The Singapore Garden Festival (SGF) turns ten this year, and the milestone edition runs at Gardens by the Bay from July 4 to 12.
It’s a biennial event that has quietly become one of the more serious flower and garden shows on the international calendar, and this year’s theme, Carnival of Blooms, gives the programme a bit more spectacle to work with.
The centrepiece is the Show Gardens: All-Stars Edition, where eight previous Best of Show winners return to compete for a newly created Pinnacle Award.
These are designers who have already won the festival’s top prize from Singapore and abroad, and they’re back to build full landscape installations in collaboration with local implementing partners.
If you’ve been to SGF before, this is the draw.
Running alongside it is the Floral Windows to the World Championship, a live competition where international floral designers work through elimination rounds in front of an audience before a final showdown at a gala dinner.
It’s one of the more watchable formats at any flower show. There’s pressure, there’s craftsmanship, and the results are unpredictable.
New this edition is the My Living Space Competition, which expands on the previous Balcony Gardens format to look at how greenery fits into smaller, more everyday living environments.
It’s less dramatic than the main show gardens, but more practical. It is the kind of thing you can actually take home as an idea.
Orchid enthusiasts get two dedicated showcases.
The Singapore Orchid Show, organised with the Orchid Society of South East Asia, brings rare and award-winning varieties to the Flower Dome.
Elsewhere, the Orchid Extravaganza draws on the craft traditions and architecture of six Indonesian regions, featuring over 7,000 orchids displayed alongside anyaman woven artworks and architectural recreations.
It’s presented in partnership with Indonesia’s Ministry of Creative Economy and is genuinely worth the time.
Beyond the competitive programming, the festival grounds extend across Gardens by the Bay with a MarketPlace in partnership with Planters Market, live music, F&B, and an interactive Light Garden in the evenings.
Get full ticket and programme details at sgf.nparks.gov.sg.
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This article was first published in City Nomads.
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