The Singapore Garden Festival is back! The much-anticipated floral event in the region will be featuring some of the top award-winning garden and floral designers from all over the world, namely, New Zealand, United States, Canada, France, China, United Kingdom, Norway, India, Australia, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.

Some exhibition highlights include Landscape Gardens, Fantasy Gardens, and Floral Windows to the World. By the way, there will also be an Orchid Show for all of you orchid lovers out there!

Festival Dates: July 25, 2008 – August 1, 2008
Festival Venue: Suntec Convention Centre, Singapore
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm

Ticket Price
Adult Ticket: S$6 (Mon-Fri), S$12 (Sat & Sun)
Child, Student, Senior Citizen: S$3 (Mon-Fri), S$6 (Sat & Sun)
Family Ticket (2 Adults & 3 Children): S$18 (Mon – Fri), S$36 (Sat & Sun)

Visit their official website for more information.

Below is a very simple and clear step by step guide provided by realsimple.com for beginners on how you can arrange your cut flowers in any vase. For those of you who do not have a vase available at home, do not fret. You can substitute the vase with any empty jars or empty wine bottles available in your kitchen cabinets.

Photo by Natasha Milne

Step 1: Fill the vase with cool tap water, says Emily Weaver, owner of New York City floral design studio Chestnuts in the Tuileries. (Warm water can force unopened buds to bloom too quickly.)

Step 2: Measure the flower against the height of the vase and decide where to snip.

Step 3: Lay stems on a cutting board and, with a kitchen knife, cut on an angle, which exposes the stem to more water. If you prefer, use floral shears instead of a knife.

Step 4: Bind the flowers with a clear-colored elastic and trim any too-long stems. Finally, place the flowers in the vase.

Do take some pictures of your flowers and send them to me once you’ve tried the steps above. Let me know how it works for you. Have fun arranging your blooms and have a great weekend!