Gardens by the Bay: Cacti are Cool

The newest attraction at Gardens by the Bay is an outdoor Garden called Sun Pavilion. It features one of the largest collection of cacti and succulent plants in Southeast Asia.

While the Flower Dome already has a Succulent Garden section, the desert landscape is more convincing outdoors. This “pavilion” is covered with clear glass (no hiding from the sun!) but there are a few large fans to keep visitors cool. You’ll be thankful for that with this crazy hot weather happening in Singapore!

The Sun Pavilion is full of succulents (plants with thick, fleshy, water-storing leaves or stems) and of course, cacti.

This is a small garden that will take most visitors at most 5-10 minutes to walk through. The centre walkway of the garden, with low-lying specimens, is lined with short glass panes. There are small gaps between each pane, making good opportunities to shoot these smaller plants up close.

Turk’s Cap

Numerous varieties of the green cacti, in all shapes and sizes.

One of the oddest specimens: Brain Cactus. It grows sideways and around itself, resulting in this odd brain-like shape.

As I was at the park about an hour before noon (very hot!), I wasn’t surprised to be the only visitor at this outdoor garden. One of the garden crew was around to watering plants. It was like being a secret oasis; I had fun viewing the fields of plants and taking pictures at the Sun Pavilion undisturbed.

The Sun Pavilion is actually near the Cloud Forest, but the easiest way to get there is from the Canopy (covered walkway connecting the Conservatories and Ticketing Hub). Walk towards the Far East Organization’s Children’s Garden and you will see the Sun Pavilion along the way. Alternatively, you can walk from the lower level of the Canopy (same level as Flower Dome’s Exit and Cloud Forest Entrance/Exit), going along the exterior of Cloud Forest, on the coastal path towards the Children’s Garden.

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Contributed by Dejiki.