Flower Dome: Spring Celebrations

If you’re looking for some respite from the gleaming skyscrapers, do make a trip down to the Bay South Garden at Gardens by the Bay. Unlike the Cloud Forest, the Flower Dome replicates the cool-dry climate of Mediterranean and semi-arid sub-tropical regions like South Africa & parts of Europe like Spain & Italy. Deemed as the world’s largest columnless conservatory, the structure is made up of 3,332 panels of 42 varying shapes and sizes of spectrally selective glass. The climate is controlled at 23 to 25 °C and are maintained 24/7 to ensure the habitats are well taken care of. Believe it or not, according to the New York Times, Gardens by the Bay is listed 11 out of 42 places to go in 2013 specifically the 2 conservatories. The objective of the conservatories is to promote awareness of the wonders of nature and the value of plants to mankind and the environment.

Once you step into the Flower Dome, you’ll be standing in awe of nature. The succulent garden is themed in such a way it looks like under-the-sea scene. That explain the sea creatures sculpture in between the succulent plants.

Succulence, means juiciness, a development of water storing tissues which is common on stems of cacti, baobabs and bottle trees. If you are wondering why cacti produce spines instead of leaves, the spines actually protects the plant against herbivores that keen to devour the fleshy stems. On top of that, the spines which are in silvery or golden colour reflect light and stop the epidermis being scorched by the sun.

The wooden sculpture surrounded by fascinating succulents.

I’ve never seen this succulent before. Golden Rat-tail cactus, with golden spines originates from Bolivia.

Hundred years-old Bottle tree

Wooly Cactus

The conservatories use cutting-edge technologies that provide energy-efficient solutions in cooling. One example is the process of thermal stratification which is applied to ensure cool air settles at the lower occupied zone and warm air rises and vented out at high levels. This is enhanced by ground cooling, which are chilled water pipes cast within the ground slabs. The glass panels also play a part by allowing 65% of the sunlight and 35% of its heat was used.

Don’t be fool with the stone-alike look. The Stone Plant dupe their predators by pretending to be hard and dry as pebbles but in reality they are soft and juicy as they are adapted to store water.

The African Succulent plant called Mother’s Tongue has an interesting adaptation to defend itself against predators. Its copper coloured leaves look as if they were diseased or even dead to dupe its predators.

Flower Domes house plants from every continent except Antarctica.

The Yellow Kangaroo Paw. As the name suggest, this flower originates from Australia and sprouts every spring season. If you look closely, it looks like a paw.

More sculpture

Aloe Tree. I didn’t know that succulent grow on a tree.

Thousand years-old olive tree.

View of the flower field display from the look-out point. To usher in the Year of the Snake, the entire Gardens will be decked out in elements of Lunar New Year. The Flower Dome Celebrates Spring at the Gardens by the Bay with variety of festivities throughout the month of February.

Themed Spring Celebrations is a floral display in the Flower Dome features over 8,000 colourful blooms.

Can you spot the snake? The 3m long snake topiary is made up of kumquat (Tangerine) plant. The long elongated snake topiary is so detailed that it comes with a twig as its tongue.

Complementing the horticultural showcase will be a series of exciting programmes including multi-disciplinary performances.

Torch Bromeliad. It does look like a pineapple.

The red lanterns are one of the most prominent features of the garden that creates festival atmosphere.

You don’t have to go all the way to Japan to witness the cherry blossoms. The Chinese believe that it symbolise beauty, purity and perseverance. The Cherry Blossom’s blooms are seen as hope that signals the winter’s end and is regarded as the harbinger of spring.

Coralberry.

The Lion Dance is often associated to Chinese New Year. Legend said a bestial creature, the Nien, being frightened off by villagers banging on loud drums on the eve of Chinese New Year.

Camellia Flower. When you enter the flower field, the sweet-smelling scent of flowers is a treat for the senses whether your eyes are on them or not.

This is the biggest bonzai I’ve ever seen.

Chrysanthemums

Cymbidium Orchids have been cultivated throughout east Asia for centuries and are one of the ‘Four Gentlemen’ traditionally used in Chinese art and literature to symbolise Springtime.

Spring blooms

Let’s bid adieu to the year of the Dragon and gracefully welcomed the year of the Snake. My view of snakes gibes with Indiana Jones, “Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?” Nevertheless, the snake has traditionally been seen as a symbol of wisdom, wealth and longevity even though it is considered less auspicious than other animals in the Chinese Zodiac. Many thanks to Ferne from Gardens by the Bay for the invite and exclusive tour of the Flower Dome.

Local Resident Rate Admission

	One Conservatories	Two Conservatories
Adult	$12	$20
Senior Citizen	$8	$15
Child	$8	$12

Standard Rate Admission

	Two Conservatories
Adult	$28
Senior Citizen	$28
Child	$15

The Flower Dome is open daily from 9:00am – 9:00pm

Related Article: Cloud Forest | Midnight Supertrees | Flight of Fancy
Past events: Tulipmania