Gardens by the Bay has created the largest flower carpet in Singapore as a showcase of horticultural art with more than 100,000 potted plants and 20,000 cut flowers making up its batik-inspired design.
The final touches for the Flower Carpet, Singapore’s largest by the Singapore Book of Records, was put in place by Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat, along with volunteers from the community
Gardens by the Bay’s Flower Carpet at the Supertree Grove
The Flower Carpet will be on show at the Lawn at Supertree Grove for nine days from 23 September till 1 Oct 2023.
It measures 34.2 metres across, almost the length of a Boeing 737 aeroplane.
Amongst the flowers used are seven different cultivars of chrysanthemums, oxalis, loropetalums and marigolds.
A Singaporean Flower Carpet
Gardens by the Bay’s Flower Carpet was designed is to reflect the fusion of diverse cultural influences and encapsulate the broader theme of unity.
The design is batik-inspired, making use of the national flower the Papillionanthe (Vanda) Miss Joaquim as a central motif. This is complemented by native orchids, the Spathoglottis Lion of Singapore, and the leaves of the raintree.
The petals of the Flower Carpet includes representations of the four races such as a lantern, ketupat, diya candle and bell.
These are done through Rangoli, the traditional Indian art of creating designs with coloured sand and are the work of renowned local Rangoli artist Vijaya Mohan.
Around 300 people were involved in creating the Gardens by the Bay Flower Carpet. These included Gardens by the Bay’s horticulturists and volunteers, alongside to volunteers from groups like Council for Third Age, SG Assist, Heartware Network and beneficiaries from MUIS.
It is estimated that more than 200 hours went into the creation of the Flower Carpet..
One of the challenges was to find a way to make sure hundreds of thousands of flowers used in the Flower Carpet would bloom at the same time.
It was also desired that the Flower Carpet last for more than a week – significantly longer than the lifespan of flower carpets overseas, which are designed to be on show for only a few days.
As such, potted plants are used in the Flower Carpet.
To produce a seamless design, horticulturists and volunteers placed each pot as closely to one another as possible.
This led to its own set of challenges when it came to making sure the plants could receive sufficient water during watering. As such, new watering techniques were devised.
Gardens by the Bay Senior Director of Gardens Operations Gary Chua said, “Flower carpets are works of horticultural art, yet they are rare to see in the tropics because our weather conditions make it horticulturally challenging to pull off the idea. But challenging does not mean it cannot be done, and our horticulturists created the display with live potted plants besides the flower petals usually used in temperate countries. In the spirit of innovation and sustainability, these potted plants can subsequently be repurposed for other landscaping works around Gardens by the Bay.
Viewing Gardens by the Bay’s Flower Carpet
Gardens by the Bay’s Flower Carpet is made possible with the support of Tote Board, Yeo’s, OCBC and Tanoto Foundation.
Vantage points to view the Flower Carpet are from the OCBC Skyway or the World of Plants outdoor gardens.
There is no admission charge to view the Flower Carpet.
If you enjoyed this story, we predict that you will also enjoy this one about the Mid-Autumn Festival at Gardens by the Bay and other Mid-Autumn Festival events. You will also like this one on the KPMG Wellness Garden.
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