Spending the weekend lounging in your artistically designed backyard? Maybe swaying in a shaded hammock? Wait – you don’t have a garden? Just a front stoop? Considering that the closest most of us come to green-fingered pursuits in Singapore is keeping a couple of potted plants in the common room, that’s no surprise. So what’s a nature-starved city-dweller to do?

Make like a bee and go pollinate the Singapore Garden Festival, where the Landscape and Fantasy Garden exhibit will let you wander through ‘mini-yards’ created by top garden designers from Singapore and around the world. They’re the perfect places to pretend you’ve spent the day in an English country garden or chilling in a sleek Thai courtyard. The best part of these gardens is that you don’t have to do any work in them, so when you’re done lazing, carelessly flit over to the Floral Windows to the World exhibit to take in an array of cut-flower displays that will make it hard for a guy ever to impress a girl with a bouquet again.

Next comes the Orchid Show, where you can ooh and ah over the stunning colours – or giggle childishly about how the blooms resemble certain parts of the human anatomy. After that, you’re sure to be inspired, so why not visit the Vibrant Market-Place to pick up a plant or two to take home, where you can create your very own garden…windowsill. 

Daily 10am-10pm. $6 weekdays, $12 weekend. Discounts for children. Family packs available for $18 weekdays, $36 weekend. MRT: City Hall.
Go to www.singaporegardenfestival.com for more information.