Exotic Orchids at Mandai Orchid Gardens
I attended a small tea reception at the Mandai Orchid Gardens this morning. The owner and staff held the reception in my honor as I won their 2005 Bird Photography Competition with a photo of a Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja).
Mandai Orchid Gardens was started in 1951 by the late John Laycock, a founder of the Orchid Society of Southeast Asia. The rows upon rows of orchids which adorn a sloping hillside at the gardens are a favorite feeding spot for a number of species of sunbirds and spiderhunters. The Japanese garden below the coffee shop contains a number of rare heliconia and ginger species which are also favored by Nectarinidae.
Entrance is a meer S$2.00 S$3.50. For that, you can see local hybrid orchids such as ‘Vanda Miss Joaquim’ and some rare species such as the ‘Black Scorpion’ orchid (Arachnis Flos-aeris ‘insignis’).
Mandai Orchid Gardens is not on the tour bus circuit so a it’s a quiet respite from the more popular Singapore attractions. For a quiet setting for a business lunch/dinner or get together with friends, try the recently opened Vanilla Pod Restaurant.
Robert’s Rating: 
Hello, I would like to know more about the article you have posted, mainly about John Laycock, as there isn’t a lot of information anywhere about his biography/life. If you could provide some useful links, I would be grateful. Thank you.