SINGAPORE: Over 200 lower secondary students took part in the "Desktop Garden Competition" where they were required to design an indoor garden.

Taking top honours were the teams from Hua Yi Secondary School whose entries earned them the top two placings.

The top entries will be displayed at the Singapore Garden Festival from July 25 to August 1 at Suntec City.

The competition was organised by Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Unlike previous years, this year's competition aims to introduce design elements to participants.

Koh Yong Cheong, lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic's Horticulture & Landscape Management, said: "The aim of this competition is to encourage the students to engage in some horticultural activities with some design principles mixed in it....in this competition, they're required to....put them (plants) in such a way that the whole arrangement looks decorative."

The entries were judged on the appropriate selection of indoor plants and overall presentation of the garden.

Hua Yi Secondary School student Chua Yi Hong said: "We did some research through the Internet, and then we looked and researched on pictures and images on what a mini garden is supposed to look like."

Tan Xing Xi, also from Hua Yi Secondary School, said: "We used recycled stones from our school's garden."

The entry from Chua Yi Hong's team was the winner while that from Tan Xing Xi's team the runner-up.

- CNA/ir