The Gardens at its present site was founded in 1859 by an Agri-Horticultural Society. Planned as a leisure garden, the scientific mission of the Gardens evolved when the colonial government assumed management and deployed Kew-trained botanists and horticulturists to administer the Gardens.

The Gardens' first Director, Henry Nicholas Ridley, came to the Gardens in 1888, Ridley's zealous persistence in persuading Malaya's planters to grow rubber trees earned him less than flattering nicknames such as "Mad Ridley" and "Rubber Ridley". During the 1890s and early 1900s, Ridley devised successful propagation methods and also discovered a way to harvest commercial quantities of latex without harming or killing the trees. He advocated the large-scale cultivation of rubber in Malaya.


The Gardens had a ready source of seed supply when the rubber rush came. The Gardens' revenue multiplied greatly as the region became a major market for the rubber trade. The plants at the Botanic Gardens became the basis for Southeast Asia's rubber industry, an industry that generated fortunes.

Beginning in 1928, Professor Eric Holttum, Director of the Gardens from 1925 - 1949, set up laboratories and conducted the first experiments in orchid breeding and hybridization

Today the Gardens is geared towards entrenching itself as a tropical botanical institution of international renown.

Educational tours @ Jacob Ballas Children's Garden

The Jacob Ballas Children's Garden at the Bukit Timah Core of the Singapore Botanic Gardens is a specialized garden dedicated to children. Through play and exploration, children will learn about the importance of plants and conservation. Experiences in the garden will stimulate a sense of wonder for the plant world and provide happy memories for our child visitors.

Come & enjoy a half-day tour of Singapore Botanic Garden & chose from one of the below activity to explore the
Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden,


The Fruits and Vegetables Trails
Suitable for children between 6yrs to 12yrs old
Duration: 1.0 hour
Learn where healthy, yummy fruits and vegetables really come from! Join this informative guided tour and explore the importance of fruits and vegetables in our daily life!

Plants Highlights
Suitable for children between 6yrs to 12yrs old
Duration: 1.0 hour
Love to eat chocolates? Seen a cherry tree? Here's your chance to see cocoa trees, a local cherry tree and many more in this tour highlighting interesting and useful plants in the Children's Garden. if you are lucky, you may even have a close brush with the animals and insects that live amongst the trees and plants in the garden.

Looking at Plants
Suitable for children between 9yrs to 12yrs old
Duration: 1.5 hours
A comprehensive study on selected members in the living collection at the Children's Gardens. This tour emphasises functional parts of a plant; namely leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds.

Flowers at Work
Suitable for children between 9yrs to 12yrs old
Duration: 1.5 hour

Children are encouraged to take a closer look at selected flowering plants to increase their understanding of the forms and functions of flower parts. Thus, unfolding the mysterious role of flowers in pollination

Book now with general@starmart.com.sg

- Group booking, minimum of 20 paxs to go, call for price.