Above: the Botanic Gardens MRT Gate viewed from the Trellis Garden        Photo: Dennis Sng

The Trellis Garden showcases the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ climber collection. Climbers are plants that require support in order to grow upwards to harvest sunlight. Twining vines twine around the host, while others climb using tendrils, thorns or hooks. Look out for the unique leaves and strange flower of the Pipe Vine, Aristolochia leuconeura from South America, and the beautiful flowers and foliage of Bauhinia semibifida, which is native to Singapore. Some are scrambling bushes with fragrant flowers such as Nyctanthes arbor-tristis  are trained to climb the trellis. Many climbers attract wildlife such as butterflies and birds and in the forest they are often the super-highways, used to acces different parts of the canopy. A few are important to the ethnic communities in this region, such as Derris elliptica, which is traditionally used as an insecticide. 

Photo: Dennis Sng