Orchid Extravaganza Floral Display at Gardens by the Bay

August 23, 2014

Orchid Extravaganza Floral Display at Gardens by the Bay

The biennial Singapore Garden Festival is held in Gardens by the Bay for the first time and the festival end on this Sunday night.I visited yesterday afternoon and thought that I could explore both Flower Dome and Garden Festival, but due to time constraint, I only went to Flower Dome for the Orchid Extravaganza Floral Display. At Flower Dome you get to see award-winning orchids on display. It's like a beauty pageant for the many varieties of orchids. By the way, the national flower of Singapore is Vanda Miss Joaquim,the first hybrid orchid registered in Singapore. By the way, did you know Singapore is the only nation to use a hybrid for a national flower?

If you want to catch Singapore Gardens Festival and Flower Dome, the last day is tomorrow. For more information, visit Gardens by the Bay website
at http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/home.html

How to get there?
Just alight at BayFront MRT station

From National Environment Agency

History

This orchid, a hybrid between Vanda hookeriana and Vanda teres is hardy and free flowering. It was described by the first director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens Mr H.N. Ridley in 1893, who named it after Agnes Joaquim. Ridley wrote that the plant was the results of a cross made by Miss Joaquim.

Features Of Vanda Miss Joaquim

A strong inflorescence of Vanda Miss Joaquim may carry up to 12 buds, usually with four flowers open at a time. Each flower is about 5 cm across and 6 cm tall, and as is the case with its parents, the petals are twisted around so that the back surface faces front. The two petals and the top sepal are rosy-violet, and the lateral sepals are a pale mauve. The lip is very large and broad and the middle lobe extends out like a fan. It is coloured violet-rose, merging into a contrasting fiery orange at the centre. Over the orange patch, the lip is finely spotted with dark purple. It is free-flowering.