Garden City, nay ‘City in the garden’

Singapore, the Garden City, or rather City in the Garden, can make other cities go green with envy.

Singaporeans have given great attention to the development of greens amid the concrete jungles. Different varieties of trees, flowering plants, and landscaped gardens provide the much-needed relief against the backdrop of the high-rise buildings.

Spread over an extent of 250 acres of reclaimed land, Gardens by the Bay, which opened in June 2012, houses around 80 per cent of the world’s plant species.

The two cooled conservatories (flower domes) in the gardens have a vast collection of endangered plant species from across the world.

Sustainable energy

The cooled conservatories offer visitors a way to escape the hot weather of Singapore even as they can spend the day watching the thousands of exotic flowering and fruit-bearing plant varieties on display. One may wonder as to the amount of electricity required to cool the vast expanse inside the conservatories. The guide tells us that the cooling is done with sustainable energy. The gardens also have 18 tall solar-powered ‘super trees’, which are fitted with ecological technologies designed to provide power for cooling as also collection of rainwater. The tree-like structures, with height ranging between 25 m and 50 m, support a number of vines, orchids, and ferns.

The gardens have a 35-m-tall man-made mountain with lush green vegetation and 30-m-high artificial waterfall.

Escalators

One can see and feel the clouds passing by as they pass by the waterfall. Those who have difficulty in climbing the mountain can take the escalators to reach different levels.

“The gardens, located in the heart of the city, is presumed to transform Singapore from a ‘Garden City’ to ‘City in the Garden’,” felt our tour guide Naseem.

(This reporter went on a recent tour to Singapore, jointly organised by the Singapore Tourism Board and SilkAir)

Garden City, nay ‘City in the garden’