Singapore Garden Festival 2016 returns as the most extensive edition ever

Record 79 garden and floral displays across 9.7 ha showground

Premier international garden and flower show, Singapore Garden Festival (SGF), will make its return tomorrow, delighting visitors from 23–31 July 2016 at Gardens by the Bay. Jointly organised by the National Parks Board (NParks) and Gardens by the Bay, the Festival’s sixth edition will be the largest to date at 9.7 hectares – almost double the size of the 5-hectare showground in 2014 – and will showcase a record 79 garden and floral displays.

Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said: “Ten years ago, we started the Singapore Garden Festival with the simple objective of celebrating our passion for greening with Singaporeans and the rest of the world. Today, the Festival is one of the top garden shows that many local and international designers want to be part of. Our community gardeners, volunteers, students and hobbyists also participate in the Festival by developing show gardens and making terrariums. At its heart, the Singapore Garden Festival is truly a show for the people, by the people. It represents the ethos of our City in a Garden – a shining example of how the government, private organisations, professionals and the community have worked together to shape this place we call home.”  

Special displays by local talent across the Festival

A testament to the raised calibre of homegrown talent, local designers, community gardeners, hobbyists and NParks staff have transformed the showground by putting together 21 garden and floral displays which will feature more than 60,000 tropical flowering plants and 10,000 flowering annuals. These include unique plants like the Sandpaper Vine (Petra rugosa) and Golden Lotus Banana (Musella lasiocarpa). Visitors can look forward to interesting displays such as the Espalier and Fruit Tree Garden, which features popular tropical fruits such as durians, mangoes and guavas, as well as espaliers – plants specially trained and pruned to create a two-dimensional living sculpture. At the Garden of Senses, some 10,000 plants of varying textures, colours and scents will be showcased to tease the senses of touch, sight, smell and sound.

In line with the Festival’s ‘Wonderland’ theme, visitors can expect whimsical displays like the Secret Garden, featuring 68 orchid species and hybrids in hues of pink and purple, and Tea Time!, showcasing vibrant Camellias and Plantain Lilies. A series of creative gardens have also been designed specially for the iconic SGF mascots – Benny Bee, Gary Grasshopper and Lindy Ladybug. Larger-than-life props have been fabricated to complement the garden displays such as a 3 m-tall ‘beehive’ in Benny’s Sunflower Farm and a 500 kg ‘mushroom cottage’ in Lindy’s Ginger Garden. Visitors can also expect to see two-storey-tall chairs and giant teacups at the Chairs of the Giants display.

Local designers have also created stand-out displays for the Festival. As visitors cross from The Meadow to Bayfront Plaza via The Meadow Bridge, they will be greeted by Rising of the Flowers Saga – a magnificent floating floral composition featuring a variety of Phalaenopsis orchids, as well as plants like Creeping Charlie (Pilea nummulariifolia), Silver Sprinkles (Pilea libanensis) and Dischidia ‘Green’. Created by 2012 Best of Show and Gold (Floral Windows to the World) winner Harijanto Setiawan, this is the first floating floral installation to be showcased at SGF.

Another stunning display is the Orchid Extravaganza in the Flower Dome that features over 12,000 orchid plants. Presented as an enchanted forest where mythical creatures known as ‘Orchidians’ call home, the display comprises over 200 orchid species and hybrids including the intriguing monkey-like Dracula and bright, flamboyant blooms of the Cattleya. Working on the display is Alan Tan, who was previously a horticulturist and landscape designer with NParks for 23 years.

Awe-inspiring and fantasy-like gardens at The Meadow

This year sees a total of 47 designers, including 17 local designers, participating in competitive categories at the Festival. Singapore designers such as Ann Teo (Landscape Garden category), John Tan and Raymond Toh (Fantasy Garden category) will be competing with 30 other international designers, including 2014 Best of Show winners Andrew Wilson and Gavin McWilliam from the United Kingdom (Landscape Garden category) and Michael Petrie from the United States (Fantasy Garden category).

Taking centrestage at The Meadow are 15 show gardens by designers from all over the world. Lining the perimeters of the Meadow are nine 80 sqm Landscape Gardens. With an emphasis on horticultural excellence, designers sought out interesting plant material to feature in their outdoor displays. For example, Inch Lim (Malaysia) brought in Blood Flowers commonly found in North America for “The Treasure Box”, while Red Leaf Rice line the perimeters of “Back to Nature”, the display by Leon Kluge (South Africa) and Bayley LuuTomes (New Zealand).

Nearby, housed in a 10m-tall tent, six whimsical Fantasy Gardens combine the creative use of plants, stage lighting and props to draw visitors into a whimsical world. Italian designer Stefano Passerotti’s “Nature’s Resolution” transports visitors back to the past with Chinese instrumentals. Presenting a twist to traditional garden design, Katsuhiko Koga and Kazuhiro Kagae (Japan) bring visitors closer to “fairies” at “Power of the Earth”.

Visitors will also get a chance to view the work of budding young horticulturists at the Landscape Design Challenge. Held on the Festival’s opening day (23 July), the competition will test the creativity and skills of tertiary students as they race to transform an empty space into a garden within four hours.

Nightly Performances, Buzzing MarketPlace, Floral Masterpieces and Live Competitions at Bayfront Plaza

To bring the buzz of the Festival to more visitors, SGF 2016 has expanded beyond the Meadow and Flower Dome into Bayfront Plaza, and will include an expansive non-ticketed area located outside Bayfront MRT. There, visitors will be entertained with nightly performances by local musicians such as Gentle Bones, Second Sunrise, VOX and The Codeword. Visitors can look forward to over 100 stalls offering food, plants, gardening and landscape products for sale. The area will also host ‘Dining in the Garden City’ – an alfresco dining space with a seating capacity of 700 where visitors can enjoy local favourites and fusion dishes from various hawkers and international food vendors.

Bayfront Plaza will also host the Floral Windows to the World competition, which will see 15 floral artists, including three from Singapore, create 14 intricate masterpieces using cut-flowers and props. The SGF 2014 Best of Show and Gold winner in this category, Annette von Einem (Denmark), returns to defend her title. Nearby, visitors can draw inspiration from the Celebrations! Floral Table Series, featuring six dinner settings created using fresh flowers, decorative accessories and tableware.

Other popular highlights housed at the Bayfront Plaza include the Learning Garden which showcases various edible plants, a special display by the Singapore Gardening Society, and the Singapore Penjing & Artistic Stone Exhibition and Competition. Visitors can also catch “live” floral art in action at Floral Harmony at Nanyang and the 10th International FDSS Cup Floral Designing Competition.

Snap and win with SGF Tropical Wonderland photo contests

Photography enthusiasts heading down to the Festival can participate in the SGF “Tropical Floral Wonderland” photography contest and #sggardenfest photo contest, and stand to win great prizes such as the Nikon D750 Kit Set, Nikon D7200 (18-105mm) Kit Set, Nikon D5500 (18-55mm) Kit Set, and Nikon COOLPIX S7000 cameras.

For more information about SGF, please visit www.singaporegardenfestival.com or Facebook page www.facebook.com/SGGardenFest.