Garden(s) of Eden Found!

Fancy a lush garden (above) that greets you when you return home? I don't see why not, especially when we've got award-winning landscape architects right here in our midst. Yes, the Singapore Garden Festival 2010 is back and bloomin'. The 8-day event that opens on Thursday, 15th July is poised to be Asia's premier garden and flower show.

I was among the first to view the showground at Suntec Singapore during the media preview this afternoon and am impressed by the effort that's gone into transforming empty space in a convention hall into plots of lush gardens. Right from when I entered the lift on the ground floor, I knew this show was going to be different and coming up roses. (lift interiors left & right)

The Landscape Gardens section features spectacular creations by local designers and top award-winning designers from renowned garden shows around the world. Standing tall and distinctive is the two-storey structure called Tree House by local designer and certified horticulturalist John Tan. Lush greenery including bamboo wrap around a warm wooden structure with a meandering stream complete with catfish. The ground floor's furnished with a bar and a couch and the staghorn fern as a a plant 'installation' in place of a regular wall painting. Neat! The upper deck's like a patio with even more space to lounge around and mingle with moss. It was perhaps the closest to feeling like you're in the Garden of Eden, only without fruit trees hanging their produce and friendly animals a whisker away. Oh and John, despite his ability in designing enchanting gardens (his garden by the way won 'Best of Show' award - the festival's top honours) whisks you back to reality and has you know he lives in a modest HDB flat.

Also on show and garnering a Gold award is Daintree, designed by Australian garden architect Jim Fogarty (left: with Kenny Eng of Nyee Phoe) who was our guest last week in The Living Room. His latest tie-up with Nyee Phoe Flower Garden as the implementing partner makes it a hat trick at this biennial festival since striking his first Gold in 2006.

Kenny, whom we've also hosted previously in The Living Room, wanted me to tell you that there's literally a 'green' message behind their garden and it's got to do with penning on pebbles. Click here to find out about Project Pebbles.

I'm also proud to report that another former guest also bagged a Gold for his entry (see below) in the Landscape Garden category. Congratulations to Peter Cheok from Far East Flora!


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