My beloved niece Sweet Pea flew back early from London to Singapore, just to spend a couple of extra days with me. Later that week, still recovering from jetlag, the darling girl took me to Gardens by the Bay, a magnificent, sprawling green space filled with carefully curated horticulture and contemporary art…
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We began our explore on the 22 metre high OCBC Skyway in the Supertree Grove. No stairs – except for emergencies – just a comfortable lift ride up to the canopy and glorious views over Singapore…
I’m always intrigued by the colours of a country – whereas I think of Australia in terms of bright sunlight and red soils and distinctive blue skies and seas, Singapore is amazing shades of lush greens and brilliant orchid pinks…
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The outdoor spaces were filled with interesting trees and plants – I found these twirly cactuses particularly fascinating…
And cannonball trees! Walk underneath with caution…
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When the heat and humidity got too much, we escaped into the air-conditioned Cloud Forest. A multi-storey waterfall greeted us at the entrance – we quickly scooted past the scores of tourists taking selfies…
The exhibit is huge (0.8 ha) and filled with tropical highland plants normally found at 2000 metres above sea level. It was such a joy to see specimens that I’d never have the chance to otherwise, like these stunning Andean orchids…
An entire level of the Cloud Forest is dedicated to carnivorous plants…I squealed with excitement when I saw pitcher plants…
Venus fly traps, magnified under glass…
These metre-long leaves caught my attention…they have deep curved ridges to allow water to run off them…
Wonderful artworks are discreetly and appropriately placed throughout the exhibits…
As we were leaving the Cloud Forest, having descended from the top of the 35 metre mountain to the very bottom, we passed this beautiful secret vista beneath the waterfall…
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Our next stop was the Flower Dome. As you’d expect, it was also filled with magnificent flowers…
…and quirky art…
…but what I really wanted to see were the trees. Like this Australian Baobab…
The Argentinian Palo Borracho (Bottle Tree, also known as the Drunken Tree) belongs to the cotton family…
Elephant’s Foot plant – aptly named, I think…
And possibly my favourite plant in the Flower Dome, this South African Paddle Plant…
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After a morning of walking, Sweet Pea and I stopped at Satay by the Bay, a food court located within the Gardens. It was full of stalls offering very affordable local fare, and I was chuffed to find my favourite popiah ($3) and teh tarik ($1.50) there. An excellent end to a truly excellent morning…
Thank you, darling Sweet Pea, for spending so much time with me! I love you to the moon and back! And if you’re a plant lover and find yourself with a little spare time in Singapore, then I highly recommend Gardens by the Bay. Try to go in the morning – most Singaporeans are night owls, so you’ll have a better chance of avoiding the crowds if you go early!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Singapore is soaring to the top of my bucket list of places to visit. Great pictures, BTW.
Thank you for the fabulous photos . . . my family nearly settled in Singapore some thirty years ago ex Sydney since we seemed to spend half our life there . . . . wish it had come to pass . . . utterly fantastic . . .
Thanks for sharing those beautiful pictures in Singapore. Hope to visit there one day. Have a wonderful new year filled with lots of love, happiness and good health
Stunning! Lucky you.
Beautiful photos. Glad you were able to have a wonderful time
Wow! Fantastic photos. Would love to go back to Singapore. Was there in 1980 and loved every moment.
What a lovely place! So many beautiful flowers, shrubs, and trees we don’t have here. Sounds like you had a lovely time!
I had a stopover in Singapore on my first visit to Australia 18 years ago, and fell in love with the Botanic Gardens and Orchid house then. This particular wonder of the world hadn’t been built last time I past through the Lion City, and now that my back doesn’t allow me to fly long distance any more, I shall have to rely on hearsay and photos to see it – thank you!
What a wonderful family time and I’d call it an adventure. Beautiful photos, Celia. How lovely it must have been in person. :-)
Celia, the photos are great, I will need to convince Pete to take me there!!
Happy New Year to you all.
I love your photos of the garden. We were there a year ago and it was all enchanting: the trees, lighting, flowers and statues! I remember it being so hot and had never been anywhere before where stores blasted such welcome, soothing, cool air outside onto the sidewalks!
The gardens look fabulous, but I find the heat in Singapore oppressive.
We loved our stopover in Singapore. Thanks for your photographs as wonderful reminders. Somehow I missed that food court – not sure how….
Absolutely beautiful! And how lovely to get to spend precious time with your beloved niece. The last time I was in Singapore was in January 14 years ago and I loved the Botanical Gardens and the orchids but this hadn’t been built I think. Thank you for letting g us enjoy it from afar 🌺
As we would say in Maine, wowsah! What a place! As I will never actually go to Singapore, I so enjoyed touring the gardens with you.
Have you been to the Plants That Bite at the Calyx in the Botanic Gardens? Looks like a fantastic trip.
Oooh no I haven’t! Thanks for the tip!
Absolutely stunning. Hope to get to see it soon.
Oh my goodness, that looks amazing! Thankyou so much for sharing. What a facinating place and those plants are just so interesting and beutiful.
And the sculptures and artwork dispersed among it are breathtaking!
xx
The gardens are beautiful there aren’t they? I was fascinated looking down onto the palm trees at the beautiful patterns they made – you only ever see them looking up into them. So easy to spend a whole day there wandering around.
You find the most wonderful places, thank you for sharing and all the wonderful pics.
Those orchids are Devine!