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Community Gardeners Shine at Singapore Garden Festival
Singapore's community gardeners prove that non-professionals can create amazing green spaces amidst space-starved surrounds
Chiquit Brammall
28 July 2016
Design journalist and freelance editor. Dollhouse architect. Serial renter.
With majority of Singaporeans living in Housing Development Board (HDB) flats and high-rise condominiums, gardening is considered a rare luxury. Thankfully, the National Parks (NParks) brings together hobby gardeners in community gardens under its Community-In-Bloom (CIB) project.
At the 2016 Edition of Singapore Garden Festival (SGF), held by National Parks (NParks) and Gardens by the Bay from July 23-31, these community gardeners showed off their deft green thumbs at the NParks’ Gardeners’ Cup. For the past eight months, the hobby gardeners have been working together at crafting and cultivating themed gardens for the biennial competition. Each district was represented by its combined gardening groups to develop their entries in the overall SGF theme of ‘Floral Wonderland’. Here are the five entries:
At the 2016 Edition of Singapore Garden Festival (SGF), held by National Parks (NParks) and Gardens by the Bay from July 23-31, these community gardeners showed off their deft green thumbs at the NParks’ Gardeners’ Cup. For the past eight months, the hobby gardeners have been working together at crafting and cultivating themed gardens for the biennial competition. Each district was represented by its combined gardening groups to develop their entries in the overall SGF theme of ‘Floral Wonderland’. Here are the five entries:
1. Candy Floss
Garden at a Glance
Location: South West District
Flora focal point and colour source: Mexican Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), Chinese Juniper (Juniperus chinensis) and Pink Lantern (Medinilla magnifica)
Upcycled features: plastic funnels
Garden at a Glance
Location: South West District
Flora focal point and colour source: Mexican Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), Chinese Juniper (Juniperus chinensis) and Pink Lantern (Medinilla magnifica)
Upcycled features: plastic funnels
Winner of SGF’s Gardener’s Cup 2016, giant ants made of tweed balls move sugar cubes into a ‘candy floss machine’ made of sweet-smelling flowers ‘spun’ into a dome in the Candy Floss garden. The sugar cubes represent each group of gardeners from the residents’ committees of Bukit Batok Zone 2, Jurong Central Zone D, Telok Blangah Dover Crescent; the neighbourhood committee of Bukit Gombak Hillview Garden; Anglo-Chinese School; ITE College West; Jurong Junior College; NatSteel and ST Kinetics.
2. Lyrical Play
Garden at a Glance
Location: North West District
Flora focal point: Joey’s Palm (Johannesteijsmannia altifrons), Vanda Miss Joaquim (Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim) and Raffles’ Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes rafflesiana)
Colour source: Handcrafted giant old-school game pieces
Garden at a Glance
Location: North West District
Flora focal point: Joey’s Palm (Johannesteijsmannia altifrons), Vanda Miss Joaquim (Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim) and Raffles’ Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes rafflesiana)
Colour source: Handcrafted giant old-school game pieces
Playing on the classic rhyme ‘One, Two, Buckle My Shoe’, the Lyrical Play garden was crafted and nurtured by participants from the residents’ committees of Bukit Panjang Zone 10, Bukit Timah Toh Yi, Kebun Baru Link blocks 173 and 180, Nee Soon South Zone C, Sembawang Zone E, Stagmont View, Woodlands Zones 2 and 6; Chongfu School; Riverside Secondary School; Admiralty West Prison and Al-Iman Mosque.
Oversized, old-school games such as pick-up sticks (pictured above), chaptek (a traditional Asian game using a weighted shuttlecock) and hopscotch bring visitors on a nostalgic adventure as they meander through the garden.
Oversized, old-school games such as pick-up sticks (pictured above), chaptek (a traditional Asian game using a weighted shuttlecock) and hopscotch bring visitors on a nostalgic adventure as they meander through the garden.
