Singapore’s Gardens By the Bay

Gardens By the Bay in Singapore opened in 2012, and over 50 million visitors have explored the gardens since then. This year, I was one of them!  For years I have seen pictures of the forest of Super trees and fantasized about walking into that space.  Doing it was a dream come true, and I allowed enough time (8 am to 8 pm) to see all five key attractions – Cloud Forest Dome, Flower Dome, Floral Fantasy, OCBC Skyway, and Supertree Observatory,

Initially, This garden seemed to me to be designed solely as a tourist destination, but the more I’ve learned about this ambitious project, the more impressed I am at how technology and plants can create an astounding space.

Singapore tackles ambitious projects, and the Gardens by the Bay is just one of many. Beginning In 2007, “an interdisciplinary team of international and local architects, engineers, and landscape specialists successfully transformed a barren site bereft of roads, drains, and electricity into a lush green space where over 1 million plants and 19,000 species thrive.*“ This urban park occupies 250 acres (101 hectares) of land reclaimed from the sea. Singapore has no natural resources; everything must be imported. As a result, creativity and conservation are essential.

The iconic images of a forest of funnel-shaped trees in colors of reds, browns, oranges, yellows, silvers, and pinks have circled the world. The 18 Supertrees, 12 of which are 164 ft.  (50 M) tall, are built with concrete and steel. Vertical gardens of flowering vines, orchids, ferns, and bromeliads give life to these impressive structures. A cluster of the Supertrees is connected by the OCBC skywalk, allowing me to walk among the treetops and see the city skyline.  Integrated solar panels atop the trees help power the garden, and one provides an exhaust vent for the garden’s domes.

The Supertrees are wired for twice-nighty light and music shows, adding to the design and making it ready to amaze visitors every moment. I was constantly amazed!

The  Flower Dome is the largest conservatory in the world, with nearly 3 acres (1.2H) of growing space. The Cloud Forest dome has an indoor waterfall falling 115 ft. (35m). You can ride an elevator to the top of the dome and then walk your way down following the treetop walk. 

The two domes include plants from all climates of the world except Antarctica.  The flower dome has a 1000-year-old olive tree living happily enough to flower and fruit in this perfectly temperature-controlled environment.

Mediterranean, South African, South American, Australian, and Succulent gardens are highlighted.  Neither dome has any interior support beams preventing shading on plants and illustrating remarkable architectural design.

I’m flooding this experience with numbers. While it helps quantify just how enormous this garden is, it misses the powerful feelings I had while wandering through plants of all varieties.  I have seen a lot of plants in my travels. Here they were all together: Baobab trees, Agaves, a California garden, fabulous foliage with enormous patterned leaves, orchids, lithops, and an inventory of 19,000 species, and I wanted to see everyone. Even non-plant people are inspired to look with curious eyes.

The technology used to create this garden is a model for the world to imagine new ways of doing important things. Right down to solar-powered garbage bins that incorporate an interior compacter with sensors to signal the maintenance crew when the can is at capacity.  A horticulture biomass incinerator (imagine the pruning) creates steam to generate power, underfloor cooling in the domes, and heat-reflective glass with integrated shade sails to maintain constant temperatures.

The best minds, creative ideas,  energy efficiency, and technology came together to spotlight plants.  This project attracts humans, like flowers attract bees, to look closely at what makes life possible on this planet. I came away with feelings of reverence, awe, envy, and delight. I hope the world notices.

More numbers:

Singapore is 85 miles (135K) north of the equator, around 9000 miles from my AZ garden, and receives 83 inches (2,100 millimeters) of rain per year. Temperatures average in the high 80’s (25C), and high humidity throughout the year.

The Cloud Forest dome showcases plant life from tropical highlands up to 2,000m above sea level. It features a 115’ (35m)-tall indoor waterfall. 

Singapore is home to 5.45 million residents and occupies land 1/2 the size of Rhode Island. For comparison, Rhode Island’s population is 1,098,080 people.

1 hectare = 2.47 acres. There are 2.47 US football fields in 1 hectare.

*BBC Travel (https://www.bbc.com/storyworks/travel/garden-of-wonders/the-secrets-of-gardens-by-the-bay)

The making of a Wonder BBC Travel (https://www.bbc.com/storyworks/travel/garden-of-wonders/gardens-by-the-bay)