SkillsOne Ultimate Apprenticeship winner Daniel Wheat is getting ready to attend the Singapore Garden Festival in July after playing his part in Australia's entry into the prestigious festival.

Meeting up with Urbaneco's Charlie Evans, Daniel assisted in choosing the plants and flowers that the Australian entry will display and hopefully bring them the gold medal. Charlie and Daniel spent hours carefully choosing the plants and flowers to showcase Australia's greenery to the rest of the world when entrants from all over the world converge on Singapore to compete.

Daniel is in the 2nd year of his horticulture apprenticeship with the City of Perth and Charlie chose Benara Nursery in the Perth suburb of Carabooda to supply the bulk of their plant material.

Benara are the largest wholesale nursery in The Southern Hemisphere and they have experience in transporting flowers all around the world.

“Benara are used to long distance plant freight and quarantine and it is for this reason that we chose them” Charlie said.

“It is also important to note that plants can travel from Perth to Singapore in around 10 days where as from Melbourne they would be travelling for at least a month. Benara also organize for their plants to travel in an enviro container with lighting and air con improving their arrival condition”.

The Australian display in Singapore will consist mainly of Australian native plants and will include 'Water Gums' and 'Cushion Bushes'.

Australia will contest the “Fantasy” category at the Singapore Garden Festival and Daniel and Charlie will be trying to show off Australian plants in a modern and edgy fashion while using iconic Australian sculptural images to create the wow factor.

SkillsOne wishes Charlie and Daniel all the best  with preparation as they vie for gold at the 2008 Singapore Garden Festival!