SINGAPORE: GARDENS BY THE BAY
Delicious fruit
Gardens by the Bay in Singapore is a truly amazing display of plants from most parts of the world (except the coldest) all cultivated on reclaimed land and all growing lush and healthy, despite the tropical climate. We took a guided tour around the outside of the two vast, glass(?) covered domes and past gardens set up to display edible plants, a children’s area, and those devoted to India, Malaysia, Colonial Singapore and many others. Cameras pointed in opposite directions from the open-sided minibus, between the two of us we managed to capture enough photos for a passable impression of the place.
super trees
The Supertrees are not yet fully covered, but these metal structures have been planted with creepers and hanging shrubs that will ultimately reach the tops. All the work must be 
done from inside the cones, presumably using pots secured to the external metal walls. Already they look amazing.
FLOWER DOME
1000 year old olive tree
Amazing roof structure covering a ground area of three acres
As we both love flowers and plants, our first stop was the Flower Dome. The structure itself is a feat of engineering design and construction and must have cost a fortune. There are no internal pillars so that the walkways are open and sunlight pours in from every angle, through clear panels (of glass?) set into long curved metal bars. In the highest area, closest to the light, are specimens of ancient plants, not very attractive, but certainly interesting. Further down we find olive trees that are a thousand years old – how could they transport and replant such specimens?
Plants are the main features, but sculptures, mostly made from wood, also feature in this man made Garden of Eden.
A swan, carved from pale timber, looks as if it’s about to take off from the raised bed, drawing all eyes to it as we enter the dome.
Cinderella’s coach
The Gingerbread House
Around it, tulips bloom – we haven’t yet worked out how they can produce tulips in the tropics, every plant standing tall and unblemished. And there are masses of them, especially in the lower middle section of the dome, their colours and shapes used to show off staged settings of children’s fairy tales. Only photos can do them justice.
