Speech by Minister Lawrence Wong at the Launch of Singapore Garden Festival 2016

Apr 1, 2016

I’m very happy to join all of you to kick-off a series of events leading up to the Singapore Garden Festival in July this year.

This year marks a very special year for the Festival because it is our 10th anniversary.

So we’re starting with a big bang by setting a new Guinness World Record today. Congratulations to all of you for being a part of it. I know many of you have been working hard; all of you have had a hand in putting together the World’s Largest Floral Chandelier. This is a wonderful way to kick start the events leading up to the Garden Festival.

This is not the only record we will be breaking this year. This year’s SGF will be the biggest ever. The Festival will be spread out over an area of nearly twice the size of the previous SGF.

And it is not just going to be bigger in size, but also better in content. Visitors can look forward to a record 72 floral displays in total. Crowd-favourites such as the Landscape, Fantasy and Balcony Gardens will make a return this year, in addition to the Orchid Extravaganza at the Flower Dome. There will also be new highlights, such as a mega-terrarium exhibition. I know when we talk about terrariums, we usually think of miniature gardens in glass containers, small enough to place on your table. But we are working with students, hobbyists and community gardeners to create a larger-than-life version, one that is big enough for visitors to walk through.

Ultimately, we want many more people to enjoy the Festival. That’s why SGF 2016 will start right outside the Bayfront MRT Station, so visitors can easily access the Festival. There will be free nightly concerts, and over 100 stalls offering a wide array of F&B, plants and gardening products for sale. All these will be held outside the ticketed area, so everyone can experience the buzz and atmosphere of the Festival for free. But of course, do buy tickets as well!

All this will happen in July when the Festival opens, but you don’t have to wait till then. There are already many things happening over the coming days and weeks.

The preliminary rounds of the Table-top Floral Display and Floral Windows to the World competitions will be held live, in this Atrium, over this weekend. Shortlisted participants will then go on to compete at SGF in July.

These competitions have provided platforms for our own local landscape designers to showcase their talents. Many of them have taken part in these competitions, and they have gone on to participate in international competitions. For example, Mr John Tan and Mr Raymond Toh, who started out in previous Festivals, have gone on to win awards at major international events like the Chelsea Flower Show and Gardening World Cup. This year, they are teaming up to compete in the Fantasy Gardens category. There are many others like them taking part in the competition, so do come and check out their works, and show your support.

Today, we are also kicking off our ‘Adopt-A-Plant’ movement. We have more than 8,000 plants being put up for adoption. Just pick up a plant, care for it, and better yet, share your gardening tips with your friends and family members. With this movement, we hope people will be encouraged to learn more about gardening and will inspire a love for gardening among all Singaporeans.

This is what we are trying to achieve through the Singapore Garden Festival. The festival is an international garden show. It has won many accolades and praises from many people within the community, including many professional gardeners. But the Singapore Garden Festival is also an important strategy for us to get more people involved in gardening and be excited about shaping our City in a Garden.

Singapore today already has the distinction of being one of the greenest cities in the world. We have plans to make Singapore greener – through our parks, gardens, as well as streetscapes and skyrise greenery. NParks officers are at the frontline doing this work, but this work should not be done by NParks alone. In fact, it would be very sad if we become a City in a Garden and all of the work is done by NParks only, and not all Singaporeans. We want everyone to be involved in greening Singapore, to take ownership and to take pride in our City in a Garden.

I know not everyone has green fingers; but there’s no need for special talent to get involved in gardening; nor do you need to own a garden by the backyard. The whole Singapore is our shared garden. We have one big garden called Singapore. So we welcome all Singaporeans to join us in shaping our community gardens, our parks, and our nature areas. It is a way for us to bond over something meaningful, and to build an even greener and more beautiful Singapore for future generations to enjoy.

I hope that this year’s SGF will continue to inspire more people to develop a passion for gardening and all things green. Only then will we not only flourish as a City in a Garden, but also a City of Gardeners and Garden Lovers.

Thank you very much and I look forward to seeing everyone at the Singapore Garden Festival. Do join us then!