Category: Singapore Events

Title: Singapore Garden Festival

From a Garden in a CITY to CITY in a Garden, the transformation of Suntec City Convention Centre into a huge indoor garden for the SINGAPORE GARDEN FESTIVAL 2012 is simply too wondrous for imagination. Think about the month long planning and the large involvement of many contributors, artist, designers, contractors and organizers, this one in every two years iconic event is one that is not to be missed.

As you enter the Suntec Convention Centre, what greets you is a LARGE Green Wall, showcasing a good variety of green leafy plants and tiny flowers with a large signage of the event, great to take memorable photographs that you have been here for this event. Move up to level three for purchasing and collection of tickets. Donning the long concourse are beautiful natural looking landscapes portraying a giant bird community made of dried leaves and real fauna. They look so much like the real thing with intrigued details portraying the birds in flight and nesting. I particularly love the pair of peacock because of their neatly stacked coat though in mono color, it stills brings out the extravagant feel that most peacocks always brings about. Look Up! To level four and you will see something peeking down at you. These Greek flavored pillars with mask like faces looks down in four directions indicating something exciting is going on at level four… One could not but have to rush up to find out what excitement awaits at Level FOUR. Be greeted by the lush greenery as you approach the end of the escalator on level four. The whole concourse area of level four is transformed cleverly into a park with sculptures, pavements and building features camouflaged cleverly with natural vegetations yet still visible, which is a good balance between safety and a natural looking outdoor environment. Clear signboards pointing to entrances and helpful information counters at every entrance provide timely help and convenience. There are many activities going on at the same time, with awards being awarded, chef teaching cooking with plants, students showcasing their projects, photographers presenting their camera works and designers imparting their designing knowledge, all happening at the centre stage and various locations inside the exhibition halls. Various competitions are held inside the exhibition hall mostly themed according to greenery and natural landscaping such as the bonsai or plant sculpturing competition, floral designing competition which is a live competition, orchid shows and also an online photograph exhibition where the photo with the most votes on Facebook wins a prize.

Upon entry the first part of the exhibition which many may find it closest to the heart is the Horticulture and community gardening zone. First exhibit that caught my eye is this huge shrunk design of a school building with rooftop gardening and green walls. This school in bedok grows edible plants on their rooftop garden and sells them for money to the needy students. Indeed a great project that is eco-friendly, educational to the students and help to the needy.

Find yourself in a HOME GARDEN, every way you turn you find greenery and nature in its miniature all over a home setting. Indeed a great inspiration to include greenery in our concrete shoe box apartments. Take a relaxing stroll into your very own green oasis with bedrooms, living rooms, corridors, kitchens, balconies and every possible space in a house adorned with interesting pieces of greenery and nature inspired works.

Right next to it is an area where you can find Rice Paddy, potato plants, corn, banana trees and many other edible plants. In a move to encourage and educate community cultivation of edible plants in the community gardens the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) put up a great amount of exhibits, bringing crops where one could never see in urban Singapore into this exhibition. Both very educational and helpful in teaching our children to recognize the origins of the food on their table which does not magically appear nicely packed and processed in supermarkets. I particularly enjoy the outdoor home parks landscaping which one could have if space allows. They bring fond memories of when Singapore isn’t this developed, though technology has brought us many conveniences and luxury, but nature brings us heartfelt joy. LAND ART is a combination of nature & art. Featuring familiar skyline objects and landscaping artworks, its colorful, beautiful and attractive to adult and children alike. Take a stroll into this mystical park and be transported into a romantic gateway. Take a picture and relive the blissful days of dating and falling in love all over again. Engulf yourself in a sea of orchids, the orchid exhibition displays hundreds of species of variety of orchids as well as other complimenting flora and fauna. There is orchid sculptures, landscaping, arranged flowers for table top displays and all the other things you cannot imagine that could be created with orchids. Bright colors and the natural flowery scent that cannot be replaced by the most well concocted perfume; this huge orchid haven should never be missed. Well armed photographers with their micro lenses snapping away at the beautiful flowers trying to capture the intriguing parts of nature evokes many emotions when the pictures are displayed. The Market Place is an area where you can find and buy plants of your choices, bring home a pot exotic orchid, gardening accessories, fertilizers or a home farming system and make your very own green living space. A comprehensive list of suppliers and service providers for every green aspect gathered under one roof. Be blown away by the varieties of exotic plants from all over the world. Interesting exhibitors includes the home hydro-farming system and the extensive range or award winning orchids for sale at a super affordable price. We find some outdoor balcony furniture made with natural and synthetic materials that could be a great center piece for the relaxing and romantic semi-outdoor balcony living area. Miniature gardens in a bottle for the space conscious office space as well as vertical green wall for the space conserving indoor greenery that is almost maintenance free with automatic watering and fertilizing systems. Have a problem thinking where to put what, designing firms are also available for commitment free consultation. Have a problem with dying plants or you think that your precious pet in a pot is sick, take a picture and approach the doctors at the AVA counter and they can help diagnose for you and provide a solution for recovery.