WHY THE SINGAPORE BOTANIC GARDENS IS A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE?
It was a
Sunday. Family day to be specific. But for overseas workers, this is the time to
converge and meet fellow nationals. In a
well-manicured tropical garden that spans in acres, mats were laid down, a
potluck of food shared and a familiar language emanated. Overseas Filipino workers came in
number. I was led to Singapore Botanic
Gardens meeting strangers and exchanging smiles.
Majority
of my friends working in Singapore haven’t been to this botanical garden. Since they are too busy with their corporate
lives even on a weekend, I came solo and decided to meet them for dinner. Armed with no itinerary, I strolled and
lounged for almost 5 hours to discover the reason for its inscription as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Singapore
Botanic Gardens is actually comprised of a series of gardens. Admission is free except for the National
Orchid Garden.
NATIONAL ORCHID GARDEN
Situated
on a hilly side of the vast property, the National Orchid Garden houses a
collection of more than 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids of orchids.
Upon
paying the 5SGD as admission fee, I entered as if in a maze. I had no maps and no idea what to expect
apart from the fact that obviously, this will be about orchids. I moved with the crowd.
There
are a number of attractions within the National Orchid Garden. I passed by the Burkill Hall, VIP Orchid
Garden, Orchidarium and the Tan Hoon Siang Misthouse.
The
Burkill Hall resembles an old
heritage house. This colonial plantation bungalow is named after the only
father and son tandem to hold the post of Director of Singapore Botanic
Gardens, Isaac and Humphrey Burkill. The
ground floor showcases different hybrids of orchids named after VIPs who have
visited the garden. Like a typical
ancestral house, at the backyard is the garden full of orchids with sculptures
as ornaments.
The
backyard garden is known as the VIP
Orchid Garden. It is said that more
than 100 celebrities, dignitaries and visiting heads of states have been
honored by Singapore’s orchid diplomacy program.
Photographers
and serious orchid enthusiasts would definitely love the Orchidarium. The orchids
naturally grow on a tropical setting.
Just
when I was about to make an exit, I noticed a small pathway with a prominent
marker, Tan Hoon Siang Misthouse. And so I entered. The mist house is named after a philanthropist
and founder of Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
It houses different hybrids of fragrant orchids.
LAKES
The
Singapore Botanic Gardens has three lakes, namely Symphony Lake, Eco-Lake and
Swan Lake. Fortunately, I was able to
pass by these three in my quest to locate the gazebo known as the
Bandstand. The gazebo is the usual image
displayed when Singapore Botanic Gardens is being promoted.
Since
it was a weekend, a free concert was about to take place at the Shaw Foundation
Symphony Stage at the Symphony Lake. A
statue of the composer, Frederic Chopin, is also an added attraction near the
Symphony Lake.
THE BANDSTAND
After
hours of roaming around and just in time when my feet was about to give up, I found what I was looking for in the
first place. I took refuge on one of the
wooden benches facing the Bandstand. The
octagonal gazebo serves as a venue for bands to perform. And fortunately, in the late afternoon a band
was about to perform when I arrived. It
was a perfect spot to relax and meditate.
The ring of the Yellow Rain trees surround the gazebo, providing a
backdrop of light green foliage and some in yellow and making the terraced
flower bed and palms complemented by the gazebo a perfect backdrop for wedding
photo shoots. In fact, there were a
number being set-up and couples come in different wedding wardrobes – of varied
nationalities. I sat to people watch and
that was a good one.
This
iconic landmark of the Singapore Botanic Gardens retained its original form
over the years. The charm remains and no
wonder this structure is the face of Singapore Botanic Gardens on posters and
brochures.
It
may be quite unusual that a tropical garden can be regarded as a UNESCO World
Heritage Site but Singapore Botanic Gardens has the aesthetics, cultural and
environmental value. The site
demonstrates the evolution of a British tropical colonial botanic garden
transformed into a modern world-class scientific institution used for both
conservation and education.
1 comments
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteHow many hours will it take to explore the whole Botanic Gardens?
Thank you.