Horticulture Excellence in Full Bloom At Singapore Garden Festival 2024

-The Festival returns with the first full-scale edition since 2018
-This year’s Festival coincides with Singapore hosting the 8^th Global Botanic Gardens Congress, to be held for the first time in Southeast Asia
- Nine Gold Awards were presented to designers for the Best of Show Designer Gardens Competition, Balcony Gardens Competition and Floral Table-Top Competition

Singapore, 2 August 2024 – The ninth edition of the Singapore Garden Festival (SGF), the premier international garden and flower show, opens to the public tomorrow from 3 to 11 August 2024 at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre (Levels 4 and 6). Organised by the National Parks Board (NParks), the biennial event is back in full scale for the first time after the pandemic, bringing together a stellar line-up of renowned garden and landscape designers, florists, and horticulturists. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam graced the Awards Night as Guest-of-Honour and presented awards to winners of the Best of Show Designer Gardens Competition, Balcony Gardens Competition and Floral Table-Top Competition. The Awards Night was hosted by Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration.

Spectacular line-up of 12 show gardens promises a visual fiesta of exquisite displays
Experience the magic of horticultural excellence and creative ingenuity at the Best of Show Designer Gardens Competition, with 16 local and international award-winning garden and landscape designers presenting 12 stunning Landscape Gardens and Fantasy Gardens on Level 6. For the first time, designers from The Republic of Korea and Thailand are representing their country in the Best of Show Designer Gardens Competition.

This year, there are also six returning Gold winners who are here to defend their title. The returning winners include uncle and nephew duo Eliam Eng and Andy Eng (Singapore) who won ‘Gold’ and ‘Best of Show’ for their Landscape Garden in 2022, as well as Leon Kluge (South Africa) who won ‘Gold’ and ‘Best of Show’ for his Fantasy Garden in 2018.

Wander through six Landscape Gardens that showcase excellent horticultural design principles and skills, planting concepts and outstanding plants. The Landscape Gardens demonstrate how effective garden design can enhance the natural beauty of plants to create aesthetically pleasing outdoor spaces.

Witness the transformation of ordinary gardens into magical landscapes when you step into the Fantasy Gardens. These six imaginative displays combine creative plant and flower arrangements with stage lighting and props to give an out-of-world effect, transporting visitors into a whimsical floral wonderland.

World renowned garden designer and Head Judge for the Best of Show Designer Gardens Competition at the Festival, Mr Pascal Garbe (France) said, “It is inspiring to see the designers push the creative boundaries of their garden design. The quality of this year's displays where tropical plants take the spotlight, is outstanding and incredibly high - a true testament to the high horticulture standards upheld by the Festival.”

A total of 11 designers (nine displays) were also awarded the Gold Awards for their creations that reflect their creativity, styles and countries.

The accolades of the Best of Show Designer Gardens go to:

Local talents shone at the Balcony Gardens Competition and Floral Table-Top Competition
Making a return after its last edition in 2018, the Balcony Gardens Competition offers inspiration for small-home and apartment owners on incorporating greenery into their homes. A total of seven local designers from landscape architect firms have transformed 3m by 3m balcony spaces into soothing retreats, featuring six colourful and inspirational displays on Level 6.

The Floral Fiesta competition held at the SGF Prelude event in March 2024 has culminated with five finalists competing in the Floral Table-Top Competition. This competitive category features professional and amateur florists showcasing their skills through five floral table-top displays themed ‘Celebrations!’ on Level 4. These displays are created with fresh flowers, tableware and cutlery, and decorative accessories, offering a feast for the eyes and a source of inspiration for visitors looking to bring their table floral arrangements to life.

The accolades of the Balcony Gardens Competition and Floral Table-Top Competition go to:

Botanical display by the Singapore Botanic Gardens to celebrate the spirit of community and beauty of the tropics

Greeting visitors as the entrance display on Level 6, the Tropical Oasis display celebrates the spirit of community and beauty of nature in tropical Singapore. Visitors will see our native species that made a comeback through our collective conservation efforts, including the Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) and Smooth-coated Otters (Lutrogale perspicillata), living amongst lush native tropical trees such as the Neram tree (Dipterocarpus oblongifolius), flowing stream, and spectacular flowers.

At the heart of the Oasis, a tree house surrounded by edible plants such as Basil (Oncimum basilicum) hints at human inhabitation, part of the community living in harmony with nature. Charming blooms including our national flower – Vanda Miss Joaquim (Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim) – and native trees such as the Kopsia singapurensis, a free flowering tree featuring white flowers with a red dot much like Singapore, and Sembawang tree (Kayea ferruginea), one of many native plants that inspired the names of areas in Singapore, illustrate our close ties with nature. This intertwined relationship reveals nature as an inspiration, as Singapore continues its journey towards the City in Nature vision.

Singapore Garden Festival aims to foster appreciation for nature and gardening in the community

Besides being a celebration of floral artistry and horticulture excellence, the Festival also champions various community engagement initiatives to encourage greater community appreciation for nature and participation in making Singapore our City in Nature.  It is a platform for partners, students, and community gardeners to showcase their fruits of labour, fostering a sense of pride and ownership in shared green spaces.

The Singapore Gardeners’ Cup, a friendly challenge for local community gardening groups, is now in its seventh edition this year. Visitors can look forward to thematic show gardens on Level 4 based on the theme “Botanical Fun”.

From spectacular gardens and enchanting floral displays to the wide array of community showcase including wearable floral art, bonsai and Ikebana arrangements, and a botanical-themed photography exhibition, SGF 2024 is set to dazzle from 3 to 11 August at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre (Level 4 and 6). Other favourites not to be missed include the MarketPlace and a series of talks, floristry demonstrations and workshops. A crowd favourite at SGF, the MarketPlace has over 70 retailers offering plants, gardening-related and lifestyle products, and arts and crafts for sale. This includes close to 30 overseas retailers from places including Ecuador, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand offering a wide array of products.

Tickets to Singapore Garden Festival are available on SISTIC – www.sistic.com.sg/events/sgf2024. For more information, please visit https://sgf.nparks.gov.sg/ or Facebook page www.facebook.com/SGGardenFest or Instagram www.instagram.com/SGGardenFest/.

First Global Botanic Gardens Congress in Southeast Asia
Also held in conjunction with this year’s SGF is the 8^th edition of the Global Botanic Gardens Congress (GBGC), the only global congress dedicated to botanic gardens. The GBGC will be held at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre from 6 to 9 August 2024. This edition of the GBGC is the first to be held in Southeast Asia and is jointly organised by the Singapore Botanic Gardens and Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

About 700 delegates, including leaders of the major botanic gardens, public gardens and horticulture institutions will be gathered in Singapore to share and exchange knowledge through presentations, panel discussions, workshops and poster presentations. A rich array of topics will be presented, covering biodiversity conservation, plant curation, herbaria management, education and outreach, and more.

It is an opportunity for members of the botanic garden community, public and private gardens, institutes of higher learning, policymakers, and plant enthusiasts to gather and share information and experiences. For more information and to register for the 8^th edition of the GBGC, log onto: www.8gbgc.sbg.org.sg. 

– END –