THE annual Orchid Festival at Penang’s landmark recreational park boasts one of the better references of the plant with an array of complex flowers.
Photography enthusiast S. Gopal took pains to capture the wide collection of orchids at the annual gathering of blooming flowers at the Botanic Gardens.
The gardens are also home to various orchids which were cultivated for decades by the caretakers of one of Penang’s better preserved green lungs here.
Gopal, an engineer, shared his collection of orchid photos, which never fails to thrill onlookers.
This year, the treat once again gathered an overwhelming response with exhibitors coming from as far as Perak and Kedah to showcase their collections.
There were 34 booths displaying various species of orchids and plants. The event brought together participants from 23 primary and secondary schools.
There was even an award-winning orchid from Singapore, named after its past president, Halimah Yacob, on show.
Prizes worth RM30,000 were handed out to the winners of the orchid contests.
Gopal hoped that the orchids could also provide another dimension to the Botanic Gardens where hundreds of people converge for recreational activities and hiking.
The gardens were first established in 1884 from an old quarry site, under the supervision of Charles Curtis, who was the first superintendent.
It is one of the oldest gardens to be built by the British in a colonial settlement, mirroring their closest counterpart with the same name in Singapore.
The area is part of Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve, which is certified by Unesco as the third Biosphere Reserve in Malaysia listed in the World Network of Biosphere Reserve. – The Vibes, October 3, 2023
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