HEADING OUT TO THE WORLD TO FILL GARDEN IN S'PORE

Go behind the scenes in Latin America with horticulturalists from Gardens by the Bay as they choose new plants for the upcoming Bay East Garden.

- Ng Keng, Gavin Foo

Ahead of Bay East Garden's opening in 2027, preparations for the garden are under way, with horticulturalists making trips to various parts of the world - such as Ecuador, Costa Rica, Brazil and Argentina to source for plants that will be used to landscape the garden.

For these expeditions, staff of Gardens by the Bay take a leaf out of the book of their predecessors pioneer horticulturalists who were similarly sent abroad on such trips to acquire plants to green and beautify the country's streets and parks.

Between the 1980s and 1990s, officers from the Parks and Recreation Department which was merged with the National Parks Board in 1996 - visited places such as Brazil, Mauritius, Seychelles, Puerto Rico and Sarawak to collect plants.

Prior to embarking on plant sourcing trips, Ms Clarice Xue, a senior specialist of arboriculture at Gardens by the Bay, and her colleagues research plants that are available in the areas the team is going to visit.

They then compile several species wish lists, keeping in mind what individual suppliers are likely to find based on where they operate, with a focus on native plants.

Next, the suppliers help the Gardens source for these species and propagate them, with the goal of eventually shipping the progenies to Singapore.