Tourism Malaysia returns to Chelsea Flower Show in 2011

This spring, Tourism Malaysia will be showcasing a Malaysian-themed garden for the second year running at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

This spring, Tourism Malaysia will be showcasing a Malaysian-themed garden for the second year running at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Tourism Malaysia’s participation at the Chelsea Flower Show is a chance to showcase the country’s unique species of flowers and plants, as well as to create awareness for Malaysia as a gardens and parks destination. There is really no better place in the world to experience exotic flora and fauna in their pristine tropical environment. Malaysia has a wide range of National Parks from mangrove reserves and tropical rainforests to Marine Parks. Just a few degrees north of the equator, the lush rainforests and the warm oceans set the perfect backdrop to watch wildlife in its natural habitat.

This year’s garden will again be designed by the award-winning design duo, James Wong, who is of Malaysian descent, and David Cubero. Both designers were at the helm for last year’s garden success story at Chelsea. In 2010, the Tourism Malaysia garden won gold at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The garden was the first full-size tropical garden in the event’s history. Whilst last year’s garden was modeled around a traditional ‘kampung’ (Malay village), this year’s design will take inspiration from the winding jungle streams and rich traditional architecture of the Malaysian Archipelago.

Designer, James Wong commented:

“This year’s design will be a modernist re-envisioning of the “courtyard pool”, a traditional Asian architectural design feature which uses sheets of water and lush planting to act as a natural air-conditioning system, as used in many modernist residences in the heart of downtown Kuala Lumpur.”

The garden will be accessed through a series of floating entrance frames that lead from a stilted villa to a sunken seating pavilion, surrounded by a pool studded with drifts of fragrant tropical water lilies. Around the garden will be a brown limestone wall densely planted with curtains of trailing jungle vines, providing a dramatic contrast to the foreground of floating terraces of tropical plants, punctuated by streams of falling water.

The Tourism Malaysia garden will be officially opened on 23 May by the Minister of Tourism, Malaysia, YB Dato’ Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen. The garden will be open to the public from 24 to 28 May.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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