Singapore: Gardens By The Bay, Flower Dome

Ivanova Olga Georgievna, leading specialist of the "Emerald World" company, traveler, photographer

Flower dome from Marina Bay Sands

Ending. The beginning - in the articles "Supertrees" of Singapore, Singapore: Gardens by the Bay, cloud forest.

In the southern part of Singapore Gardens by the Bay park, in addition to the "supertrees", there are two "domes". The Cloud Forest dome covers an area of 0.8 hectares. The Flower Dome is larger - 1.2 hectares. If "Cloudy Forest" is a cool and humid kingdom, then "Flower House" is a community of plants in the arid zone.

Formally, these structures can be called greenhouses or greenhouses. But, to be honest, my tongue does not turn. Rather, they are parks under the roof. And not heated, but cooled.

The striking design of the 38-meter Flower Dome has no additional supports. The necessary rigidity of the gigantic structure is given by a steel mesh carrying more than three thousand glass panels covered with a special type of glass that traps excess solar energy. Special pipes with cold water pass below, cooling the air, and warm air collects by itself in the upper part of the dome.

Flower dome at night

In addition, on the surface of the domes, there are controllable dampers that automatically extend when the temperature rises, creating a shadow. In general, it is 10-15 degrees cooler in the Flower Dome than outside.

This building demonstrates the possibilities of modern spectacular innovative developments in the field of architecture and environmental energy-saving technologies.

In traditional greenhouses of botanical gardens, climatic zones are physically separated - by partitions and doors - in order to maintain their own microclimate in each room. Dry tropics are separated from humid ones, deserts from savannas and marshes, palms grow separately from azaleas. The principle of separation is preserved in the “flower dome”. But there are no partitions. And the microclimate necessary for each zone is individual: both temperature and humidity are maintained in each zone in a downright mystical way.

Flower dome. Plants under one roof

The area under the dome is usually divided into nine gardens. Five of them represent natural areas of South America, California (Central America), South Africa, Australia, and the Mediterranean. Two more are thematic. Baobabs in one, succulents in the other. Two more gardens are plants in the flowering phase - constantly updated seasonal collections.

Succulents native to different continents grow together in the upper tier of the park. Here the driest and coolest air and the most light.

Cereus and agave

Echinocactus, prickly pears, gastria

The Baobab Alley is also in the upper tier. There, of course, not only baobabs are collected, but also other "bottle" trees - pachypodiums, brachychitons, nolina, seiba, cissus.

Alley of baobabs

Bottle trees

Scientifically, the bottle of the plant is called caudex. Some of these plants are stone-like with luxurious or not very hairy hair.

Pachypodium and Aloe

Pachypodium bispinosum (Pachypodium bispinosum)

Fockea edible (Fockea edulis)

Adenium socotranum

Dorstenia giant (Dorstenia gigas)

Pachypodium densiflorum

Cyphostemma Utah (Cyphostemma juttae syn. Cissus juttae)

Expositions dedicated to the vegetation of individual continents occupy the middle tier areas. The flower gardens and paths on the lower level emphasize the spatial isolation of the floristic areas.

View of "America" and "Africa" from "Europe"

Perhaps, as conceived by the designers, this should depict continents and islands, separated by oceans of flowers and paths of currents.

Flora of Africa mainly fell into either "baobabs" or "succulents". The symbol of South Africa is the royal protea or artichoke, the characteristic representative of the fynbos is generally placed in the Australian flora (where it is also very common). In the northern hemisphere, these plants, pollinated by birds, are practically absent.

Artichoke Protea (Protea cynaroides)

In the garden, which in the flower dome is positioned as an area of African vegetation, mainly palm trees grow. In their shadow, you forget that there is a glass dome above you. Thunbergia alley leads to the palm grove.

Winged Tunbergia (Thunbergia alata)

Strelitzia (Strelitzia reginae) against the background of fan palms

Erica vertical (Erica verticillata)

Streptocarpus - plants of the Gesneriaceae family, and Erica verticillata (Erica verticillata) of the Heather family - are planted next to African palms and strelitzia. Erika is vertical, as well as proteas - an inhabitant of a finbosh.

Fynbos, a strip of coastline 100-200 km wide, is one of the richest in plant species and a unique ecosystem on the planet. It occupies about 6% of South Africa and 0.5% of Africa. It accounts for 20% of African plant species. Bulbous alone - more than 1.4 thousand species, this is more than in the whole of Great Britain.

Canary dates are planted separately. The plant widespread by humans has naturalized in many subtropical regions of the planet. Today this palm tree grows from the latitudes of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and the southern coast of Crimea in the north to southern Chile in the south. In some countries, notably New Zealand, the plant has become an aggressive weed.

