The 59-year-old Mandai Orchid Garden faces extinction when the lease on the land expires
tay suan chiang Straits Times Life 8 Mar 10;
Singapore's oldest orchid garden looks set to become a withering plot come January next year. That is when the 60-year land lease on which the 10-acre Mandai Orchid Garden stands will expire.
The Government has identified the plot to be part of a 30ha site, about three times the size of VivoCity mall, to be developed as a nature-themed attraction in Mandai.
The chairman of the garden, Mr Heah Hock Heng, said he has appealed at least twice to the authorities to extend the lease on the land, but has been turned down.
He tells Life! that the authorities have told him that he can keep the Mandai Orchid Garden site if he tenders for it together with the 30ha site.
He hopes to work with a home-grown brand name to put up a tender. He will focus on his garden while the partner will develop the 30ha site.
He already has plans for his site, which will include a $22-million resort consisting of about 70 high-end chalets and a spa. The Mandai Orchid Garden will still be kept, as 'it has much heritage here. Some of the orchids have been growing since 1951', says Mr Heah, 74.
If he fails to win the tender, he will move the garden to a site on Neo Tiew Road in Lim Chu Kang.
The 10-acre garden, which showcases more than 70 varieties of orchids, was started in 1951 by the late John Laycock, a lawyer and founder of the Malayan Orchid Society, now known as the Orchid Society Of South-east Asia.
Since 1961, it has been approved by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) as a tourist attraction. Its blooms include orchids named after famous people such as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former OCBC Bank chairman Tan Chin Tuan and Singapore's first chief minister David Marshall.
The garden is located near the Singapore Zoological Gardens and the Night Safari. Apart from the blooms, there is also a restaurant, Vanilla Pod, on its premises. Entrance to the garden is $3.50 for adults.
Mr Heah says it receives about 200 to 300 visitors a day which works out to about 100,000 visitors a year. Singapore's other long-time attraction Haw Par Villa receives about 260,000 visitors a year, according to a 2008 report.
Mr Laycock ran the garden until his death in 1960. His daughter, Mrs Amy Ede, together with her husband John, took over the business and became known for their books and love of orchids and gardening. Mr Ede died in 2003 and his wife in 2007. The current management took over the garden in 2003.
When contacted, STB's director for attractions, Ms Jeannie Lim, says the Mandai Orchid Garden land site is part of the footprint identified for the proposed development of the 30ha site.
'STB is in discussion with them and is open to working with the owners to develop a unique and compelling nature attraction,' she says. 'They can also participate by submitting proposals when the tender for the site is launched later.'
Another group of gardening enthusiasts are also doing their bit to help save the garden from disappearing.
Mr Hendrick Kwan, the garden's curator, Ms Alice Mendoza, a part-time consultant for the garden, and Mr Mark Kaufmann, its artist-in-residence, are banding together to try and conserve the garden. They hope to approach government agencies such as the Preservation of Monuments Board, the National Heritage Board, the National Parks Board and STB with proposals on conservation of the orchids.
Mr Kwan, 32, hopes to have an orchid depository at the garden, an archive for orchid literature and a research and development centre on site to breed new orchids. 'I also want to educate children on orchids and famous names behind them, such as John Laycock,' he says.
The trio also want to reach out to the public to get feedback and their memories of the garden.
The Orchid Society Of South-east Asia's president, Dr John Elliot, says it will be a 'great tragedy if the garden is lost'. He says it would be good if the garden can be incorporated into the area's new development.
'Conservation in Singapore shouldn't be just limited to architecture, but to include orchids as well,' he says. 'The Mandai Orchid Garden is a living museum.'
