Singapore is sometimes called Lion City (from the word "singa", which in Malay means lion), and also sometimes called Garden City. The first name probably came from myth as lions have never inhabited Singapore; However, there is a good basis to call Singapore Garden City.
As the climate is hot and humid for most parts of the year, trees, flowers and plants grow easily throughout Singapore, except that with urbanisation, more and more of land has been converted to commercial and residential use. Nevertheless, one can still a lot of plants throughout the entire island. If one looks down from a tall building, one would find more than half the island covered by trees.
Singapore is well-known for its orchids. They are cultivated in several orchid farms especially in the north and north-eastern parts of the island, and can be found in the Orchid Garden section of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The Botanic Gardens is a good place to see many types of plants, not all of which are necessarily home grown. It is conveniently located in the Napier Road area (which leads into the Orchard Road shopping district and can be reached by bus) and is very well-maintained, with two large ponds (plus a few sometimes not-too-friendly swans around), a Ginger Garden and many old trees providing shades from the sun.
It was through the Botanic Gardens that the rubber tree was brought into Malaysia from Brazil. In 1888, a new director of the Gardens, HN Ridley, was appointed. He was convinced that rubber trees could be cultivated successfully in Singapore and the Malayan peninsula and persisted. They did grow well here, and when the motor car industry expanded subsequently, the number of rubber plantations exploded and many farmers and landowners made great fortunes from this plant. These days, few rubber trees are left in Singapore because of shortage of land.
It is probably difficult to find animals in such a densely populated environment. As recently as 20 years ago, it is common to find snakes in many parts of Singapore, pythons being a common occurrence. It is said that a skill all members of the police force have to possess is the art of catching snakes! However, whatever widelife can now be found (snakes and monkeys) are mostly found in the few jungle-like areas which are still left around reservoirs and water catchment areas, although the occasional pythons can still show up around housing estates even in populated areas.
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