…con’td from my previous entry, Singapore Garden Festival I
The Straits Times reported that 120,000 visitors have thronged the Singapore Garden Festival in just the first three days of the 8-day event. I think this is an encouraging number of attendance considering that the event tickets are twice the price of weekday tickets! In fact, it is good that we are still seeing a lot of supporters for this event despite the current economic mood. I believe their support also contributes to the success of the event, and gives reasons for the event to be continued in future. I certainly hope that the organiser (National Parks of Singapore) will continue to run this event!
Here are more photos from the Singapore Garden Festival 2008.
Above : Dynamic Movement by bronze winner, Henk Mulder from Netherlands.
Above : A Garden of Dreams, by Alan Tan (Singapore), multiple medal winner World Orchid Conference 2008 and Silver Winner in Fantasy Garden category of Singapore Garden Festival.
I read from the newspaper that the design concept for A Garden of Dreams was inspired by none other than singer Stephanie Sun. The star plant on display within the garden is the elegant white Dendrobium Stefanie Sun orchid which was named after her during the inaugural Singapore Garden Festival in 2006. Oops, we missed this orchid in the garden! 😦
If you have not seen it before, this is how the Dendrobium Stefanie Sun orchid looks like. We took this during the 2006 event. The orchid is indeed very beautiful and elegant!
This orchid is a cross-breed of Dendobrium Memoria Princess Diana and Dendobrium phalaenopsis
Also on display in the 2008 event are a variety of elegant Ikebana (Japanese floral arrangement) from different schools of Ikebana Designing, featuring different styles and materials usage.
There was also a piece of exotic design from South Africa.
Two above : Imbizo yase Afrika by David Davidson, multiple medal winner of Chelsea Flower Show (1992 – 2008). This design won him a Silver award.
Two below : Close-up shots of two of the many types of flowers used in the design.
Two Below : Message in a Bottle by Charles Evans (Australia), Silver winner who was also the Gold Medal winner in Melbourne International Flower and Garden 2006.
Two below : Chelsea Sunset by Julian Dowle (UK). This is a floral tribute to Chelsea Pensioners (elderly soldiers). This garden of flowers depicts one old pensioner looking towards a sunset made of flowers and foliage.
This Bentley (below) car displayed next to the entrance had also attracted a large crowd. I had to wait for a while in order to be able to snap some shots on it and the roses surrounding it.
Right at the far end of the Singapore Orchid Show exhibition hall, there were many beautiful yet interesting floral arrangements. It seemed like “gambling” was the theme for these arrangements because poker cards, dice and tokens were used in the designs.
Towards the end of our visit, as I strolled down the stalls at the Festival, I spotted two very beautiful-and-delicious-looking melons from Shizuoka, Japan. I found out that they cost S$79 each and are available in the supermarkets in Isetan and Takashimaya. Wow, what a price! Would you eat them? I would rather eat my all-time favourite, durians!!
Finally, here’s a collage of a variety of close-up shots taken during our visit.
It was really enjoyable spending a day at the Singapore Garden Festival. 🙂
We look forward to the next Singapore Garden Festival that will be held at Gardens by the Bay when it is completed in 2010.
QING Moments 