MATTHIAS TAY Today Online 28 Jan 15;
SINGAPORE — The National Orchid Garden is set for its first facelift in 20 years, which will allow it to showcase a larger variety of orchids from all over the world, including rare species found in higher altitudes.
To be completed in phases by 2020, the plans were announced by Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee yesterday (Jan 28) at the opening of the World of Flowers Exhibition.
Three of the garden’s display houses will undergo changes to improve the tropical montane — high elevation — forest experience for visitors. The Cool House, for example, will be fitted with a new climate control system, allowing researchers to grow species that cannot be grown currently and double the number of orchid species showcased from the current 1,000.
In total, the enhancements are expected to cost around S$35 million. The plans for the Cool House are partially funded by a S$10 million donation from Sembcorp Industries to the Garden City Fund, the largest single donation by a corporate partner to date. The Cool House will be renamed the Sembcorp Cool House.
Donations were also made by the family of the late Lady Yuen Peng McNeice, which will go towards the enhancement of the Yuen Peng McNeice Bromeliad Collection enclosure. Another donation — anonymously made — will partially fund the enhancement of Tan Hoon Siang Mist House.
Works will begin next year, and the garden will remain open throughout. Describing the improvements, Singapore Botanic Gardens director Nigel Taylor said: “The Bromeliad Collection, which represent the lowland tropics will be the first (of the) three seamless connected features, second will be the Mist House, and third, the much expanded Cool House which represents the environment of mountain tops in the tropical environment.”
The Sembcorp Cool House will have two-level access, so that visitors can get closer to orchids and plants located at higher levels. A new deck overlooking the nursery area behind the garden will also be open to visitors interested in observing the orchids’ cultivation process.
Located in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, the National Orchid Garden sees an average of 500,000 visitors every year, and numbers are expected to grow with the enhancements. “We anticipate that the National Orchid Garden will be able to accommodate this increase comfortably, and that visitors will still be able to have an enjoyable experience,” said Dr Taylor.
Asked if entrance fees — currently S$5 for adults — would increase as a result of the improvements, the National Parks Board said there would not be one for the time being.
National Orchid Garden to bloom brighter after upgrade
Audrey Tan The Straits Times AsiaOne 31 Jan 15;
Visitors to Singapore's one and only orchid garden will get to admire a greater variety of blooms in five years when it completes its first major upgrade since it opened 20 years ago.
The National Orchid Garden, located in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, will be spruced up to refresh its visitors' experience and showcase more orchid varieties, the National Parks Board (NParks) announced yesterday.
The enhancement will focus on four key areas in the 3ha garden: the Cool House, the Mist House, the bromeliad enclosure as well as the orchid nursery.
At the Cool House, visitors will be able to get up close and personal with more varieties of orchids, particularly those growing at higher altitudes, when a second level is built there.
Currently, the Cool House has only one level. Kept at between 16 to 20 deg C, it showcases species of plants found in elfin forests at higher elevations, such as the dancing lady and boat orchids.
The bromeliad enclosure, which features plant species grown in the lowlands, and the sub-mountainous Mist House will have improved ventilation, misting and irrigation systems that are more energy efficient.
The three areas will also form a tropical orchidetum showcasing a diversity of orchids and other plants from the habitats at different elevations.
"Visitors will be able to enjoy a seamless experience akin to ascending a tropical montane forest as they make their way through the orchidetum," NParks said.
When the upgrade is fully completed by 2020, visitors can also get a glimpse of the orchid nursery from a viewing deck.
The nursery, where the plants are cultivated for display, was previously not open to the public.
The orchid garden will remain open to the public during the $35 million upgrade, which will be done in stages.
Of that sum, $10 million was donated by Sembcorp Industries to partially fund the enhancements to the Cool House, which will be renamed the Sembcorp Cool House.
Thanking Sembcorp, NParks chief executive Kenneth Er said: "The contribution will go towards creating an environment for researchers to grow and bring orchids to flower that are naturally found at higher elevations.
"This, in turn, will create a refreshing educational experience for visitors to learn more about these orchids and their environments."
During yesterday's event, Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee also launched the World of Flowers Exhibition at a gallery in the Singapore Botanic Gardens Heritage Museum.
An educational exhibit featuring text and photographs on flowers, it will run daily until May 31.
It is closed every last Tuesday of the month. Admission is free.
