HortPark

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Coordinates: 1°16′41″N 103°48′04″E / 1.278°N 103.801°E / 1.278; 103.801

The HortCentre. Photo by Leigh Blackall

HortPark is a 23-hectare park located in the South-Western part of Singapore. It is the first one-stop gardening lifestyle hub in Asia[1] that integrates a plethora of activities together under one roof in a park setting. One can find gardening-related, recreational, educational, research and retail activities here at this gardening hub that also doubles as a knowledge hub for gardening information, training & value-added services such as networking opportunities.

Nestled in the Southern Ridges, HortPark serves as a park connector that allows visitors to travel around Kent Ridge Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Mount Faber Park with ease and convenience. This is made possible through the elevated walkways and connecting bridges.

In December 2007, HortPark opened, but it was not until 10 May 2008 that it was officially launched by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

HortFeatures

A green wall with information signage in HortPark January 2009. Photo by Leigh Blackall

HortPark is equipped with the following facilities and amenities:

  • HortCentre
  • HortMart
  • Hands-On House
  • HortLawn & Event Lawn
  • Garden Patch
  • HortGardens
  • Butterfly Garden

HortCentre

The 2-storey HortCentre building also serves as the Visitor Centre. It showcases gardening attractions, which include the Green Roof and the Lifestyle Corner. The building was one of the winners of 2008 International Architecture Award for Best New Global Design.[2] It is also one of the 11 finalists for Urban Land Institute's (ULI) Awards for Excellence 2009.[3]

Green Roof is a rooftop display of the different types of green roof systems and plants suitable for green roof planting. Lifestyle Corner is where visitors can see how flora-themed furnishings can complement the homes, through the showcasing of interiorscaping and lifestyle-gardening ideas.

HortMart

In HortMart, visitors can purchase gardening and landscaping products, services and advice.

Hands-On House

The Hands-On House is a laboratory in a classroom setting. It also consists of a sheltered demonstration area in an outdoor setting for learning purposes.

HortLawn & Event Lawn

HortLawn is located near to the HortCentre while Event Lawn can be found near the Hands-On House. Both lawns are suitable for hosting a wide variety of outdoor activities such as workshops, bazaars and functions.

Garden Patch

An important feature in HortPark, Garden Patch is an ideal venue for an extensive outdoor display of garden designs, concepts, unique landscape designs and the latest trends in gardening and landscaping. Garden Patch is essentially a patchwork of forty 8metres by 8metres plots in an outdoor setting. Industry players often employ the display plots as an exhibition zone.

HortGardens

HortPark features 21 theme gardens.[4] Each theme showcases the unique and distinctive qualities of the carefully selected plant species.

Butterfly Garden

The Butterfly Garden was opened in May 2009 by the National Parks Board in partnership with National Biodiversity Centre to allow visitors to learn about the different stages of butterfly metamorphosis and also serve as an experimental garden to facilitate butterfly species recovery.[5]

The 150 square metres landscaped theme garden features an enclosure where visitors can encounter the flying jewels up close and personal amongst a visual feast of tropical plants and nearly 20 species of native butterflies. The research forcus of the Butterfly Species Recovery Programme is to find suitable nectar and host plants for breeding a variety of butterfly species, including locally extinct species such as Clipper (Parthenos sylvia) and Common Sergeant (Athyma perius).

Theme Gardens

Relaxing in a play structure in one of the many themed gardens. Photo by Leigh Blackall
  • Aquascape
  • Floral Walk
  • Home Garden
  • Flora Fancy
  • Tree Garden
  • Seed Garden
  • Water Garden
  • Passage Walk
  • Silver Garden
  • Golden Garden
  • Orchid Corner
  • Fantasy Garden
  • Car Park Garden
  • Lifestyle Corner
  • Terrarium Arcade
  • Recycling Garden
  • Bamboo Labyrinth
  • Butterfly Garden
  • Tree Climbing Corner
  • Herb and Spice Garden
  • Fruited Tree and Vegetable Garden

GardenTech

HortPark played host to GardenTech 2007, a biennial gardening carnival that showcases the latest horticulture and landscaping technology tools, products and services. The carnival participated by local and overseas exhibitors. The upcoming GardenTech 2009 will also be held at HortPark.

Other Involvement

HortPark also features a series of other National Parks Board(NParks)'s initiatives. They include Community in Bloom(CIB),which encourages communal gardening and 'The Living Wall',a research project by Building and Construction Authority (BCA), National University of Singapore and NParks. 'The Living Wall' showcases vertical greenery systems. HortPark also features six prototype glasshouses as research stations for the upcoming Gardens by the Bay. In addition, HortPark serves as a satellite campus for the Centre of Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE) which is managed by the Industry Development arm under NParks.

See also

References

  1. ↑ New HortPark the first to offer one-stop gardening hub & lifestyle experience, NParks Media Release, 02 Nov 2006. Retrieved on 25 May 2009.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ HortPark - The Gardening Hub, National Parks Board Factsheet, 10 July 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
  5. ↑ http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=172&Itemid=129#21 National Biodiversity Centre

External links

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