Wong Wei Har, For The Straits Times 16 Jul 10;
LIKE seeds dispersed by wind, garden festivals carry and convey a certain magic. The main stars of any festival - flowers, plants and garden features in artful designs - can be transported with loving care across the globe. In turn, they transport those who gaze upon them into climates and cultures far away. They inspire and fuel the hopes of a multitude of gardeners, germinating the birth of more plants and beauty. They unleash the potential of creativity and their sheer beauty and exuberance, entertain.
The Singapore Garden Festival, in which only top designers are invited to participate, aims to deliver such pleasure, excitement and inspiration. The event connects Singapore to the world map of international flower shows, which includes the likes of London's Chelsea Flower Show and the Philadelphia International Flower Show.
Behind the scenes of these international shows is a fraternity of show organisers, including Britain's Royal Horticultural Society and Singapore's National Parks Board, who are all united by the same desire - to share their love for the beauty of nature with one and all, to encourage those who garden, and to inspire others to garden. This fraternity stimulates each other and spawns new ideas and friendships among participating designers, implementing partners and visitors, at their respective shows.
At this third Singapore Garden Festival, 15 show gardens will feature 20 award-winning garden experts from 11 countries around the world. With such a stellar cast of stars, the 2010 Singapore Garden Festival has also been teasingly touted as the 'Gardening World Cup'.
Award-winning Australian designer Jim Fogarty speaks for many in his appreciation of the Singapore Garden Festival as the leading tropical garden show. He suggests that a key attraction for designers to participate in the Singapore Garden Festival is the opportunity to compete among the best designers in the world. It has even resulted in joint ventures among the design gardeners after getting to know each other in previous years' festivals.
And audiences are certainly responding to the flamboyant artistry of the Festival's designers. This can be seen in the way that the Festival's following is blossoming, having drawn about 300,000 local and international visitors in 2008, up from an estimated 200,000 at the first show in 2006.
The design of gardens is not only the preserve of professionals and experts, but also something anyone can take to. The 2006 show had some 20 community gardening groups taking part, drawn from public and private residential estates, grassroots groups and schools. This year, there will be about 60 community groups, representing over 800 active gardeners, participating in the Festival. Twenty-seven of these groups will also be competing for the inaugural Gardeners' Cup, with standards being evaluated by international judges, to boot.
As in the 2008 Festival, there will be something special and fun for children. A 'Supermarket' garden will be presented with the help of the Kranji Countryside Association. This is inspired by a need to address the increasing disjoint between children's everyday life experiences and living plants. Children breathe, eat, drink, wear, sit on or otherwise use plant products, but many have no knowledge of the plants they come from. They will be introduced to both plants and their products in this unique garden in an interesting and engaging manner.
The preparation for this year's Festival involved the people in a bigger way than ever before. Scores of gardening enthusiasts drawn from the public participated in creating an unusual garden display called 'The Man Who Planted Trees' that is inspired by a 1953 allegorical tale by French author Jean Giono. This is a charming story of a lone shepherd who quietly laboured to re-forest a sterile and desolate valley in the foothills of the Alps, near Provence in France. After several decades, he transformed the valley into a verdant forest that brought back water, wildlife and thriving human communities. It is a model of what individuals can do to help nurture greenery, on a planet faced with massive deforestation, environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity.
As in previous years, about 3,000 volunteers will be involved in the gamut of activities needed to stage an outstanding show with something for every visitor. Such community involvement further deepens the roots of a gardening culture in Singapore.
The Singapore Garden Festival features two categories of show gardens. Landscape gardens are living tapestries with perfect plants and features in beautiful combinations of forms, textures and colours, that one can aspire to create, grow and maintain. Fantasy gardens are whimsical creations that reflect all the potential of imagination and the human spirit.
In the 2008 Festival, Singapore designer Peter Cheok's fantasy garden 'Seeking Shangri-la' won a gold medal and 'best of show' award and was also voted the 'people's choice'. He was honoured with an invitation to re-create this fantasy at the prestigious Ellerslie International Flower Show 2009 in New Zealand, where it also won a gold medal.
The Singapore Garden Festival epitomises the 'City in a Garden' vision. It is nourished and sustained by many individuals from all walks of life, from societies, schools, communities and numerous organisations. It entertains, encourages, inspires and bonds individuals and communities. It connects people to plants, nurtures gardeners and nurtures a love for nature.
The writer is director of the Singapore Garden Festival and the Singapore Botanic Gardens. This year's garden festival event is on at Suntec City from July 15-22.
