research Technical Note RTN 01-2017.

There was only one RTN in the year 2017, and no more thereafter.

 Palms that are usually solidary could be nice as a "cluster" palm as well.

Shown here is Bismarckia nobilis 'Silver'

 A self-sown Bismarckia nobilis 'Silver' "cluster" at a plant nursery in Muar, Malaysia. I haven't seen them self-sown in Singapore, and this might be a thing to come.

Livistona chinensis (Chinese fan palm), which is usually solidary has three "branches" here.

 

Strelitzia nicolai (White Bird of paradise) and Tacca chantrieri (Devil flower), both flowering.

Felling of Eucalyptus alba and E. camaldulensis using the "Spider" cherry picker, excavator for grubbing, and Avant loader for hauling of logs.

 

 Tamarindus indicus (Asam tree) that I had wrote about earlier here, which is replaced by a younger specimen.

Hope that the trunk collar is not buried this time.