Today Online 26 Mar 10;
SINGAPORE - Visitors to the Singapore Garden Festival this year are in for an added treat - they will be able to catch a glimpse of the Gardens by the Bay.
A 100 square metre exhibition of the gardens will be on display at the festival when it opens in July.
The 101-hectare Gardens by the Bay are three distinctive waterfront gardens that will take shape in the heart of Marina Bay. Phase One is scheduled to open next year.
Meanwhile, as a prelude to the Garden Festival, about 400 people of all ages chipped in yesterday to plant seedlings onto a huge centrepiece.
Titled "The Man Who Planted Trees", it is inspired by a French tale of a shepherd who transformed a barren valley into a Garden of Eden.
The idea is to plant the five-metre-tall piece with 130,000 plants. It will then be transported to the festival at Suntec City.
Festival director Wong Wei Har said: "It mirrors what we are doing in Singapore. If everyone of us take ownership and do our part in taking the Garden City as our own, we can also recreate and keep the Garden City going and perhaps even stronger."
Dr Wong said that everyone who planted a seedling will "remember planting this man and when you come in July, you will see all the plants fully grown".
After the festival, the centrepiece will be located permanently at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Other new exhibits this year include balcony garden displays and miniature gardens.
Sixty community groups will also showcase their gardens. Wang Eng Eng
The festival will be held from July 15 to 22. More information and ticket prices are available at www.singaporegardenfestival.com.
Sowing the first seeds
Straits Times 26 Mar 10;
Community groups, students and Singaporeans from all walks of life kick-starting the planting of seedlings into a 5m-tall topiary called The Man Who Planted Trees at the Singapore Botanic Gardens yesterday. The giant centrepiece is inspired by the eco-fable of the same name, written by French author Jean Giono in 1953. The fictional tale has inspired generations of environmentalists as well as reforestation efforts worldwide. Over the next few months, more seedlings will be planted as the form takes shape at the Gardens. Come July, it will be gingerly dismantled and re-installed at the Garden Festival to highlight the upcoming event, which is slated to be held at Suntec.
Part of Gardens by the Bay to be re-created at Singapore Garden Festival
Wang Eng Eng Channel NewsAsia 25 Mar 10;
SINGAPORE: Visitors to the Singapore Garden Festival will be able to catch a glimpse of Gardens by the Bay.
A 100-square metre exhibition of the gardens will be on display at the festival when it opens in July.
Some 400 individuals - both young and old chipped in to plant seedlings onto a huge centrepiece.
Titled 'The Man Who Planted Trees', it is inspired by a French tale of a lone shepherd who transformed a barren valley into a Garden of Eden.
Taking centre stage will be a five-metre tall piece with 130,000 plants.
Dr Wong Wei Har, director, Singapore Garden Festival, said: "It mirrors what we are doing in Singapore. If everyone of us take ownership and do our part in taking the garden city as our own, we can also recreate and keep the garden city going and perhaps even stronger.
“For every kid and every individual who is here, it will touch your lives because you will remember planting this man and when you come in July, you will see all the plants fully grown."
After the festival, the centrepiece will be located permanently at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Other than Gardens by the Bay, new exhibits this year include balcony garden displays and miniature gardens.
60 community groups will also be showcasing their gardens.
The Singapore Garden Festival will be held at Suntec City from July 15 to 22. - CNA/vm
