SINGAPORE – The ninth edition of the Singapore Garden Festival (SGF) is set to return in August. Organised by National Parks Board (NParks), it will be held at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre from Aug 3 to Aug 11, and will feature award-winning designers from around the world.
The biennial festival coincides with the Global Botanic Gardens Congress, organised by the Singapore Botanic Gardens and Botanic Gardens Conservation International, which will run from Aug 6 to Aug 9 at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The congress is being held for the first time in South-east Asia.
Held every three or four years, it includes internationally renowned speakers and sessions about key activities of botanic gardens, including species conservation, research, education and outreach.
The garden festival will present landscape and floral creations from award-winning international and local designers, community gardeners and plant enthusiasts.
To kick things off, a prelude event is being held from March 14 to March 17 at Takashimaya Square to give the public a glimpse of the festival’s floral displays and programmes. Admission is free.
Visitors can view 24 displays, incorporating fresh vegetables such as cauliflower, chilli and pandan, by florists from the Ikebana International Singapore Chapter 135.
Ikebana is the Japanese craft of flower arrangement.
One of the 24 floral artists is Ms Anju Bhardwaj. The 56-year-old told The Straits Times: “For the public, it will be fascinating to see how edibles have been used in the flower arrangements, and it is going to inspire them to make it a part of their home in their everyday lives.”
An orchid display featuring various celebrity and heritage orchids will also be on show.
They include Dendrobium hybrids named after South Korean actor Bae Yong-jun, former tennis star Serena Williams, and singer Stephanie Sun, as well as heritage orchid Aranda Grandeur, which has impressive large blooms with pink-coloured shading.
Another heritage orchid on display is the Aranda Noorah Alsagoff, which was bred by Mr Syed Yusof Alsagoff and named after his daughter four decades ago.
“You have to be patient to understand orchids, so if you’re hot-tempered, there will be no orchids. You can live longer because you have to learn about patience,” said Mr Yusof, 89, who has cultivated and registered more than 200 orchid hybrids in the past 60 years.
On March 15, the second day of the prelude event, participants of the Floral Fiesta live competition will create masterpieces from an assortment of flowers.
Visitors can also attend floral demonstrations and talks to learn more about flowers and how to grow them. Discounted tickets to the festival will be sold at the event.
Mr Dennis Lim, NParks coordinating director of festivals, events and exhibitions, said: “We look forward to welcoming local and international visitors at the first full-scale SGF post-pandemic and introducing an exciting new competition format through the Floral Windows to the World Championship.”
Different competitions will be held during the festival.
The Floral Windows to the World Championship, which features colourful and creative window installations, will feature a live competition element for the first time.
Eighteen international floral designers representing 18 countries will compete for the title of Grand Champion by executing six tasks in front of live audiences over three days. These tasks will culminate in a showdown among five finalists.
The Best of Show Designer Gardens competition will feature 12 gardens, where designers will be paired with partners in Singapore to execute their display.
Local landscape designers Eliam Eng and his nephew Andy Eng, who won the Gold Award, and Best of Show and Best Construction awards in 2022, will return to defend their titles.
For the first time, South Korea and Thailand will be represented in the Best of Show Designer Gardens competition.
Other competitions held during the festival include the Balcony Gardens competition and the Singapore Gardeners’ Cup, which is a friendly challenge for community gardening groups to create thematic garden displays.
