One of the many ways living in Singapore for a year spoiled me, was being surrounded by tropical greenery and exotic blooms all year round.  My daily walks through Fort Canning Park enveloped me in the lush, green foliage of the regional flora.

Singapore, which is located near the equator, has a tropical climate with abundant rainfall, high temperatures and high humidity throughout the year.  While it took me some time to acclimate, various exotic flowers such as orchids thrive in this climate.  I’d only ever seen orchids grown indoors so it was astonishing to see them growing out-of-doors.  I even had the pleasure of visiting a local orchid farm (sorry I can’t remember the name) and seeing rows and rows of orchids growing in open fields.

Wandering amongst thousands of blooming orchids was an unforgettable experience!

It’s no surprise, then, that the Singapore Botanic Gardens features a spectacular orchid garden.  “With over 1000 species and 2000 hybrids on display, the splendour of these gorgeous blooms is absolutely a sight to behold” says the National Orchid Garden website.  The splendid “Crane Fountain” greets guests as they enter the National Orchid Garden.

The garden showcases a series of gorgeous “orchidscapes” where the flowers are displayed in natural settings to their maximum advantage.

I had the pleasure of visiting these gardens numerous times and never tired of seeing the vibrant colors and intricate details of the beautiful blooms.

Interestingly, one of the orchids showcased in the VIP Orchid Garden display is Singapore’s national flower.  It is the Papilionanthe ‘Miss Joaquim’ (formerly Vanda ‘Miss Joaquim’) which is a hybrid discovered by Agnes Joaquim over 130 years ago.  “For its resilience and year-round blooming quality, it was chosen on 15 April 1981 to represent Singapore’s uniqueness and hybrid culture.” states Wikipedia.

While I will always associate these beautiful flowers with the tropical climate of Singapore, orchids grow in many climates.  In fact, orchids can be found in almost every habitat around the world except glaciers.  “No other group in the plant kingdom can match the incredible diversity found within the orchid family (Orchidaceae).  The range of plant forms and sizes, along with the far greater variety found among the colors, shapes, and sizes of their flowers, dazzles anyone who takes the time to investigate these marvelous creations of nature.” declares author Thomas J. Sheehan in his book Ultimate Orchid.
Orchids are found in every color except true black.  Grouped into about 760 genera, there are about 28,000 naturally occurring species and hundreds of thousands of manmade hybrids in the orchid family.  Nearly half, 260 to 300 genera, are found in tropical Asia.
Nowadays, I call Georgia home and I enjoy orchids as houseplants and inside the conservatories of nearby botanical gardens. Orchid Daze, an annual indoor plant exhibition at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, is one of my favorite events.  The Garden’s outstanding orchid collection, one of the largest at any public garden in the world according to their website, takes center stage.

This year, the Orchid Daze exhibition features “strikingly beautiful inventive murals by three Southeastern artists” created especially for the event.  Niki Zarrabi’s bold, surrealist orchid blooms greet visitors in the Conservatory Lobby.
A captivating mural by Janice Rago provides the perfect backdrop for the masses of colorful orchids in the Orchid Center Atrium.


The Orchid Display House features a mixed-media installation with a playful hexagon motif by Lara Nguyen.


I’ll conclude with a few additional favorites I spotted at the Atlanta Botanical Garden Orchid Daze.

More Info

See the Fort Canning Park website for more information about this Singapore gem.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens, established in 1859, hold a “unique and significant place in the history of Singapore and the region. Through the botanical and horticultural work carried out today, it will continue to play an important role as a leading tropical botanical institute, and an endearing place to all Singaporeans.”  Interestingly, the Gardens were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015—”the first and only tropical botanic garden on the list. It is the first in Asia and the third botanic gardens inscribed in the world following Orto botanico di Padova and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.”  Check out the Singapore Botanic Garden website to learn more.  Since the garden’s inception, “orchids have been closely associated with the Gardens”.  See the National Orchid Garden section of the website for more info.
The book, Ultimate Orchid by Thomas J. Sheehan, quoted in this blog post is available here on Archive.org.
The beautiful Atlanta Botanical Garden is located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.  Orchid Daze is on display until April 9, 2023.  For more information consult the Atlanta Botanical Garden website.

Today’s Takeaways

1. “No other group in the plant kingdom can match the incredible diversity found within the orchid family (Orchidaceae).”  Thomas J. Sheehan
2. “The range of plant forms and sizes, along with the far greater variety found among the colors, shapes, and sizes of their flowers, dazzles anyone who takes the time to investigate these marvelous creations of nature.”  Thomas J. Sheehan
3. Specific flowers can serve to remind us of treasured memories.