I started this website on 5th July 2007. The key feature of the website is the showcase of plant photos with their names. The current focus is on plants in Southeast Asia, mostly found in Singapore where I live and occasionally, at places where I visited for holidays. This website started with 249 plants and 985 images. It reached an archive of 500 plants and 2227 images on 21st April 2008 and crossed the 1000 plants mark on 31st December 2009.

Starting this website has combined two of my interests --- taking photos of plants and designing websites. Writing my own web pages allows me the freedom to make changes at any time without the need to wait for someone else to do it for me. Plus, I learn a trade along the way. So far, this is the first and only website that I have put online. For ease of managing the website as the amount of photos grows, I have simply re-sized the original photos for display (i.e. no cropping or make-up to the photos) in the plant photo decks. I do crop some photos for specific topics.

All photos in this website are taken by me and hence, owned by me. Taking picture of a plant is like preserving the very moment of its life since it is changing all the time. We generally do not see all the features (e.g. flower, fruit, etc.) of a plant all at the same time. I love to collect, sort and identify the plants from the photos taken -- just like solving mystery in life. Sharing these photos with the world may benefit others, allow me to generate some revenues (still figuring out this part) and explore other opportunities.

The photos were taken mainly in Singapore, occasionally in Malaysia and Indonesia. The set of photos in each photo deck of a plant may be taken at different places and dates. No, I did not select a piece of land, hire rubbish clearance, grade the land, contract a builder, and put up a brand new greenhouse to raise these flowers. They are just flowers I have been fortunate to encounter around. Photos with dates at the bottom right-hand corner were the very first batch of photos taken with my first digital camera (Sony camera, model T72 shown here), which has retired since December 2007. The rest of the photos were taken with my latest camera. They are differentiated with the word "new" after the DSC number. From 2010 onward, I have started to add the last 2 digits of the year where the photo is taken after the DSC number. This system will replace the old one gradually.

Providing details of each photo is not possible due to my other commitments in life. The narrative (e.g. date) at the side of a photo only refers to that particular photo in display. If you are really keen to know the details of a particular photo, write to me and quote the DSC number of that photo.

Good quality photos of a plant at different stages of its life and plant parts (e.g. flower, leaf, fruit, etc.) are very useful in the identification of a plant. Due to some limitations, the quality of some photos may not be as good as I would want. I will replace the existing photos with newer ones of better quality whenever possible. Also, photos of new plants or additional photos of existing plants may be added from time to time.

I have NO intention to display photos taken by others at this point of time as I prefer to keep this website as a private depository of my photos. Furthermore, I do not have the extra time at this moment for additional administrative work.

My knowledge on plants has grown tremendously since I started this website. I am not a plant expert (for sure, not a botanist) but simply a nature observer. Plant offers me a good starting point. When I first started out, I thought naming plant is a no-brainer, especially when one is using the botanical (scientific name). Soon, I realise that there is a whole lot of confusion even in the scientific community itself with such naming system (from what I have observed so far). Even if there are rules and guidelines, not everyone follows due to different considerations.

First of all, you have to deal with synonyms --- several botanists giving different names to the same plant over the years, not knowing others have already given it a name earlier. Then, you have the hybrids and cultivars --- either as a result of natural selection or human intervention. However, the variation in botanical names is at least manageable. When it comes to common names, the situation is simply chaotic -- anyone can give a common name to a plant. Since the botanical naming system is the least confused among all naming systems, I have arranged the photos in alphabetical order based on the accepted botanical names in the main photo deck.

Next, I need references to identify a plant. I am not good at using botanical keys, whereby you refer to books with just text (maybe a few photos or drawings) that describe different parts of a plant. The terms used in botanical keys are usually meant for botanist. They are pretty foreign to me. I prefer, like most people, photos in reference books or from the Internet. The downside is that not all reference books are aligned or correct --- same plant, same name, same look (photo). Internet reference can be quite tricky as well --- you see it today, you may not see it tomorrow. However, just like in any trade, after you dwell long enough in it, you will know some of the tricks. When there is conflicting information in the name of a plant, I will attempt to share my thoughts at the bottom of the photo deck of that plant or in a separate page.

