Singapore Botanic Gardens

Singapore Botanic Gardens
Kebun Bunga Singapura (Malay) 新加坡植物园 (Chinese) சிங்கப்பூர் தாவரவியல் பூங்கா (Tamil)
Symphony Lake
Location	Tanglin, Central Region, Singapore
Coordinates	1°18′54″N 103°48′58″E / 1.3151°N 103.8162°E / 1.3151; 103.8162
Area	82 hectares (202.63 acres)
Created	1859; 165 years ago (1859)
Operated by	NParks
Public transit access	CC19  DT9  Botanic Gardens (Bukit Timah Gate)  TE12  Napier (Tanglin Gate)
UNESCO World Heritage Site UNESCO World Heritage Site Criteria Cultural: ii, iv Reference 1483 Inscription 2015 (39th Session) Area 49 ha Buffer zone 137 ha

Part of a series on the
History of Singapore
Early history (pre-1819) Srivijaya 650–1377 Temasek, Long Ya Men, Ban Zu c.14th century Kingdom of Singapura 1299–1398 Malacca Sultanate 1400–1511 Johor Sultanate 1528–1819
British colonial era (1819–1942) Founding 1819–1826 Straits Settlements 1826–1867 Crown colony 1867–1942
Japanese Occupation (1942–1945) Fall of Singapore 1942 Sook Ching 1942 Double Tenth incident 1943
Post-war period (1945–1962) First Legislative Council 1948–1951 Maria Hertogh riots 1950 Second Legislative Council 1951–1955 Anti-National Service Riots 1954
Internal self-government (1955–1963) Hock Lee bus riots 1955 Pulau Senang prison riots 1963
Merger with Malaysia (1963–1965) Singaporean referendum 1962 Operation Coldstore 1963 Race riots in Singapore 1964 MacDonald House bombing 1965
Republic of Singapore (1965–present) ASEAN Declaration (ASEAN) 1967 1969 race riots of Singapore 1969 Laju incident 1974 Operation Spectrum 1987 Asian financial crisis 1997 Embassies attack plot 2001 H1N1 pandemic 2009–2010 Little India riot 2013 2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit 2018 COVID-19 pandemic 2020–2022
By topic Timeline Riots Military
Singapore portal
v t e

The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 165-year-old tropical garden located at the fringe of the Orchard Road shopping district in Singapore. It is one of three gardens, and the only tropical garden, to be honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.^[1] The Botanic Gardens has been ranked Asia's top park attraction since 2013, by TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards.^[2] It was declared the inaugural Garden of the Year by the International Garden Tourism Awards in 2012.

The Botanic Gardens was founded at its present site in 1859 by the Agri-horticultural Society. It played a pivotal role in the region's rubber trade boom in the early twentieth century when its first scientific director, Henry Nicholas Ridley, headed research into the plant's cultivation. By perfecting the technique of rubber extraction, which is still in use today, and promoting its economic value to planters in the region, rubber output expanded rapidly. At its height in the 1920s, the Malayan peninsula cornered half of the global latex production.

The National Orchid Garden, which is located within the main gardens, is at the forefront of orchid studies and a pioneer in the cultivation of hybrids, complementing the nation's status as a major exporter of cut orchids. Aided by the equatorial climate, it houses the largest orchid collection of 1,200 species and 2,000 hybrids.

Early in the nation's independence, Singapore Botanic Gardens' expertise helped to transform the island into a tropical "Garden City", an image and moniker for which the nation is widely known. In 1981, the hybrid climbing orchid, Vanda Miss Joaquim, was chosen as the country's national flower. Singapore's "orchid diplomacy" honours visiting head of states, dignitaries, and celebrities by naming its finest hybrids after them; these are displayed at its popular VIP Orchid Gardens.^[3][4]

The Gardens is opened from 5 a.m. to 12 midnight daily and is free to enter,^[5] except for the National Orchid Garden.^[6] More than 10,000 species of flora are spread over its 82 hectares (200 acres) area, which is stretched vertically; the longest distance between the northern and southern ends is 2.5 km (1.6 mi). The Botanic Gardens receives about 4.5 million visitors annually.