Singapore Botanic Gardens’ orchid display awarded gold medal at London’s Chelsea Flower Show 

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Botanic Gardens’ return to a prestigious flower show in England has been marked by a sweet surprise – a top medal for its floral display.

The Gardens’ participation in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London, from May 20 to 24, marks its first return to the event in nearly 70 years.

In a Facebook post on May 21, the National Parks Board (NParks) said: “We are delighted to share that the display, From Hong Kong To Australia – The Orchids Of Asia & The Pacific, which includes a showcase of our native orchids, has been awarded a gold medal in the Great Pavilion.”

This international exhibition includes participants from Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Britain and the US, NParks added.

Created by the Gardens’ Living Collections team, the display, titled Singapore’s Native Orchids: Conservation And Heritage, features a mix of native orchids from the Gardens’ ex situ collection, including Callostylis pulchella, Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi and Arachnis hookeriana.

NParks said the epiphytic orchids are arranged on stumps and branches, mirroring their natural growth in the wild.

The first Singapore Botanic Gardens delegation to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show was in 1957, led by Mr Richard Eric Holttum, then director, who initiated the Gardens’ orchid hybridisation programme in 1928.

The award comes as the Gardens in 2025 celebrates its 10th year since being inscribed as a

Unesco World Heritage Site

– the only tropical botanical garden on the list.

It also marks the 150th anniversary of the Singapore Herbarium and the Gardens’ Library of Botany and Horticulture, the first of their kind in Malaya when launched in 1875.

The National Orchid Garden will also celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2025. 

The milestones

coincide with the country’s diamond jubilee, or SG60.