Singapore Garden Festival returns with a new high

Featuring taller and more extensive garden and flower displays from award-winning international designers and local gardening communities

Singapore, 15 August 2014 - The much anticipated premier tropical garden and flower show - Singapore Garden Festival (SGF) – returns from 16 to 24 August 2014 for the fifth time at a new location, featuring bigger, taller and more extensive garden and flower displays from both international designers and local communities. Organised by the National Parks Board and Gardens by the Bay, the nine-day biennial event is expected to give visitors from Singapore and around the world a magical garden experience with 50 gardens and flower displays from The Meadow to the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay.

Over 80 percent of the designers this year will be making their debut appearance at SGF. With height limits being raised threefold so that the tallest exhibits would soar 10 metres high, visitors will be treated to the best of tropical horticulture and artistry. The highly popular Landscape and Fantasy Gardens competition and the Floral Windows to the World competition will see 32 internationally renowned designers, including returning Best of Show winners Joe Palimeno (Landscape Gardens Category) and Damian Tang (Fantasy Garden Category) competing for top honours again in this new environment. (Please refer to separate fact sheets for more details of the designers)

An extensive showcase like no other

From fantasy-like gardens to enormous displays of tropical plants and flowers, visitors will be able to see it all at The Meadow. Skirting the perimeters of the lawn are 80 sqm landscape gardens. Be mesmerised by Vincent Chia's (Singapore), ‘Heaven on Earth’ garden, filled with butterfly attracting plants signifying the manifestation of the real world where plants and animals can co-exist in perfect harmony with mankind.

Across The Meadow, in the tented area, visitors will be enchanted and drawn into a world beyond imagination with abstract garden designs and concepts in the Fantasy gardens category. ‘A Garden of Hers’ by Damian Tang (Singapore) will feature a near nine metre tall structure illustrating the high apse of a cathedral with four panels of six metre tall stained glass created by the designer himself. Step into the ‘Winter Illusion’ by Kate Hillier and Dan Rutherford (New Zealand) and be mesmerised by a frozen winter garden, created with the use of a snow machine, beneath a tropical Singaporean jungle.

Also breaking new height records at the Festival this year is the Orchid Extravaganza located at the Flower Dome, which will feature a 10-metre-tall orchid kaleidoscope, giving visitors a stunning visual spectrum of colours to admire. Designed by award-winning landscape architect Jun-ichi Inada, this vertical orchid wall is the tallest structure ever built in GB’s Flower Dome. With some 18,000 plants and over 40 orchid species and hybrids on display, the Orchid Extravaganza will give visitors an immersive journey into the diverse and colourful world of orchids.

“It is amazing to see how the Festival has grown over the years into the internationally renowned one it is today. With the move to Gardens by the Bay this year, it has certainly brought about a new aspect to the Festival not just for the designers but also the visitors”, said Dennis Lim, Deputy Director, Singapore Garden Festival. He added, “Unlike previous years, visitors can now admire the beauty and serenity of the gardens as they transition from day to night. Families and friends can also have their weekend picnics at the lawn while visiting the extensive displays at our premier tropical garden and flower show.”

Adding to that, Dr Kiat W. Tan, Chief Judge of SGF, CEO of Gardens by the Bay and Advisor to National Parks Board said, “We are in a land of perpetual summer, which presents a wonderful environment for a show like Singapore Garden Festival to bloom in a garden setting at Gardens by the Bay. We are able to showcase the richness of tropical vegetation and have award winning designers from around the world and Singapore to transform them into such creative and fascinating displays.

Please refer to Annex A for Award results.

Other Festival Highlights

New to the Festival this year is a Miniature Garden Display where visitors will be able to see six intricately designed gardens that use popular fiction as inspiration among others such as Harry Potter's Greenhouse and Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Each approximately 0.5 by 1m, these gardens showcase miniature plants along with intricately designed furniture and accessories. Designed by Deb Mackie, Louise Krasniewicz and Nancy Grube, recent Gold & Best of Show Award winners from the Philadelphia Flower Show, this is a new and upcoming horticulture hobby popular in the United States of America, and perfect for Singapore where home garden spaces are limited.

