Speech by MOS Desmond Lee at the Opening of the World of Flowers Exhibition

Jan 28, 2015

A very good morning. I am delighted to be here today to open the World of Flowers Exhibition.

World of Flowers Exhibition 

This exhibition, that all of us will be touring in a short moment, explores the science behind flowers and introduces us to various garden and flower shows from around the world. As most of you may recall, we had our very own flower show last year – the fifth Singapore Garden Festival, which is the first winner of the International Garden Tourism Achievement of the Year award to come from Asia. That is quite a remarkable feat. 

A section of the exhibition, I understand, is dedicated to the national flowers of our ASEAN friends, as well as the symbolism and cultural significance of flowers from different parts of the world. For instance, some of you may be familiar with the sight of the Golden Shower Tree, which blossomed beautifully in several parts of Singapore during last year’s dry spell. The bright yellow flower of the Golden Shower Tree is the national flower of Thailand, where the colour yellow is regarded as the royal colour. 

There are many things we can learn from other countries, and this exhibition looks at their culture and heritage from an interesting and very unconventional angle - from the angle of the flowers that we celebrate. I would like to thank City Developments Ltd for sponsoring this wonderful exhibition, and I encourage all of you to bring your family, your friends, your siblings and your classmates to come and visit.

Significance of the National Orchid Garden

Our very own National Flower, which is the Vanda Miss Joaquim, reflects something about ourselves. This particular orchid hybrid, which blooms under the full sun, was chosen to represent Singapore for its vibrancy, its hardiness and its resilience – the same qualities that reflect the Singapore spirit. The Vanda Miss Joaquim can be found a short walk from where we are, right in the National Orchid Garden.

The National Orchid Garden is the crown jewel of the Botanic Gardens. Opened in 1995 by Mr Lee Kuan Yew, it is Asia’s largest and most comprehensive permanent tropical orchid display, with a collection of more than 1000 orchid species and 2,000 orchid hybrids. 

Orchids have long been synonymous with Singapore, not just because our National Flower is an orchid, but also because we export millions of cut orchid stalks annually. People associate orchids with Singapore. Over the years, the Singapore Botanic Gardens has made many significant contributions to our industry, such as the development of micropropagation techniques in the production of orchid hybrids, and the conservation and protection of native orchid species. 

The National Orchid Garden is also well known for naming orchids after distinguished guests and foreign dignitaries, as a gesture of the friendship between Singapore and other countries. These include former US First Lady, Mrs Laura Bush; the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton; the former Chinese Premier, Mr Zhu Rongji; and the former President of South Africa, the late Nelson Mandela. All in all, there have been more than 200 of such namings so far. 

National Orchid Garden Enhancement 

This year, the National Orchid Garden turns 20. At this significant milestone, I am very pleased to announce that NParks will be enhancing some of its key features, such as the Cool House, the Yuen Peng McNeice Bromeliad Collection enclosure, and the Tan Hoon Siang Mist House.

These three separate Houses will be linked to provide visitors with a seamless experience. In addition, we will modify the one storey Cool House so that it will have two floors instead. When the enhancements are completed, Singaporeans and visitors alike will be able to view and appreciate a greater variety of orchids and plants up close, as you move from tropical plants to those from subtropical regions and of course, those from higher altitudes.

Researchers too will benefit. With a new climate control system in the Cool House, researchers will be able to grow a wider variety and range of rare orchids that cannot be found in our tropical climate. This will strengthen conservation efforts and better facilitate documentation and research. Researchers will also have more opportunities to cross-fertilise orchids from the lowlands with those from the highlands, resulting in more new and interesting hybrids. We all look forward to it.

Improvements will also be made to the nursery and its surroundings. There will be a new viewing deck, which will allow visitors to observe the tireless, behind-the-scenes work of our NParks colleagues as they engage in orchid cultivation to keep the gardens and the National Orchid Garden fresh and interesting. When the improvements are ready, visitors will be able to take in the beauty of the orchids at the display area, view the breeding and pollination process at the nursery from the viewing deck, and observe the propagation and cloning process outside the Botany Centre Lab. These enhancements will serve to strengthen the Garden’s reputation as a premier botanical institution. 

On this note, I would like to thank Sembcorp Industries for its very generous donation of S$10 million dollars, which is the largest single donation made to the Garden City Fund by a corporate partner to date. Sembcorp Industries’ generosity will help finance the enhancement of the Cool House, which will be named The Sembcorp Cool House. A donation was also made by the family of the late Lady Yuen Peng McNeice, which will go towards the enhancement of the Yuen Peng McNeice Bromeliad Collection enclosure. A donor who wishes to remain anonymous made a contribution as well to partially fund the enhancement of the Mist House. 

I’m sure we all look forward to visiting the National Orchid Garden again when all these improvements are completed. I hope our young friends here will come again to see the difference.

Conclusion 

As Singapore’s first site to be nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Singapore Botanic Gardens is a place that is full of history, significance and beauty, much loved and enjoyed by many Singaporeans from all walks of life. With the World of Flowers exhibition and these enhancements to the National Orchid Garden, I am confident that even more will come to grow to love the Botanic Gardens.

Thank you all. I hope you enjoy the exhibition and the gardens on this beautiful morning.