Singapore Garden Festival blossoms into three signature garden and horticulture shows

More than 150 people gathered to set Guinness World Record for world’s largest flower basket

Having achieved recognition at home and overseas for six editions, an expanded show format will be introduced for premier international garden and flower show Singapore Garden Festival (SGF). SGF will grow into three complementary flower and horticultural shows instead of only one main show. Offshoots of the anchor Festival, SGF Orchid Show and SGF Horticulture Show will comprise various popular SGF elements, allowing them to entertain visitors at individual platforms. With this expansion, Singaporeans will have more opportunities to appreciate tropical horticulture and floral artistry every year. The stable of three signature SGF shows was announced today at an event to launch the Festival, which returns in July this year.

The world’s largest flower basket is made from over 27,000 flowers. The 50 varieties of plants in the basket include perennial favourites like orchids that are popular as cut flowers (e.g. Dendrobium Lucian Pink, Dendrobium Sonia and Oncidium goldiana var. golden shower), heritage orchids (e.g. Aranthera Beatrice Ng and Aranda Noorah Alsagoff), Heliconias and Alpinias. More than 150 community gardeners, volunteers, and students, facilitated by National Parks Board (NParks) staff, gathered to set this new Guinness World Record over 12 days. Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for National Development, Mr Desmond Lee, put the final touches to the display. The floral exhibit will be showcased at Takashimaya Square (Basement 2) until 11 March, and an ongoing series of free talks and demonstrations on orchids and floral design are being held from 9 to 11 March. Also on display through the weekend is an assortment of celebrity orchids including Dendrobium hybrids named after Amitabh Bachchan, Joseph Schooling, Stefanie Sun and Zhou Xun. This event was supported by Takashimaya Singapore Ltd as the venue sponsor, in conjunction with its 25^th anniversary celebrations.

Shoppers also had the opportunity to watch local designers compete in the preliminary rounds of the Floral Windows to the World competition on 8 March. The top three finalists were announced this morning and will compete in SGF 2018 alongside international designers.

Following this weekend’s activities, SGF roadshows will be held at HDB Hub at Toa Payoh (5 to 6 May, 30 June to 1 July), Orchard Road pedestrian mall (25 May to 29 July) and Northpoint City (1 to 10 June).

Public can look forward to SGF shows every year

With the expansion of SGF into three signature shows, local residents and international visitors can look forward to at least one floral extravaganza in Singapore every year.

A new addition is the SGF Orchid Show, a spinoff from the main show, organised in partnership with the Orchid Society of South East Asia. Floral enthusiasts can look forward to the inaugural show from 21 to 29 April this year, where orchid landscape displays and award-winning orchid plants will be showcased at the National Orchid Garden and other parts of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Talks, demonstrations and guided tours will also further acquaint visitors with this flower that is closely linked to Singapore’s identity, while a marketplace will feature a myriad of plant, gardening and landscape-related products for sale.

And starting in early 2019 is the SGF Horticulture Show, which will take place at Singapore’s upcoming national gardens in the heartlands, Jurong Lake Gardens. The nine-day biennial event will be an opportunity for local industry partners and students to showcase their expertise in areas like landscape design, horticulture skills such as growing and cultivating plants, and skyrise greenery.

Minister Lee said, “The Singapore Garden Festival, since its launch in 2006, has brought together gardening enthusiasts, industry professionals, local and international designers, and the community. Moving forward, we will grow the Festival into three signature shows. With this expanded format, there will be even more opportunities for the public to appreciate tropical horticulture and experience the wonders of plants through creative floral displays. We hope that this will inspire more individuals and organisations to join us in co-creating our biophilic City in a Garden.”

SGF 2018: A visual fiesta of the best in tropical horticulture and floral artistry by international and local talent. 

This year, the mainstay SGF will return for its seventh edition from 21 July to 3 August. The 14-day show will bring together award-winning international designers and well-established local names, community gardeners and plant enthusiasts, to present the best of tropical horticulture and floral artistry spread across The Meadow, Supertree Grove and Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay.

Returning to defend his “Best of Show” title from SGF 2016 is Inch Lim (Malaysia) who will again be participating in the Landscape Garden competition. Other returning SGF 2016 Gold medallists include Kagae Kazuhiro and Koga Katsuhiko (Japan; participating in Landscape Garden but won Gold at SGF 2016 Fantasy Garden competition), as well as Leon Kluge (South Africa; participating in Fantasy Garden competition but won Gold at SGF 2016 Landscape Garden competition).

Local designers include Chang Huai-yan and Ng Sze Oun (Landscape), founders of Salad Dressing which won the President’s Design Award in 2016; as well as John Tan, recipient of the Gold award at the Landscape Industry Association of Singapore (LIAS) Awards of Excellence 2017. Another notable local participant is Keith Lin, who won a Gold Medal for his floral arrangement at the 2017 Chelsea Flower Show. He will compete in the Floral Windows to the World competition alongside other local and international floral designers at SGF 2018.

Local talent will also be a highlight at the Balcony Gardens competition, which will provide practical ideas for Singaporeans living in high-rise apartments keen to explore balcony gardening designs.

Visitors can also look forward to a brand-new Orchid Extravaganza floral display in the Flower Dome, conceptualised by award-winning Singaporean filmmaker Royston Tan, and newly added displays including the ASEAN Garden – a special feature to mark Singapore’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2018 – and the Secret Garden of Edibles, where they can explore and enjoy a sensory experience with fruits and vegetables from temperate climates.

SGF is jointly organised by NParks and Gardens by the Bay. For more information, please visit www.singaporegardenfestival.com or Facebook page www.facebook.com/SGGardenFest