Ask someone to name something distinctly Singaporean and you'll get a range of answers. Hawker food. The Merlion. Singlish. The efficiency of Changi Airport.
Rarely does anyone say orchids.
But they should. Because few things are more deeply woven into Singapore's identity — its history, its values, its ambitions — than this one flower. And once you understand why, placing an orchid in your home starts to feel less like interior decorating and more like a quiet act of national pride.
It Starts With the National Flower
Singapore's national flower is the Vanda Miss Joaquim, a hybrid orchid in shades of purple-pink and white, chosen in 1981 to represent the young nation.
The selection wasn't arbitrary. Of all the flowers available, the Vanda Miss Joaquim was chosen for three very specific qualities: it blooms year-round without a resting season, it grows naturally in Singapore, and it was named after Agnes Joaquim, a woman of Armenian descent whose story embodied the multicultural, pioneering spirit Singapore was building its identity around.
Resilience. Uniqueness. A beauty that comes from unlikely origins.
Sound familiar?
Orchids as Singapore's Diplomatic Language
Here's something most Singaporeans don't realise: orchids are how Singapore speaks to the world.
When foreign dignitaries visit Singapore, they are regularly honoured with orchid varieties named after them. Michelle Obama has one. Nelson Mandela has one. Princess Diana had one. Over 300 orchid varieties have been named after world leaders, celebrities, and heads of state at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
It's a uniquely Singaporean gesture — elegant, considered, and rooted in something that grew here first. No other country does this with quite the same consistency or intentionality.
Orchids are not just a flower Singapore happens to like. They are the language Singapore uses to say: you matter to us.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens
The National Orchid Garden within the Singapore Botanic Gardens is one of the largest orchid collections in the world, housing over 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids across three hectares.
The Botanic Gardens itself is Singapore's only UNESCO World Heritage Site. And at its heart is the orchid collection, tended, grown, and expanded for over a century as a living record of Singapore's botanical ambitions.
When Lee Kuan Yew championed the Garden City vision, orchids were central to it. Streets lined with flowering trees. A country that despite its size would be beautiful, curated, and alive.
Orchids weren't incidental to that vision. They embodied it.
What an Orchid in Your Home Actually Represents
Placed in a Singaporean home, an orchid carries all of this without announcing it.
Crystal Spring - Orchid Arrangement
It doesn't demand attention the way bold arrangements do. It sits quietly, blooms consistently, and outlasts almost every other cut flower you could choose. Weeks after everything else has wilted, the orchid is still there.
That staying power, that quiet, consistent presence, is perhaps the most Singaporean thing about it.
Singapore didn't become what it is through grand gestures. It became what it is through consistency. Through showing up. Through doing the work every day without drama or fanfare.
An orchid does exactly that.
This National Day, Put an Orchid in Your Home
You don't need to hang flags or put up red and white banners to mark August 9th meaningfully in your space.
A single orchid, placed somewhere you'll see it daily, says something quieter and more lasting. It connects your home to Singapore's story in a way no other flower can.
This National Day, our orchid arrangements are part of our National Day Sale, with plants up to 61% off selected items and flower and plant arrangements at 15% off. The Orchid Grace, one of our most-loved orchid picks, is available now at our best price of the season.
But the reason to get one isn't the discount. It's everything else this flower represents.
Explore our orchid arrangements and National Day Sale — celebrating Singapore in bloom.