Walk into this tropical paradise located minutes from Orchard Road. Home to the National Orchid Garden, experience the famous Halia Restaurant & Wine Bar.
Singapore’s Botanic Gardenis a place to visit many times. There is too much to take in with just one visit! Great thanks go to an agri-horticultural society who, in the late 1800s saw the potential of this huge 155 acre parcel to be a National Park of great magnitude. In its early years these gardens fostered the agricultural development of Singapore and the surrounding countries by experimentally distributing useful plants including the rubber tree. Rubber became a major export and brought great prosperity to this South East Asian region.
Singapore’s Botanic Garden is Home to the World Famous Orchid Garden
The Botanic Garden of Singapore also spearheaded orchid breeding in the early 1900s with their orchid hybridization program. It now is home to the world famous National Orchid Garden and the Halia Restaurant.
Nibung Palms line the shores of Swan lake, the home to White Mute Swans from Amsterdam. The swans live on the island in the center of the lake and have been memorialized by various bronze statues. One depicts the graceful birds in flight. Another memorializes the waddling swans mingling with each other along the shore.
The Ginger Garden Provides a Diverse Floral Display of Ginger Plants from Around the World
The Ginger Garden displays several species of ginger in various sizes and shapes. The main attraction in the Ginger Garden is a waterfall large enough to walk behind. This is a great place to escape the heat of the city, enjoying the spray from the Falls and the relaxing sound of the rushing water overhead. Giant Amazon water lilies abound in the quiet pools of the Ginger Garden that are fed by the waterfall.
Sculptures abound in this Garden and pop up among the diversely landscaped areas. Each area of the garden is well marked. Days could be spent reading the signage describing each outbreak of trees. Palm Valley is an especially diverse collection of the smallest and largest of the Palms. On the Shaw Foundation Stage the orchestras often gather to please the large crowds who frequent the park.
More than an Educational Opportunity, the Gardens offer Experiences to view Plants in their Natural Settings
A 15 acre parcel has been set aside to inspire those visitors to what plant life is available to view in a Rain Forest. Many of the trees in this section of the Gardens are older than the founding of Singapore itself. They stand over 160 feet tall. The ferns , bushes and trees compete for space in this protected environment.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens are also home to the Jacob Ballas Children’s Gardens which include areas for children to actually touch, smell, taste plants from the gardens. This is not only a place for families to come experience nature with their children but also a popular place for teachers to bring their students. This garden and the Botany Center are the present education and research hubs of the garden.
The garden grounds are open daily to the public from 5 in the morning until midnight.
Admission to the Singapore Botanic Gardens is free except for the Orchid Garden which charges $5 for adults, students and seniors $1 and allows children under 12 to visit for free.