July 2016
perseverance pays off
The idea of a national garden in Singapore started in 1822 when Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore and a keen naturalist, developed the first ‘Botanical and Experimental Garden’ at Fort Canning. It was only in 1859 that the Gardens at its present site was founded and laid out in the English Landscape Movement’s style by an Agri-Horticultural society. The Gardens was soon handed over to the British colonial government (in 1874) and a series of Kew-trained botanists saw the Gardens blossom into an important botanical institute over the following decades. Today, the Gardens is managed by the National Parks Board, a statutory board of the Singapore government.
I visited the Botanic Garden on my very first trip to Singapore from Japan with Masaaki in the mid-80s. My only memory was that it was very clean and orderly (and punishingly hot).
Later, in the Jakarta years I visited again and noted it was "developing". After all, what does one do with an English Garden on the Equator? Luckily, Singapore saw the value in preserving the large site in the land-scarce island nation (rather than turning it into some elite luxury residence park). As Singapore grew as a tourist hub, the park was made more interesting and less of the tropical heat "death march" than it previously ended up being.
The one thing that was always worth visiting (and bringing visitors to) was the Orchid Garden:
Since 1859, orchids have been closely associated with the Gardens. The products of the Gardens' orchid breeding programme, which began in 1928, deserve a place where they can be displayed in their full splendour. The very design of these orchids is, one could say, 'hand-crafted' by the Gardens' horticultural staff, dedicated to bringing out the finest in any hybrid cross. With over 1000 species and 2000 hybrids on display, the splendour of these gorgeous blooms is absolutely a sight to behold at the National Orchid Garden.
When my Mom and Aunt came to Singapore to visit they absolutely loved the Orchid House (and did not particularly like walking in the sweltering heat of the main garden). The location has become such a hit that it is now a venue for VIP meetings and even small weddings. The Orchid Garden is not only lovely, it is one of the few orchid breeding and conservation locations in the world. Along with the Singapore Zoo, the Orchid Garden is a bulwark against the ecological destruction raining down on the forests of Southeast Asia.
The Garden also has an outdoor amphitheatre and I attended some concerts there with friends over the years. Thank God those were in the evening with milder (slightly) temperatures. The Botanic Garden is a hotbed (no pun intended) of events and people swarm to it. Compared to my first visit years before when it was still a colonial leftover, the Garden has become an amazing success story.
From an out-of-place English Garden, to not-so-interesting tourist attraction, the Gardens have now emerged as one the nicest places to visit on the island. One thing, unfortunately, will never change. To see the garden in the daytime (it is, after all, primarily an outdoor garden) is still to walk in the hot, equatorial sun. The trees have grown in and Singapore has softened the garden a lot, but in the end when the sun is blazing down on the pathways around the lake, one need to be armed with a parasol and fortitude (and knowledge that the Orchid Garden is much cooler).