Mandai Orchid Garden to move to Kranji

Seet Sok Hwee / Monica Kotwani Channel NewsAsia 30 Dec 10;

SINGAPORE: Come new year, Mandai Orchid Garden as we know it will be no more. Friday is the last day at its current location, before it moves to Kranji by the middle of next year.

The 60-year old garden is one of the oldest in South East Asia. Its owner, Heah Hock Heng said it has some 50,000 orchid plants comprising over 100 varieties.

The Garden's lease expires on Friday and it is moving to make way for the expansion of the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari.

And due to land space constraints at the new place, Mandai Gardens has sold some of its plants to the Shangri-La Group and Singapore Botanical Gardens. It has also offered some orchid plants for sale to the Singapore Island Country Club.

Mr Heah said some exciting ideas are in the works for the new place, but until then, talks are in progress with the new landlord.

-CNA/ac

Mandai Orchid Garden to move to Kranji
New smaller site will house only 5,000 of its 50,000-strong collection
Jamie Ee Wen Wei Straits Times 1 Jan 11;

MANDAI Orchid Garden, the oldest orchid garden here, will move from its current site to Kranji, as time runs out on its lease today.

The 4ha garden has about 50,000 orchids, including more than 100 varieties that date back more than 40 years.

However, the move will not be as big as the size of the collection indicates: This is because the new site for the garden - all 0.8 ha of it - will be able to house only 5,000 of the orchids, a 10th of the collection.

Mr Heah Hock Heng, the chairman of Mandai Orchid Garden, said he has been working with organisations and individuals who wish to take some of the plants. So far, the Shangri-La Group has bought more than 1,000 and the National Parks Board has bought 600.

Mr Heah, 75, said: 'Unfortunately, if there are no takers, I may have to throw some of them away.'

Some of the orchids in the collection are 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's current Mandai plot will be developed into a 35ha tourist attraction, which will become the fourth in the area alongside the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and the upcoming River Safari.

Mr Heah began his fight to preserve the garden in March last year. In November, the Singapore Land Authority offered him a one-year tenancy, until the end of this year, but he rejected it.

He said: 'They piled a huge rent increase on me - from $2,000 to $20,000 a month, among other conditions. It was just impossible for me to continue.'

In November, he began hunting for a new site and found the 0.8ha one in Kranji. He has six months to move there.

He said the new place will continue to receive visitors, just like the Mandai one did, welcoming up to 1,000 tourists a month who each paid a $3.50 entry fee. Entry to the new place is free.

The Mandai Orchid Garden was started in 1951 by the late Mr John Laycock, a lawyer and founder of the Malayan Orchid Society, now known as the Orchid Society of South-east Asia.

When he died in 1960, his daughter, Mrs Amy Ede, and her husband John took over the business. They became known for their books and love of orchids and gardening until he died in 2003 and she died in 2007.

Since Mr Heah took over ownership of the garden in 2001, he has added two full-scale laboratories.

One is used for cross-breeding orchids and the other is used for manufacturing fertiliser.

'I have to demolish what I've built over the years. It's not a happy situation,' he said.

The gardens' tenants, such as a research firm, an education centre and the restaurant Vanilla Pod, will move out from today.

The curator, Mr Hedrick Kwan, 33, is upset about the move. As a member of a group that tried to save the garden, he went as far as to meet the Singapore Tourism Board to offer ideas on possible uses for it.

Mr Kwan, who left his job in November, said: 'To be honest, I'm just tired now. We fought so hard, but in the end, this is the result.

'We've made enough noise but when we knew the outcome, we thought the next best thing was to think about how to save the plants.'

The online version was edited by Channel NewsAsia to this...

Mandai Orchid Garden to move to Kranji
Seet Sok Hwee / Monica Kotwani Channel NewsAsia 30 Dec 10;

SINGAPORE: Come new year, Mandai Orchid Garden as we know it will be no more. Friday is the last day at its current location, before it moves to Kranji by the middle of next year.

The 60-year old garden is one of the oldest in South East Asia. Its owner, Heah Hock Heng said it has some 50,000 orchid plants comprising over 100 varieties.

The Garden's lease expires on Friday and it is moving as part of the Government's plans to develop the Mandai Nature Cluster and to complement existing attractions within that area.

And due to land space constraints at the new place, Mandai Gardens has sold some of its plants to the Shangri-La Group and Singapore Botanical Gardens. It has also offered some orchid plants for sale to the Singapore Island Country Club.

Mr Heah said some exciting ideas are in the works for the new place, but until then, talks are in progress with the new landlord.

-CNA/ac/fa