Make Singapore Garden Festival a World’s Premier Flower and Garden Show
1 August 2008

Make Singapore Garden Festival a World’s Premier Flower and Garden Show

Chinese star Zhou Xun

Singapore Garden Festival closed with a record high of 300 000 visitors over a eight-day event with an estimated 30% coming from overseas countries such as Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United Kingdom as compared to 200 000 visitors in the inaugural Festival in 2006, which was held over 10 days.

The Festival featured 18 show gardens and 14 flora displays by 35 designers from 17 countries, and some 40 displays. It is the only event in the world to bring together a wide international range of top award-wining designers to showcase their garden and floral creations all under one roof. There were over 200 000 temperate and tropical plants on display at this year’s show, and over 60 000 stalks of cut flowers.

Apart from the record-breaking visitorship, the Festival also attracted visits by various luminaries and celebrities including local filmmaker Eric Khoo, local pop icon and artiste Stefanie Sun,travel and living host Anita Kapoor, fomer Hong Kong actress Jacqueline Law, former President of Indonesia, Megawati Sukarnoputri and Sir Ronald Grierson, decorated British Army Officer and renowned banker and industrial. A new tropical orchid hybrid, “Dendrodium Zhou Xun” was named after internationally-acclaimed Chinese star Zhou Xun.

Best of Show winner for Fantasy Show Gardens, Mr.Peter Cheok

Seeking Shangri-La was the most popular display at the Festival and winner of the Best of Show for the Fantasy Show Gardens. “We hope that the visitors will feel inspired by our design, and …hope that they will be more aware of the environmental issues facing us today…” said designer, Peter Cheok from Singapore’s Far East Flora. The display will also be exhibited at the Ellerslie International Flower Show in New Zealand and it will be a great opportunity to showcase Singapore’s talents and works globally.

Ms Caslin Goo

A new Nepenthes cultivar (Nepenthes Caslin Goo) was named after a lucky visitor to the Festival and it was created by crossing Nepenthes spectabilis and Nepenthes ventricosa sponsored by Borneo Exotics from Sri Lanka. Over 6 000 entries were received for the contest.

For the new three-day Singapore Garden Festival Expo trade component which ran from 24 to 26 July 2008, about 300 delegates and 3 000 trade visitors attended the B2B event. Fifty-five per cent of the conference delegates were foreign participants from 20 countries – Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong and Mauca), Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States of America.

The People’s Choice Award, where visitors vote for their favourite garden or flora displays through SMS. One lucky voter will win a trip to the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show in 2009. The lucky draw is to be conducted on 8 August 2008.

“The Singapore Garden Festival has become an important event for Singapore, and its significance goes beyond just being an international garden show. The Festival is now a key part of our strategy to transform Singapore into a City in a Garden. The Festival will help raise the standards and professionalism of our landscaping and horticulture industry, grow Singapore into a centre for horticultural excellence, and strengthen our brand name as a premier garden city” said Mr Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National Development.

Singapore Garden Festival returns in 2010.

Text edited by Eugene Tang. Information and photos courtesy of Singapore Garden Festival 2008 and SingaporeSights.com. All Rights Reserved.