Letter: On Bogor’s botanical garden

With great pleasure I read (June 4) about the botanical garden at Bogor, locally known as Kebun Raya Bogor, as well as all the “planned” botanical gardens in Indonesia. In my younger days, I was an avid orchid collector (greenhouse) and the Indonesian Phalaenopsis (in every color) was a star!

I’ll feed my piggy bank so that in 2014 I can come over and visit the many gardens at “leisure”. In the meantime, I hope you will inform us readers about those proposed gardens with pictures.

I read that Singapore has solar-powered “supertrees” in their Gardens at the Bay. This man-made mechanical forest consists of 18 supertrees that act as vertical gardens, generating solar power, acting as air-venting ducts for nearby conservatories, and collecting rainwater! The “Gardens by the Bay” will become an eco-tourist destination showcasing sustainable practices and plants from across the globe.

Singapore is so close to Indonesia that you, lucky folks, can just hop over for a weekend visit!

Olga Pitcairn
New Hope,Pennsylvania,US