A Foreign Flower Adventure
We have just returned from Singapore where, like most tourists, we visited the famous Gardens By The Bay. What a delight to explore for everyone, especially garden lovers! They feature both natural and architectural marvels where innovative thought continues to keep the Gardens sustainable. With plants from all over the world, there is always something blooming! There are several areas that are free to visit and others require paid admission.
We began at The Cloud Forest, featuring a Jurassic World Experience. Within this massive cooled conservatory (the heat outside can be quite stifling!) over 72,000 plants thrive and more than 50 species have lineages that can be traced back to the Jurassic period, such as ferns, cycads and conifers. These plants once thrived alongside dinosaurs and often served as food for them. This conservatory is a massive glass dome, housing extremely high aerial walkways, massive mechanical dinosaurs and one of the world’s tallest indoor waterfalls.
Of course Singapore is famous for its orchids and they were spectacular here amongst the lush greenery. Huge tree ferns, beautiful pink and orange Angel’s Trumpet, gorgeous begonias, heuchera, impatiens and fuchsia, all flowering in gorgeous colours to compliment the spectacular foliage, a magnificent Kauri Pine, easily 20 feet tall! Amazing azaleas trained as pillars, which I had never seen before.
Philodendron Giganteum leaves which certainly were gigantic! Miniature orchids had a magnifying panel in some areas so one could see nature’s tiny creations in detail .
From this spectacular experience we moved across to The Flower Dome. This enormous cooled conservatory holds the Guinness World Record for the largest greenhouse! (the dome’s volume is equivalent to 75 Olympic-sized swimming pools!) The roof is fitted with specially selected glass that allows optimal light for plants while minimising solar heat. The Flower Dome features gardens from around the world: Australia, South Africa, South America, California, The Mediterranean, a Succulent Garden, an Olive Grove and The Baobabs with very interesting but unobtrusive sculptures featured amongst the planting.
In the centre was the Flower Field which has changing displays of temporary flower beds to reflect different seasons and festivals. The current feature was a massive colourful Christmas display of poinsettias amongst cyclamen, gloriously scented stocks, humble geraniums with fabulous blooms, daisies, hydrangeas, azaleas and more; sun and shade lovers flowering profusely side by side. I spied some very unusual geraniums that I hadn’t seen before with pointy leaves and flowers. Then the special Christmas feature of a massive model railway linking miniature copies of famous cities of the world decked out for the festive season.
Finally we walked some of the outdoor areas and viewed Singapore’s famous Supertrees, eighteen towering vertical garden structures designed to look like giant trees, ranging from 25 to 50 metres in height.
They have solar panels for energy, rain water collection for irrigation and serve as a habitat for various plants including ferns, vines and orchids. There is a nightly light and sound show plus an aerial walkway. These iconic structures provide sustainable energy while simultaneously providing the infrastructure supporting the site’s enormous climate controlled conservatories.
Gardens by the Bay are a “must see” for all visitors to beautiful Singapore!
Baby Boomer Bloomer
