EASY TRIPS
Gardens by the Bay: The Outdoor Gardens
are open from 5am to 2am and are free to
enter. The conservatories are ticketed and
exclude the cost of the OCBC Skyway (from
US$8.60 for Single Conservatory for local
residents). Gardens by the Bay often imports
seasonal flowers and holds floral and botanic
exhibitions, such as cherry blossoms and
tulips; check the calendar of events for regular
updates (gardensbythebay.com.sg).
Singapore Botanic Gardens: The gardens
are open from 5am to 12mn daily and are free
to enter. Only the National Orchid Garden is
ticketed (from US$3.60 per adult). The
gardens also has a number of regular
programmes and events for visitors (sbg.org).What’s buzzing? Vibrant colours in full bloom this spring
MAKE IT HAPPENSingapore
The island-state is also known as the Garden City so it is no surprise that Singapore is
included on this list. One of Singapore’s top attractions in recent years is Gardens by the
Bay, the garden destination of Asia. The Gardens are a horticultural wonder put together
by an in-house team of skilled landscape designers, horticulturists, arborists, engineers,
breeding experts and more who leverage on technology and skills to cultivate and curate
species that normally thrive in environments very unlike warm and humid Singapore.
Must-visits at Gardens by the Bay include the Flower Dome to view flowers and plants
from the Mediterranean and semi-arid regions, such as tulips, and the Cloud Forest for a
showcase on plant life from tropical highlands up to 2,000m above sea level.
Gardens by the Bay isn’t the only standout garden to visit in Singapore, however. Make
sure to drop by the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which was crowned a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 2015. The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 158-year-old tropical garden
located at the fringe of Singapore’s main shopping belt in Orchard Road that has been used
in research for plant cultivation. At the forefront of its research are the orchid studies
conducted in the gardens, and visitors can walk through the National Orchid Garden
within the main gardens to see a collection of 1,200 species and 2,000 hybrids.April showers
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WORDS: RAEWYN KOH