The National Orchid Garden, Singapore.

Here, tropical orchids are not cosseted flowers in well decorated rooms or controlled glasshouses but vibrant splashes of colour in the open air.

Here is Singapore, the archipelago of islands at the extreme tip of the Malayan peninsula, a city-state with a highly urbanized environment and a strong commitment to preserve and enrich its native habitat.

Orchids are part of this tropical world and the National Orchid Garden is a perfect place to discover them. Three hectares of gentle hillside, located within the Singapore Botanical Gardens, are dedicated to this timeless flower that counts more than 25.000 species, of which nearly 200 are native to Singapore. 

The National Orchid Garden was opened in 1995 but already in the 1870s, Henry James Murton, the young botanist sent by Kew Gardens as director of the Botanical Gardens, created the first orchid house. In the subsequent years, the collection has been expanded and programs have been implemented to study, propagate and hybridise this flower not only for commercial purposes but also for its reintroduction in the wild. 

The Garden displays a wide range of terrestrials and epiphytes species and hybrids, distributed in four different areas according to seasons and colours. 

A pleasant walk among these fascinating creatures that Sandra kindly shares with us. And looking at her photos, at the extravagant shapes, waxy petals and brilliant colours here, for a moment, is an exotic city, hot and humid, wrapped in luxuriant vegetation, high skyscrapers, and a sparkling sea.

Thank you Sandra! 

'...Mrs.S.'s verandah was full of rare plants; orchids, caladiums and other exquisite things. On one, Ficus Benjamina, some scores of phaloenophsis in full flower like strings of white butterflies hovering in the air with every breath of wind...'
Recollections of a Happy Life being the Autography of Marianne North, Marianne North,  McMillan, London, 1894.

Photos:
Sandra, Singapore March 2016.

Further reading:
Singapore City of Gardens, William Warren, Periplus Edition Ltd, Singapore 2000.

Link:
National Orchid Garden - Singapore Botanic Garden
https://www.nparks.gov.sg