3. Fairies Wheel
Garden at a Glance
Location: North East District
Flora focal point: Petunia flowers on the ferris wheel
Colour source: Sweet Williams flowers (Dianthus barbatus), Pink Trumpet Vine (Podranea ricasoliana), Tonkin Jasmine (Telosma cordata)
Upcycled features: old wheelbarrows
Garden at a Glance
Location: North East District
Flora focal point: Petunia flowers on the ferris wheel
Colour source: Sweet Williams flowers (Dianthus barbatus), Pink Trumpet Vine (Podranea ricasoliana), Tonkin Jasmine (Telosma cordata)
Upcycled features: old wheelbarrows
A magical fairyland has taken over an ‘abandoned village’ in the Fairies Wheel garden by North East CDC gardeners. Participants come from the residents’ committees of Punggol Coral, Rivervale Court, Tampines Changkat Zone 3, Tampines North Zone 4 and Tampines Ville; Loyang Court Condominium; Dunman Secondary School; PCF Punggol East; Association of Muslim Professionals; Muhammadiyah Welfare Home and NTUC U Live Eco Club.
4. Winter Wonderland
Garden at a Glance
Location: South East District
Flora focal point: Java Almond Tree (Canarium vulgare)
Colour source: Silver Buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus), Ash Plant (Leucophyllum frutescens), Big Blue Chalk Sticks (Senecio ficoides), Aglaonema ‘Jade’
Upcycled features: handwoven willow twig bridge with handcrafted twig animal sculptures, and industrial bell sculpture made of welded recycled metal
Garden at a Glance
Location: South East District
Flora focal point: Java Almond Tree (Canarium vulgare)
Colour source: Silver Buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus), Ash Plant (Leucophyllum frutescens), Big Blue Chalk Sticks (Senecio ficoides), Aglaonema ‘Jade’
Upcycled features: handwoven willow twig bridge with handcrafted twig animal sculptures, and industrial bell sculpture made of welded recycled metal
Designed and developed by gardeners from the South East CDC over the past eight months, the Winter Wonderland garden is a reminder to treasure our natural environment. Participants include the residents’ committees of Fengshan Diamond, Kampong Chai Chee Bedok Town and Marine Crescent; the neighbourhood committees of Jalan Senang and Limau Estate; Bedok Court Condominium; Laguna Park Condominium; Dunman High School; Geylang Methodist School; ITE College East; Nanyang Junior College; MINDS Towner Gardens School and APSN Centre for Adults.
5. Topsy Turvy
Garden at a Glance
Location: Central District
Flora focal point: A capsized boat with Staghorn fern (Platycerium) and Tillandsia, and a treasure chest with Cosmos
Colour source: Tillandsia and Euphorbia
Upcycled features: a terrarium cultivated within a ‘sunken’ TV
Garden at a Glance
Location: Central District
Flora focal point: A capsized boat with Staghorn fern (Platycerium) and Tillandsia, and a treasure chest with Cosmos
Colour source: Tillandsia and Euphorbia
Upcycled features: a terrarium cultivated within a ‘sunken’ TV
Step into an alternate reality when you follow the trail from a TV scene showing a shipwreck, through a life-size capsized boat overrun with plants, to find the treasure in the Topsy Turvy garden.
This garden was crafted and nurtured by participants from the residents’ committees of AMK Hougang Zone 1, Kampong Glam Kelantan, Punggol Hibiscus, Thomson Sin Ming, Yio Chu Kang Zones 4 and 8; the neighbourhood committees of Moulmein Goldhill and Seletar Hills East; ITE College Central; Teck Ghee Primary School; APSN Tanglin and MINDS Ang Mo Kio Training & Development Centre.
Entries were judged according to their horticultural quality (suitability to the environment and theme; as well as diversity and plant health), community engagement, design quality, innovative display, educational display and display of quality.
TELL US
Are you a keen gardener? Show us your green space by sharing a photo in the Comments section below.
MORE
Browse garden design photos
Small Space Solutions: 10 Ideas for Tiny Urban Balconies
This garden was crafted and nurtured by participants from the residents’ committees of AMK Hougang Zone 1, Kampong Glam Kelantan, Punggol Hibiscus, Thomson Sin Ming, Yio Chu Kang Zones 4 and 8; the neighbourhood committees of Moulmein Goldhill and Seletar Hills East; ITE College Central; Teck Ghee Primary School; APSN Tanglin and MINDS Ang Mo Kio Training & Development Centre.
Entries were judged according to their horticultural quality (suitability to the environment and theme; as well as diversity and plant health), community engagement, design quality, innovative display, educational display and display of quality.
TELL US
Are you a keen gardener? Show us your green space by sharing a photo in the Comments section below.
MORE
Browse garden design photos
Small Space Solutions: 10 Ideas for Tiny Urban Balconies
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