Now, back to the topic of Singapore Garden Festival 2014 (SGF 2014) that was held at the Gardens by the Bay (GBB), 16-24 August, 2014.
In my previous postings, I have written about how I have enjoyed the Orchid Extravaganza, part of the SGF 2014 which was held in the Flower Dome.
Singapore Garden Festival 2014 – Orchid Extravaganza
Singapore Garden Festival 2014 – Orchid Extravaganza (2)
But the feel was very different in the rest of the exhibits that were held at the Meadow of GBB, both outdoor and indoor. The two air-conditioned pavilions (temporarily built for this event) housed mainly Fantasy Gardens, Floral Windows to the World, Miniature Gardens, Floral Designing Competition and Floral Table Series.
For the whole afternoon I was at the Meadow, I spent most of my time in the two pavilions. In my opinion, the scorching August sun, coupled with the hot and humid weather conditions were not very ideal for the event to be held outdoor. It was worse for a “puteri lilin” (Malay words referring to one who can not endure the hot sun) like me! The hot sun was way too unbearable and I was perspiring. So, I was unable to enjoy the outdoor exhibits much as I had wanted to, but to rush through them, and even gave some sections a miss. Ideally I would like to cover every part of the event.
Here are some shots on the outdoor exhibits.
Landscape Gardens (8 of them)
Sacred Grove by Andrew Wilson & Gavin McWilliam (UK) – Best of Show
Layered Spaces by Joe Palimeno (USA)
Heaven on Earth by Vincent Chia (Singapore). See that LKY (Lee Kuan Yew, first PM of Singapore) book on the coffee table, on the left? A symbol of the identity of the designer or a fan of LKY?
Vertical by Brendan Moar (Australia) – Best Construction Award
Full Circle? by Andy Sturgeon (UK) – Best Outdoor Lighting Award
Full Circle? caught my attention amongst all the landscape gardens. Quite different from the designer’s concept, looking into these huge cylinders somehow gave me the feeling of “there is light at the end of the tunnels”!
I was not particularly impressed with the Balcony Garden exhibits this time. Perhaps such a comment is not very fair for the designers since I know nothing about floral and garden designs. I can only say my liking is very much based on my feelings. If I have to pick one, it would be this one below which is a Gold award winner. It gave me a sense of serenity and comfort. I imagine it would be very nice to spend time in this balcony; relax in lovely music, immerse in a book or even sip a cup of afternoon tea and watch the time passing by!
Rock Paradise by Alan Wong
From the Community In Bloom/Gardeners’ Cup 2014 category, Touch Our Hearts, winner of the Best Theme Award, stood out amongst the rest.
“Our ability to touch makes us alive, whilst our ability to feel makes us people. Through these experiences, we celebrate all that make us society” – by The Gardeners’ Cup “Touch” Team
Carnival by the Bay won the Best Innovation Award
Taste Fiesta – Gardeners’ Cup Champion
Various parts of the Meadow were well decorated too, but it was just too unfortunate that the hot weather made it uncomfortable for me (and perhaps many others too) to fully enjoy the event.
The bandstand with life performance
Nice colourful carnival-like decorations but somehow couldn’t feel the mood. There were actually not that many visitors.
Skylab Terrarium by Hamzah Osman which won Most Creative Display and Best Container Garden awards. Created using bulbs, pipes, wood and magnifying glasses and it symbolizes earth, air and sun coming together as one
Designed by Alan Tan, Creative Director of SGF and installed by Singapore Botanic Gardens
I will share more photos from the two Pavilions in my next postings.
QING Moments 