The choice of common names in the website is based on what I think is common enough. Though it may be more practical to use common names in many instances, it would be a good practice to always indicate the botanical name as well. I have included listings of common names in alphabetical order for ease of searching. I have added the Chinese names whenever I can locate one. Chinese name is simply a common name in the Chinese language. There is Chinese translation of botanical terms down to the family level but not at genus or species levels as far as I know.

Nothing is full proof and mistakes do creep in at times, especially when my database gets larger over time. If you notice any error in the name of a plant, just drop me a note. I will verify my information again and make the necessary correction. Anyway, plants do not really bother with our naming system (which is arbitrary). They know who they are and are happy with whom they are. Hence, for mere appreciation of plants and their existence, I am not too picky about the "correct" name.

I am the copyright owner of all the materials in this website. You may use or display the photos for non-commercial purpose provided that you place the copyright notice (i.e. © www.NatureLoveYou.sg) next to or on the photo itself (see examples below).

Alternatively, you can indicate the source of the photo (i.e. www.NatureLoveYou.sg). Whichever way you choose to acknowledge the source, do write to me and provide the following information for my record.

1. Your name and contact information
2. Which photo you have used or intend to use (quote the DSC number)
3. Where you have placed or intend to place the photo (if use on a website, provide the URL of the website)
4. The purpose of using the photos

The use or display of my photos for commercial purpose is NOT allowed without first seeking my permission. This includes using my photos in printed publications for commercial purpose or on commercial websites. I treat websites, including personal ones or discussion forums, with advertisements on it as commercial sites since someone probably get paid for the advertisements. If you want to use the photos for such purposes, please write to me. I am happy to discuss the terms and conditions with you on their usage. Using my photos and claiming to be yours is a theft. Similarly, using my photos without my permission and not even bother to indicate the source gives other the perception that the photos belong to you --- it is a theft. Please do not do it though this has indeed happened. I will not hesitate to take the necessary action to safeguard my rights to my photos.

I will not be responsible for any damage resulting from your visit to my website or use of any information from this website. Do verify the information before using them. A little knowledge can be dangerous at times. Links to other websites should open in a new window or tab. Do note that I do not endorse any of the content in other websites that I place a link to. These links are there for your convenience only. Similarly, advertisement (if any) placed in this website is to generate fund to support the maintenance of this website. I will not be responsible to the outcome of your visit to the advertiser's websites.

If you want to place a link from your website to mine, please ensure that my website does not appear under a frame of your website which may give others an impression that my website is part of yours.

I reserve the right to change the conditions on the use of my photos at any time. Please read the updated conditions in this page from time to time. The date when this page is last updated can be found at the bottom of this page.

My website is open for advertisement. At the moment, I have a text-based advertisement embedded in this webpage. Though the return is really minimal for now, I do hope that one day this website will be able to generate sufficient revenue to cover the cost of its maintenance. If you are interested to place an advertisement in my website, you can write to me for further discussion.

I am NOT keen to sell the photos on this website. However, if you are interested to purchase the entire website and are prepared to pay a premium, I am open for discussion. Do write to me and indicate the price that you are willing to pay. I will let you know whether we need to discuss further.

If you have ideas on how the information in my website can be put to better use and in doing so, generate some revenues for me, I will be very happy to explore the ideas further with you.

This website has been tested in Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) and Firefox 3 (F3). The following is an older version of screen shot of my home page. If you are using IE8 or F3 and did not see similar screen shot (do note that the displayed photos may change from time to time) below, your browser settings are probably different from mine. You can write to me and I can tell you my settings. For users of other browsers or earlier versions of IE/Firefox, I cannot do much to help except to encourage you to get the latest version of IE or Firefox.

The website is better accessed with a broadband connection. The size of the each image file has been reduced to a reasonable size. It should not take too long to have the pages loaded.