Boy Alex is a landscaper by trade, and has an inherent love of plant life which I find kind of astounding. He really sees the beauty in nature, and appreciates flowers, succulents, trees, bushes and grass with every fibre of his being. He has been known to touch or smell plants very affectionately and recite their botanical names as if speaking the name of a lover!
When we visited Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, we were both suitably blown away. There was much touching and smelling of the plants, let me tell you!
The gardens are an incredible 101 hectares of wonderfully designed landscape, a stone’s throw from the city centre. There are gardens of every style – traditional Chinese and Indian, as well as futuristic Supertree Grove that has crazy light up trees that look like the invention of someone seriously tripping out on drugs.
We spent three hours in the two ‘greenhouses’, which are at the tip of the gardens, close to the Marina Reservoir. The first dome, Cloud Forest, emulates the environment of a rainforest, with a 35 metre waterfall and flowing river. Singapore really know how to do things BIG.
The second conservatory which is appropriately named the Flower Dome, is an incredible indoor conservatory that is home to several different climate controlled areas which exemplify varying garden styles around the world. There are towering magnolia trees (Magnolia Grandiflora), mature olive trees (Olea Eurpaea) that would have cost a pretty penny, an entire section of succulents (including Crassula Ovata and Pachyphytum Bracteosum), and even some beautiful grass trees (Xanthorrhoea Australis) straight outta Queensland that Alex informs me would have cost about $15 000 a pop. Eye watering stuff!
I found it especially fascinating having a personal narrator telling me what each plant would have cost! The amount of cash that has been funneled into the project is astounding. Add the start up cost to the maintenance, staff and general upkeep of the gardens and it would surely run into the millions.
When we visited, there was also a special exhibition of tulips, called Tulip Mania, which lived up to its name and was seriously crazy. Being a Saturday, it was mayhem in that section of the conservatory, so we were happy gazing down from above at the masses of people milling about and taking a zillion photos.
If you’re in Singapore, make a beeline for the gardens and get lost there for a few hours. They are a welcome reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the pulsing shopping centres and streets. The conservatories are both air conditioned, giving you time to dry your clothes after walking the streets and sweating up a storm! Landscaper or not, you will appreciate and wonder at the beauty of nature in these enchanting gardens.
Alex Times Two 
This is a beautiful place and we enjoyed it very much. Like you we spent several hours there. I was most impressed by the fact that all the water is collected from rainfall on the roof of each dome and all the power is solar and collected by panels on the supertrees. Eco friendly as well as stunning.