Streptocarpus hybrid (Streptocarpus hybridus)

Canary date (Phoenix canariensis)

You get culture shock in the Mediterranean department. Millennial olives in a greenhouse opened to visitors in 2012. In the shade of the olives, cyclamen bloom, the time of flowering of which has come in Europe. Fruiting citrus fruits, figs, a large collection of hellebores. And all this is one and a half degrees from the equator. All plants are imported. Soil, temperature, humidity - meet the requirements of the plants.

Olive grove

Olea europaea and Homo sapiens

Orange (Citrus x sinensis)

Fig (Ficus carica)

Green hellebore (Helleborus viridis)

Hybrid hellebore (Helleborus x hybridus)

Cyclamen kosky (Cyclamen coum syn.Cyclamen orbiculatum)

Persian cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum) among the creeping tenacious (Ajuga reptans)

In Australia's plant exposition, most of the species are endemic. The most unusual for us: herbal tree, anigosanthos, chamelauciums. Known to almost everyone, brachychitons and eucalyptus are typical Australian plants. Interestingly, orange and red flowered eucalyptus trees originate from southwestern Western Australia and are not found elsewhere in the wild.

Chamelacium (Chamelaucium sp.)

Chamelaucium (Chamelaucium sp.)

Anigozanthos sp.

Acacia (Acacia denticulosa)

Swainsona formosa, or Sturt's Desert Pea

Eucalyptus ficifolia flower)

The herb tree is a plant of the Xanthorrhoeaceae genus.

Australian brachychiton

South America is represented by Brazilian and Chilean araucaria. Agaves, cacti are in “succulents”, and plants of humid rain forests are in the neighboring “cloudy” dome.

Chilean araucaria (Araucaria araucana) and Brazilian araucaria (Araucaria angustifolia)

In planting under trees - fuchsia. Native to Central and South America, these evergreen shrubs are common potted houseplants.

Fuchsia hybrid (Fuchsia x hybrida)

The most spectacular plants in Central America are the giant yucca, palms and cotton tree (Bombax ceiba). At home, bombax can reach a height of 60-70 meters, but here it is still small, but already very beautiful.

Plants of Central America

Giant Yucca (Yucca gigantea syn.Y. elephantipes)

Cotton tree (Bombax ceiba)

Temporary exhibitions are usually dedicated to a holiday and are made up of plants blooming at that time. With 4 state languages, a dozen recognized religious confessions, Chinese, Indian, European, Malay, Japanese, Armenian, Russian and other cultural traditions of holidays and dates, there are plenty of memorable events in Singapore. We visited the dome as a sea of wildly flowering plants saw off the European New Year, made our way through Orthodox Christmas and prepared for the Chinese New Year.

New Year is a holiday everywhere

Dahlias

Poinsettias are present in the composition as a symbol of the New Year in Europe, and Chinese lanterns and signs of the zodiac for the New Year in China. What event was the sea of blooming dahlias, we did not understand, and did not try. Dahlias may be blooming in Singapore. It was very beautiful.

Permanent exhibitions, as well as removable ones, are added and updated. As a result, there are more natural "locations" inside zonal and thematic gardens than in the official description. There is, for example, an exposition with plants typical of Japan. Perhaps an exposition dedicated to deciduous trees and heathers is planned. At least the birches have already been planted. They are, however, still weak, leafless in winter, but with quite lively buds.

Flora of japan

Wooden mustang "Sivka-Burka" among bottle trees

In addition to plants, there are many installations and “garden” sculptures in the flower dome. There are even works by the famous master Bruno Catalano, a French sculptor of Italian origin. The artist almost always depicts "people with suitcases heading into the unknown." Where and from where these people are going or running is not known, there is no unambiguous interpretation of the plot. Perhaps this is a group of “settlers” moving from one part of the world to another, perhaps these are the inhabitants of modern cities, dissolving in nature.

Settlers

Almost all plants can be touched. Next to each is a label, next to the large pieces there are benches.

I will say it again. Divided into zones according to geographical and climatic principles, the "flower dome" has no internal partitions. Everything under one transparent roof. Plants of deserts and palms of subtropics, araucaria from South America, African baobabs, Mediterranean olives, Australian brachychitons, Russian birches, Caucasian hellebores, flowering fuchsias and dahlias, heathers, proteas - all have acceptable conditions. One step under the dome, and the mixture of aromas from flowers is dizzy at any time of the year.

It especially strikes, delights and surprises when you remember: like everything in Singapore, the plants in the "domes" were brought. All these age-old trees were brought to Singapore from the "mainland" along with materials, soil and equipment.

So we walked among living floristic collections from five continents of the planet and from different fairy tales.

Photo: Ivanova Olga Georgievna