Singapore Gardens by the Bay

I was recently fortunate to be one of the 6 million people each year to visit the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.

The nature park spans over 100 hectares of reclaimed land in the Central Region of Singapore, adjacent to the Marina and the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel, built in 2010, it was reported to be the world’s most expensive property at a staggering 8 billion Singapore Dollars (£5bn).

Gardens by the Bay was part of the nation's plan to transform Singapore’s "Garden City" into a "City in a Garden", with the aim of raising the quality of life in the city by enhancing greenery and flora.  First announced by the Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, in 2005, the aim was to create a national icon of premier urban outdoor recreation space.

Well they have certainly achieved that! 

The park is simply stunning.  Dominated by the “Supertree Grove”.  Measuring between 25 and 50 metres tall, the Supertrees are designed with large steel canopies that provide shade in the day and come alive at night with a stunning display of lights and sound.

The tree like structures are covered with a variety of plants, reported to include over 700 species and varieties of bromeliads, orchids, ferns and tropical flowering climbers.

Also, most of the trees growing in the park are labelled with the species name.  Very interesting for a landscape architect like me!  If only more trees in Britain were labelled, it would make carrying out tree surveys far easier!

Keeping up to date

To keep up to date with Encon News, keep checking in to our 'News Page' on the Encon Associates website, or keep up to date with our social media pages where we will be sending reminders to all of our followers.