The exposition closes tomorrow.

Japan won two of three categories in the competition - indoor gardens under 1,000-square-metres and outdoor gardens over 1,000-square-metres.

The results were announced yesterday by Horticulture Producers' Association president Dr Doeke Faber.

In the large-outdoor category the Japanese entry beat competitors from seven countries including Indonesia, India, Spain, Turkey and Morocco.

The 1,500-square-metre garden was called "To Express Love for Humanity" and was dedicated to the long life of His Majesty the King.

The garden included a three-metre model of Mount Fuji, a pond symbolising the ocean, a "turtle" island for longevity and "crane" stonework for good fortune.

One of the garden's most intriguing features was a flowering lotus called Oga-Hasu. It is named after Dr Ichiro Oga who, in 1951, excavated its seed from 2,000-year-old peat deposits at Kemigawa city in Chiba region. The seeds germinated and flowers bloomed the following year.

This lotus has until now been exhibited at two places only - the Imperial Palace and Tokyo University.

Gardens from the Netherlands and China took the first and second runners-up prizes in the large-outdoor category.

Japan's indoor garden was an assortment of flowers considered national intellectual property. These will be returned to Japan. The garden's caretakers changed the design every two weeks of the exposition.

First prize in the small-outdoor category went to South Africa, which beat 14 other entries. First and second runners-up were Brunei and Bhutan.

The South African entry showcased the country's indigenous flora. The garden is inspired by decorative and architectural images. The hardy plants included waterwise plants, fire flowers, aloes and euphorbias.

Each garden has been donated to Thailand as permanent exhibits at the exposition site. "We can say Thailand ran a successful expo," Doeke said.

The exposition opened in November and welcomed three million visitors, about 10 per cent of them from overseas.