9th edition of the Singapore Garden Festival to return to Suntec Singapore in August

-National Parks Board announces anticipated return of Festival with a Prelude and showcase at Takashimaya Square
-This year’s Festival will coincide with Singapore hosting the 8th Global Botanic Gardens Congress, to be held for the first time in Southeast Asia

The Singapore Garden Festival (SGF) will be returning for its ninth edition at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre in August this year. Organised by the National Parks Board (NParks), the premier international garden and flower show will bring back familiar favourites such as the Best of Show Designer Gardens competition and a refreshed Floral Windows to the World Championship, which both feature award-winning designers from all around the world. The Balcony Gardens competition and Floral Table-Top competition, with local designers, will also be making a comeback, alongside the Singapore Gardeners’ Cup celebrating community gardeners islandwide. These signature highlights along with the repertoire of participating designers for the Best of Show Designer Gardens competition were announced today, at an event at Takashimaya Square as a prelude to the Festival that is returning to an indoor venue for the first time since 2012.

SGF Prelude (14-17 March 2024) at Takashimaya Square
The SGF Prelude event runs from 14 – 17 March 2024, at Takashimaya Square B2 and is free to attend. It kickstarts ticket sales for SGF in August and offers a glimpse of the floral displays and programmes that will be on show at SGF. At the Prelude, visitors can purchase discounted tickets to the Festival.

Visitors to the Prelude event will be treated to a showcase of 24 floral displays by Ikebana florists from the Ikebana International Singapore Chapter 135, the largest number of Ikebana displays at SGF to date. The unique Ikebana creations incorporate edibles – from fresh vegetables such as cauliflower, chilli, green pepper, and long beans, to pandan and dried edibles like corn and lemon.

An orchid display featuring various celebrity and heritage orchids are also on showcase, including Dendrobium hybrids named after Bae Yong Jun, Serena Williams, and Stephanie Sun, as well as Aranda Noorah Alsagoff, one of the most well-known blue arandas, and Aranda Grandeur which has impressive large blooms with pink colour shading. The Prelude event also features 10 MarketPlace booths where gardening enthusiasts and plant lovers can purchase their choice plants and other lifestyle products, as well as participate in free floral workshops over the weekend.

A highlight of the Prelude is the “live” Floral Fiesta competition on 15 March 2024. The competition will feature two rounds of exciting live action during which participants will pick from an assortment of flowers to create their floral masterpieces. The top five finalists will be announced tomorrow evening and move on to compete in the Floral Table-Top competition as part of the main show in August.

Summary of key highlights during SGF Prelude:

 SGF (3-11 August 2024) at Suntec Singapore: A horticultural and floral treat by international and local designers
This year’s SGF will be held at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, Levels 4 and 6, from 3 – 11 August 2024. The show will present landscape and floral creations from award-winning international and local designers, community gardeners and plant enthusiasts, offering a visual feast for all visitors.

Dennis Lim, Coordinating Director, Festivals, Events and Exhibitions at NParks said, “We look forward to welcoming local and international visitors at the first full-scale SGF post-pandemic and introducing an exciting new competition format through the Floral Windows to the World Championship. From spectacular gardens and enchanting floral displays to the wide array of community showcase including wearable floral art, bonsai and Ikebana arrangements, our goal is to provide a delightful and memorable experience for everyone at SGF 2024.”

The Best of Show Designer Gardens competition will feature 12 Landscape Gardens and Fantasy Gardens, where designers will be paired with local Implementing Partners to execute their display. Returning to defend their 2022 Gold Award, “Best of Show” and “Best Construction” titles, uncle and nephew designer duo from Singapore, Eliam Eng and Andy Eng, will be participating in the Landscape Garden category.

Other returning past SGF Gold medalists include Kazuyuki Ishihara (Japan; Gold and Best of Show at SGF 2008), Leon Kluge (South Africa; Gold and Best of Show at SGF 2018), and Mark Cook and Emily Cook (United States of America; Gold at SGF 2018). The Republic of Korea (ROK) and Thailand will be represented in this competition for the first time, with designers Hwang Ji-Hae from ROK and Sanitas Pradittasnee from Thailand.

The Floral Windows to the World Championship will feature a new competition format for the first time in SGF’s history, when 18 international floral designers representing 18 respective countries will be vying for the title of Grand Champion through executing six challenging tasks over three days. These tasks will be carried out in front of live audiences throughout the Festival, culminating in a final show-down with five finalists.

In addition to the Floral Table-Top competition that will feature finalists from the Floral Fiesta competition, our homegrown talents will have their chance to shine in the Balcony Gardens competition. The competition, which is making a return after the last edition in 2021, will offer inspiration for apartment dwellers on incorporating greenery into their homes and transforming their balconies into soothing retreats for the senses.

The Singapore Gardeners’ Cup, a friendly challenge for local community gardening groups to co-create thematic garden displays and now into its seventh edition, will also be back at the Festival. Gardening groups from the five districts in Singapore will partner staff from NParks, landscape architects, and implementing partners to develop one show garden for each district. This year’s theme is ‘Botanical Fun’ and will feature a variety of tropical plants with an emphasis on sustainability. 

For more information, please visit sgf.nparks.gov.sg or Facebook page www.facebook.com/SGGardenFestor Instagram www.instagram.com/SGGardenFest/.

SGF 2024 to coincide with prestigious Global Botanic Gardens Congress
This year’s Festival will coincide with the 8th Global Botanic Gardens Congress which will also be held at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre from 6 to 9 August 2024. This will be the first time the Congress is held in Southeast Asia and it is jointly organised by the Singapore Botanic Gardens and Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

The Global Botanic Garden Congress is the only global congress dedicated to botanic gardens. It is a key event and opportunity for the botanic garden community to come together and share information and experiences. Held every three or four years, the Congress includes internationally renowned plenary speakers and sessions covering topics on key activities of botanic gardens in species conservation, research, education and outreach, conservation horticulture, plant collections curation, and many more.

With the theme this year being “Botanic Gardens: People and Plants for a Sustainable Future”, the Congress will feature engaging presentations by global thought leaders, workshops, panel discussions, and technical tours. It aims to galvanise collective action for botanic gardens to fulfil their missions in research, conservation, education and outreach, and contribute to addressing global issues of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. The public can learn more about the Congress and register for it at www.8gbgc.sbg.org.sg.