Gardens By The Bay

Our third day in Singapore we went back to the city center, but we were still surrounded by nature.

 

Gardens by the Bay

One of the many amazing things about Singapore is how much the government values and protects nature.  The government has a stated aim to raise the quality of life by enhancing greenery and flora in the city, and a strategy to transform Singapore from a "Garden City" to a "City in a Garden."  An important step in this direction was the creation of Gardens by the Bay, a $1 billion project which covers 250 acres of land near the marina in central Singapore.  The project was announced in 2005, and seeing it now, it is hard to believe it could be that new.  In addition to all of the open space and theme gardens which are free for all to visit, GBTB also has two huge conservatories that are more than worth the cost of admission.  The first one we visited is called the Flower Dome, and it had plants from various parts of the world that needed to be in a climate controlled environment.  They even had a section on California Desert plants, which was fun to see completely out of context!

Apparently the Flower Dome is the worlds "largest columnless glass house" and it was huge!

Cloud Forest

 The second of the conservatories is called the Cloud Forest, and it is taller, but slightly smaller, than the Flower Dome.  It's environment is that of tropical mountain regions between 3,300 ft and 9,800 ft and it includes plants that are mostly found in South-East Asia and Central and South American forests.  The central and main feature is a 138 ft. "cloud mountain" with a waterfall and impressive misting apparatus that provides the entire structure with refreshing cool mist.  The "mountain" is covered in orchids, ferns, bromeliads, and many other green growing things, and it is impressive to see.   There is an elevator to the top and then a looping, sloped walkway back down that takes you through gardens at each level with different themes. 

The view from the top of "cloud mountain."

Supertree Grove

Another part of the Gardens by the Bay are the Supertrees, which now show up on just about every picture of modern Singapore that you will see.  These structures range from 82 ft to 160 ft high and they are vertical gardens that do more than just look interesting.  The supertree grove was intended to work as the "environmental engine" of the gardens.  They are home to many different plants, but they are also fitted with environmental technologies that mimic the ecological role that trees play.  Photovoltaic cells harness solar energy which is used for lighting the gardens.  Rainwater is collected for use in irrigation and fountains. The height of the trees is optimized and rainwater that is collected from the huge roof surfaces of the conservatories is circulated through the supertrees. The supertrees both vent hot air and cool the circulated water, which is then used as a part of the cooling system in the conservatories.

Children's Garden

One of the newer sections is the Children's Garden which was only opened in Jan 2014. It consists of play structures and adventure trails with  trampolines, balancing beams, hanging bridges and other things to crawl under, over and through.  It also includes a garden with plants that might appeal to kids either because of how they look or smell, or because they are part of familiar foods kids eat. 

 

We spent some time here, letting the boys just play around and enjoy the outdoors...

 

...and then had them run through the sprinklers to cool off before we headed back home.