Other highlights include:

          · The seven professional and amateur finalists chosen from the preliminary rounds of the Table Top Floral Display Competition in May are looking to impress the judges once again with their creativity. Previously introduced in 2012 as a non-competitive display, the conversion to a competition this year illustrates the growing interest in floral arrangement among the public and aims to continue inspiring visitors at the festival to incorporate greenery into their homes.

        · The Balcony Gardens competition among local designers features eight 3m by 3m Balcony Gardensdisplays that are colourful and inspirational for aspiring balcony gardeners. This competition will showcase how these designers transform the spaces around them into a soothing retreat.

Celebrating Community and Home Gardening

Further encouraging visitors to take up gardening is the popular Gardeners’ Cup, returning with an even stronger presence this year. A total of 37 community gardens, up from a previous 30, will be split into five teams to compete. Each team was tasked to design its garden featuring one of the five senses – sound, sight, touch, smell and taste – the first time it had ever been done in this competition. 

Dr Leong Chee Chiew, Deputy CEO of NParks & Commissioner of Parks & Recreation, said, “Gardening enhances the quality of Singaporeans. But the true value of community gardening lies in the “kampong” spirit it nurtures – the bonds it builds, the friendships it fosters, and the camaraderie it cultivates. Competition aside, the Gardeners’ Cup is a wonderful platform for fellow community gardeners from all walks of life to meet each other, expand their network, and share the latest happenings in their gardens.”     

In conjunction with the 10^th year that Community in Bloom (CIB) was incepted, a commemorative book titled, “Community in Bloom: My Community Our Gardens”, celebrating many of CIB’s best moments and memories will be launched at SGF. Another new book, “My Green Space: Indoor Gardening Made Simple”, will also be launched at the Festival to share tips and inspire visitors to incorporate greenery into their homes.

Members of the public are also encouraged to bring back the plant they took during the “Share a Plant” initiative in May to enjoy a 20 per cent discount on their ticket purchase onsite. They can also submit their potted plants for a mini-competition – Share a Plant Container Garden Competition – and have their mini plant exhibited throughout the Festival.  Award ribbons such as “Most Creative Display” and “Best Plant Mix” will be accorded to the winning displays.

Visitors keen to bring something home can also check out the vibrant MarketPlace at the Supertree Grove, with over 80 stalls offering a wide array of plants, gardening and landscape products and services, and arts and crafts for sale.

Snap and win with SGF Colours contest

Visitors to the show can also participate in the SGF “Colours” photography competition and stand to win great prizes such as the Canon-sponsored EOS 700D, PowerShot G16 and the PowerShot SX700 HS. To participate, capture the perfect picturesque view of the theme “Colours” at the Festival and submit it through Singapore Garden Festival’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/sggardenfest. The contest starts on 16 August and will end on 7 September 2014. The public also stand to win prizes by voting for their favourite photo on the Facebook page’s contest tab.

Ticketing Details

Tickets are available during the show period at the ticketing kiosks located at the entrance of The Meadow and The Meadow open-air car park and near the entrance of the Flower Dome.

          * All GB Conservatory ticket-holders will be allowed entry into SGF

          ** All Singaporean Seniors (≥ 60yrs with pink ICs) will get a 20% discount off Weekday Local         Residents Rate (i.e. $4 /ticket after discount). Valid from 18 – 22 Aug only.

The Festival is jointly organised by NParks and GB, together with its key partners, Agri-food & Veterinary Authority (AVA), Orchid Society of Southeast Asia (OSSEA), Singapore Gardening Society and Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

For more information, please visit www.singaporegardenfestival.comor Facebook page www.facebook.com/SGGardenFest

Factsheet: Singapore Garden Festival 2014

Factsheet: Gardeners' Cup 2014