Hi Huneybees,
After a four-year hiatus, the Singapore Garden Festival is back for its eighth edition. This year, it's brought right into the heart of Singapore with floral competitions and displays happening at Singapore Botanic Gardens (30 Jul - 9 Aug) and Orchard Road - ION Orchard and Ngee Ann City (30 Jul - 7 Aug).
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So strap on your track shoes, go for a walk, enjoy the fresh air and embark on your journey of floral discovery. Here are some of the key highlights of the event...
Singapore Botanic Gardens
- Heritage Orchids of Singapore Arriving at the National Orchid Garden, you will find the clock tower decorated with orchids. Here you will find the plentiful species of orchid hybrids that play a big role in Singapore's floral heritage.
- The Orchid Competition, co-organized with the Orchid Society of South East Asia (OSSEA), will feature more than 400 rare and exquisite orchids at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, with the various species found in different regions of the world and submitted by professional growers and hobbyists.
Spanning across Burkhill House, Tan Hoon Siang Mist House and The Sembcorp Cool House, there are the 'Best of Show' plants and warm growing competition orchids as well as cool growing competition orchids all in full bloom, awaiting for their close up shots.
- Landscape Design Challenge at Eco-Garden showcases floral displays created by 10 teams of budding landscape designers from local higher education institutions. Themed "Botanical Fantasy" the students think beyond the realms of reality and transforms a 9 sq metre plot into an outdoor landscape display in just 4 hours!
- Singapore Gardeners’ Cup (Eco-Garden) celebrates the community gardening spirit and the gardening culture across Singapore with a collaborative and friendly competition for local community gardeners. With five beautiful garden displays under a “Gardeners’ Fantasia” theme, created by 200 Community in Bloom (CIB) gardeners, you can immerse in the enchanting and whimsical world of nature that they have created. You can also take the opportunity to meet the friendly gardeners and pick up tips on how you can grow your own garden as well as sustainable gardening practices.
- Before heading off, check out The MarketPlace at Tyersall Coach Park, where you can shop and discover a wide variety of plants, lifestyle products with a gardening theme and food to bring home. You can also shop virtually on Shopee (https://shopee.sg/m/sgf2022) and get the items delivered to your doorstep.
- The Singapore Botanic Gardens Heritage Festival will also be held in conjunction with SGF and will bring visitors on a heritage journey with fun-filled activities like guided tours, concerts, virtual activities, and DIY trails.
Here's a map of the hot spots in Singapore Botanical Gardens, there will also be shuttle buses to bring you to each location, so you can take a break from walking and enjoy some cool air.
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ION Orchard
- Community Garden Edibles Competition Right at the entrance of the mall, you can find The Cavern of Edibles. Join the Oriental Pied Hornbill as it stumbles upon the mysterious cave of uncommon and unique edible plants, fruits and vegetables. Here you can find the winning entries of gardeners who grow their own edible plants as a hobby, you can never guess what can be grown right in our own homes!
- Floral Installations by local award-winning floral masters Harijanto Setiawan (The Echoes of Almeda) and John Lim (Vessel Garden) are also displayed their flowery works of art at the entrance ION Orchard.
The Vessel Garden was concepted as an archaeological find with vessels seen as artifacts of our anthropological and cultural heritage with forms that are particular to Southeast Asia. The botanical selection ranges from aquatic plants to subsistence plants, inspired by the kampong spirit which, at its heart, respects nature and its bounty.
The Echoes of Almeda combines architecture with nature, featuring exotic tropical plants. One can find dreamlike serenity as you walk into this bamboo weaved pathway that cuts through the "Tropical Stone".
- Floral Designers Society Singapore’s FDSS Cup will return for its 12th edition from 30 July to 2 August with unique, visually compelling competition pieces on display, and two participant categories - Professional and Amateur, each with different themes and designs to compete in.
- Floral Fiesta: A Floral Creation Challenge from 3 to 7 August, is a new event in the form of a “live” challenge that will involve budding florists, hobbyists, or even professional designers convening to create floral pieces in line with given themes.
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Civic Plaza, Ngee Ann City
- Show Garden Competition is a returning favourite that features a total of 6 Show Garden plots located at Civic Plaza, Ngee Ann City by renowned local designers and three award-winning international designers from the UK, France, and Australia. These professional landscape designers have gone head-to-head to create stunning show gardens.
The first display you will see is "A Botanical Fantasy" by National Parks Board. This is a 360° display that takes you through 4 contrasting yet cohesive landscapes - Sandy Beach, Bog Garden, Tropical Lowland Rainforest, and High-Elevation Forest, showcasing an amazing diversity of plants.
The Inner Growth Garden and The Orchard Bridge both won Gold in the competition. Inner Growth Garden by Christian Jenkins (Australia) allows one to escape into their own sanctuary in this eye-catching garden. The use of large leafy plants, tall trees, and low low planting levels, gives off a sense of shelter and safety, allowing one to get lost in the plant world.
The Orchard Bridge also won the Best of Show and Best Construction awards. Created by Eliam Eng and Andy Ng (Singapore), the display draws inspiration from when Orchard Road was still an area filled with pepper farms, fruit orchards, and nutmeg plantations. The fluidity of Mother Nature forms the shapes that take place where man and nature co-exist, on can walk along the bridge and listen to the magic of nature in this display.
The Time Garden and The Time: In the far, far away future also drew a lot of attention with its insta-worthy display. Head on over to Ngee Ann City to experience it all.
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Phew, aren't those flowers gorgeous? I've learned a little more about gardening during this event and I can't wait to see how my garden will look in the months to come. So, for more updates, head on over to https://sgf.nparks.gov.sg and facebook.com/SGGardenFest.
There are also prizes up for grabs.
- People's Choice Award
Scan the QR code at your favorite display and stand to win $300 shopping vouchers.
Voting Period: Sat 30 Jul @1000h to Thu 4 Aug @ 2359h. - Community's Choice Award
Scan the QR code at your favorite display and stand to win a Hydroponic Home System worth $400.
Voting Period: Sat 30 Jul @830h to Thu 4 Aug @2359h
