Singapore Botanic Gardens' orchid display awarded gold medal at Chelsea Flower Show
The gold medal-winning display, titled 'From Hong Kong to Australia – The Orchids of Asia & The Pacific'. PHOTO: NPARKS/FACEBOOK
SINGAPORE - The Singapore Botanic Gardens' return to a prestigious flower show in England has been marked by a sweet surprise - a top medal for its floral display.
The Gardens' participation in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London - from May 20 to May 24 - marked the first time in nearly 70 years it returned to the event, said the National Parks Board (NParks) on May 21.
'We are delighted to share that our display 'From Hong Kong to Australia – The Orchids of Asia & The Pacific', which includes a showcase of our native orchids, has been awarded a gold medal in the Great Pavilion!,' NParks said in a Facebook post.
This international exhibition includes participants from Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States, added NParks.
Created by the Gardens' Living Collections team, the Gardens' display, titled 'Singapore's Native Orchids: Conservation and Heritage', features a mix of native orchids from the Gardens' ex situ collection, including Callostylis pulchella, Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi and Arachnis hookeriana.
NParks said the epiphytic orchids are arranged on stumps and branches, mirroring their natural growth in the wild.
The first Singapore Botanic Gardens delegation to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show was in 1957 and was led by Mr Richard Eric Holttum, then-Director of the Gardens who initiated the Gardens' orchid hybridisation programme in 1928.
The award comes as the Gardens' celebrates the 10th year since its inscription as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2025 – the only tropical botanical garden to make the list.
It is also the 150th anniversary of the Singapore Herbarium and the Gardens' Library of Botany and Horticulture, the first of their kind in Malaya at the time of their launch in 1875.
The milestones also coincide with the country's diamond jubilee, or SG60.
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