Orchids in Singapore
NATIONAL ORCHID GARDEN Singapore Botanic Gardens
Singapore is overflowing with lush gardens, clever plant combinations and amazing orchid displays, says ARNO KING, but this garden is his favourite
Singapore promotes itself as ‘A City in a Garden’, and it certainly lives up to the name, with many famous and spectacular garden destinations. My favourite is the National Orchid Garden, located within the Singapore Botanic Gardens, the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Singapore.
Get ready for a floral extravaganza that changes throughout the year, and it’s not just orchids; the gardens showcase myriad exotic foliage and flowering plants that thrive in this humid, equatorial tropical climate.
Many plants are collectors’ items. Orchids dominate – there are some 60,000 plants, with more than 1000 species and 2000 hybrids – and many are potted, massed in locations around the gardens when in peak flower. There are also plenty of permanent plantings mounted on the trees or in the ground, providing seasonal beauty and interest. The flower display is complemented by the varied and exotic perfumes that permeate the plantings.
The cool and shady 3ha Orchid Garden is teeming with ideas for gardeners.
Here, you’ll find clever plant combinations and use of colour; temporary potted colour located in strategic places; plantings of epiphytic plants (those that grow on other plants but are not parasitic) running up tree trunks or covering green walls; attractive, lush plantings under trees; and, of course, the garden showcases orchids in a garden setting – they grow in the sun, in the shade, in the ground, in pots and baskets, on trees and over arches.
Singapore is famous for pioneering the cut-flower orchid industry. Orchids have been grown in the gardens since 1859, but the breeding program was initiated by R E Holttum (the Garden’s third director) in 1928. By 1929, the first orchid hybrid flowered, and the breeding program has continued to this day. Many of the orchids that were bred here remain popular in Australia and around the world.
Your walk in the gardens will take you to Burkill Hall (an early colonial house that was home to some of the Gardens’ early directors) at the top of the hill, where you can learn more about the history of orchid breeding. Outside is the VIP Orchid Garden, which showcases recent hybrids, named in honour of visiting dignitaries, including royalty, politicians and celebrities. You’ll find orchids named after Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela and even Bindi Irwin.
Downhill from Burkill Hall are a further three areas that also feature beautiful displays (these are being redeveloped and will open later in the year). There’s the Tan Hoon Siang Mist House, a shadehouse where many tender orchids are displayed in pots or massed in beds; the nearby Yuen Peng McNeice Bromeliad Collection; and the Cool House, with orchids from subtropical mountainous climates. Unfortunately, these forests are being decimated worldwide at an alarming rate to service our demand for tea and coffee.
NEED TO KNOW
The National Orchid Garden is located within the Singapore Botanic Gardens (1 Cluny Road, central Singapore, near Orchard Road, Singapore’s main shopping street). It’s open from 8.30am to 7pm each day; entry is S$5 (S$1 concession). Catch a train to the Botanic Gardens Station and walk for 20 minutes to the Orchid Garden. Alternatively, catch a bus or taxi and enter through the Tyersall Gate. Refreshments are available throughout the gardens, with a cafe adjacent to the Orchid Garden.