HortPark
Encyclopedia
1.278°N 103.801°E
HortPark (Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

: 园艺园林) is a 23-hectare park located in the South-Western part of Singapore. It is the first one-stop gardening lifestyle hub in Asia 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
Kent Ridge Park
Kent Ridge Park is a 47-hectare public park in western Singapore, between the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Science Park...

, Telok Blangah Hill Park
Telok Blangah Hill Park
-History:Since the early nineteenth century, the park has long been a place of gathering for trading communities which flourished. The prosperity of the traders is represented by the Alkaff Mansion, an elegant colonial bungalow built by an Arab trader and is previously a place for grand parties of...

 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
Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Loong is the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore. He is married to Ho Ching, who is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Holdings. He is the eldest son of Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew....

.

HortFeatures

HortPark is equipped with the following facilities and amenities:
  • HortCentre
  • HortMart
  • Hands-On House
  • HortLawn & Event Lawn
  • Garden Patch
  • HortGardens
  • Butterfly Garden

HortCentre

The two-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. It is also one of the 11 finalists for Urban Land Institute's (ULI) Awards for Excellence 2009.

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. 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
National Parks Board
The National Parks Board is a statutory board of the Singapore Government.The National Parks Board is responsible for providing and enhancing the greenery of Singapore. NParks manages around 300 parks, the park connector network and the roadside greenery in Singapore...

 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.

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
Parthenos sylvia
The Clipper is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South and South-East Asia found mostly in forested areas. The Clipper is a fast flying butterfly and has a habit of flying with its wings flapping stiffly between the horizontal position and a few degrees below the horizontal...

) and Common Sergeant (Athyma perius
Athyma perius
The Common Sergeant is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South Asia and Southeast Asia.-Description: The Athyma perius male has black wings with a series of white markings, while the female is a blackish brown. The underside of the wings are ochre yellow with the white markings as on the...

).

Theme Gardens

  • 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
National Parks Board
The National Parks Board is a statutory board of the Singapore Government.The National Parks Board is responsible for providing and enhancing the greenery of Singapore. NParks manages around 300 parks, the park connector network and the roadside greenery in Singapore...

(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
Building and Construction Authority
The Building and Construction Authority , is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Singapore Government.- Vision :...

 (BCA), National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....

 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
Gardens by the Bay
Gardens by the Bay consists of three distinctive waterfront gardens – Bay South, Bay East and Bay Central, spanning a total of 101 hectares. They are set in the heart of Singapore’s new downtown Marina Bay, encircling the Marina Reservoir like a green necklace...

. In addition, HortPark serves as a satellite campus
Satellite campus
A satellite campus or branch campus is a campus of a college or university that is physically detached from the main university or college area, and is often smaller than the main campus of an institution....

for the Centre of Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE) which is managed by the Industry Development arm under NParks.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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