COMMUNITY GARDENERS FROM SOUTH EAST DISTRICT BAG TOP AWARDS AT THE SINGAPORE GARDENERS' CUP

- Community efforts take the spotlight at Singapore Garden Festival 2024

- Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance & National Development presented the awards to the winners of the Singapore Gardeners’ Cup

The ninth edition of the Singapore Garden Festival (SGF) opens to the public at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre today. A key highlight of the event are five garden displays by more than 200 community gardeners for the Singapore Gardeners’ Cup, now in its seventh edition. Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance & National Development presented the awards to the winners of the Singapore Gardeners’ Cup, and Community in Bloom Garden of the Year Awards 2024. 

Organised by the National Parks Board (NParks), this is the festival’s first return to full-scale since 2018 and features familiar favourites such as the Best of Show Designer Gardens Competition, Balcony Gardens Competition, Floral Table-Top Competition, and a refreshed Floral Windows to the World Championship. Over the last decade, the Singapore Garden Festival has established itself as a premier garden and flower show on the global stage, attracting thousands of local and international visitors. Members of the public can also look forward to a wide array of community-led displays and competitions.

Displays and Activities by the Community

While Level 6 of Suntec Singapore Convention Centre features stunning garden and floral displays by international and local designers, visitors heading to Level 4 of the Festival will be enthralled by the wide range of creative displays by the community.

Competitive Displays

Singapore Gardeners’ Cup

Five garden displays for the Singapore Gardeners’ Cup were put together by more than 200 community gardeners from the five districts of Singapore, under NParks’ Community in Bloom programme. The community gardeners have honed their passion, skill and creativity in their respective community gardens and have now come together to showcase these talents. The gardeners worked with staff from NParks, landscape architects and implementing partners to create garden displays with the theme “Botanical Fun”.

Highlights from the garden displays include home-grown feature plants as well as eye-catching ornaments that creatively upcycled materials including aluminium cans and glass bottles, integrating environmental sustainability into the displays. The top winning display, ‘Funtastical Forest’ which garnered the Best of Show award in addition to a Gold award, features a fantasy forest showcasing an upside-down tank, aquarium, paludarium and terrariums, highlighting the many ways to create a tiny forest at home. The group comprised gardening communities from the South East district.

Penjing and Artistic Stone Exhibition & Competition

Local bonsai enthusiasts are encouraged to visit the Penjing and Artistic Stone Exhibition and Competition. Organised by the Singapore Penjing and Stone Appreciation Society, this popular exhibition showcases tropical bonsai species, including must-see mature specimens that are up to a century old, and a range of artistic and landscape stones. Over 200 items including antique pots and plant stands are featured in this exhibition.

Landscape Design Challenge – By students from tertiary education institutions

One of the aims of SGF is to inculcate interest in floristry and landscape design amongst students, and there are student-centric competitions ranging from primary to tertiary levels to provide platforms for them to share their talents. For the Landscape Design Challenge, students from Institutes of Higher Learning will pit their horticulture, creative landscape design, plant selection, and construction skills to implement 10 landscape displays embodying the theme of “Celebrating Tropical Nature”.

Floral Harmony – With different age categories

There is also a stage for primary school students to compete and learn from each other. The Floral Harmony competition led by Qihua Primary School will see over 45 youth and children showcase their creativity and artistic flair in floral arrangements. The displays from the Landscape Design Challenge and Floral Harmony competition are on Level 4.

Floral Harmony competition pieces will be on display till 6 August as the space would then be refreshed with the live 13^th International FDSS Cup Floral Designing Competition organised by the Floral Designers Society (Singapore) (FDSS). 

Non-competitive Displays

Showcase by Singapore Gardening Society

Members of the public can marvel at the lush greenery in the display by the Singapore Gardening Society. In nearly a century, the Singapore Botanic Gardens and local breeders have produced numerous fine and significant orchid hybrids. This display showcases some of Singapore’s most significant heritage orchids, including orchids associated with the Singapore Botanic Gardens and the Singapore Gardening Society which was founded in 1936. For example, on display are the Renantanda Singapore Gardening Society, named in honour of the Society’s 80^th anniversary in 2016, and Papilionanda Tan Hoon Siang, named after the former president of the Malayan Orchid Society and features vibrant pink sepals and petals with ruffled edges and dark pink spots.

Ikebana floral arrangements by Ikebana International Singapore Chapter 135

Ikebana enthusiasts will also be spellbound by the Celestial Garden exhibition put up by the Ikebana International Singapore Chapter 135. A total of 30 master Ikebana floral artists worked together to bring the celestial theme to life through 31 awe-inspiring displays, and each one mirrors the grandeur of constellations with divine hues and ethereal flowers.

Learning Garden by City Sprouts

Plant enthusiasts and families can step into the immersive world of “UnEarth”, the theme for the Learning Garden curated by City Sprouts^[1]. This is the first time SGF has partnered a social enterprise to present the Learning Garden. The Garden offers a unique botanical perspective of viewing the world through the lens of a plant, split across four zones. Visitors will start by experiencing the life stages of a plant in the Beginning Zone, and then immerse themselves in the intricacies of rainforest and wetland ecosystems in the Natural Zone. The Urban Zone witnesses the integration of plants into our urban landscape through smart green technologies, and the adventure concludes in the Playground Zone which delves into the natural cycle of seed dispersal. Paid guided tours and workshops are available for members of the public to fully immerse themselves in the Learning Garden experience.

Eco-conscious showcase by students

An exciting highlight of the Festival is a display of floral wearable pieces created with fresh flowers, plants, botanical materials, and repurposed items, presenting a twist on floral art. This special showcase by Nitec in Floristry students from ITE College Central features innovative and eco-conscious floral fashion pieces. The couture pieces make use of materials such as bark, moss and foliage, as well as recycled materials like paper, compact discs, plastic bags, and paper bags. These designs promote sustainable fashion without sacrificing style – illustrating the creativity and aptitude of these students.

MarketPlace – Shop a wide range of plants and related wares

With over 70 retailers selling plants, related gardening wares, trinkets, collectibles and more at the MarketPlace, home gardening enthusiasts will be able to purchase all of their gardening essentials at SGF. Visitors keen on visiting only the MarketPlace can purchase discounted MarketPlace-only tickets for S$4. The Festival runs till 11 August 2024 at Suntec Singapore. Find the latest updates on Singapore Garden Festival at https://sgf.nparks.gov.sg/ and www.facebook.com/SGGardenFest.

People’s Choice Award and Community Choice Award

Visitors can vote for their favourite displays at SGF by scanning on-site QR codes and stand a chance to win a two-night stay at Pan Pacific Singapore. There will be two awards – the People’s Choice Award for the Best of Show Designer Gardens Competition, Balcony Gardens Competition, Floral Table-Top Competition, and Floral Windows to the World Championship, and the Community’s Choice Award for all displays on Level 4. Voting ends on 10pm, 8 August 2024, and two winners will be selected thereafter. 

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[1] City Sprouts is a social enterprise that rejuvenates urban spaces and develops educational programmes, bringing together socially-minded individuals and businesses to create communities that inform, educate and support action on social and environmental issues.