August 28, 2008 at 11:31 am
· Filed under General
A couple of years ago, I was watching Channel 8 and this particular tour episode was introducing tropical fruits from Brisbane, Australia. Brisbane, also known as the tropical state, grows a wide variety of fruits not available in South-East Asia. Anyway, Channel 8 introduced the Chocolate Pudding fruit, which is also known as the Black Persimmon (Diospyros digyna).
Photo Source - http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/black_sapote.html
This plant is a relative of the persimmon. It is a handsome evergreen with leathery glossy leaves and fragrant white flowers. When the fruit ripens, the delicious edible brown pulp has a flavour and texture like a natural chocolate pudding.
During my years in Brisbane, I have searched everywhere but I simply can’t find these fruits. My supervisor told me that I could get it at northern New South Wales or Brisbane market. After the long search, I finally got the plant from a friend!
If you plan to visit me in 3 years, feel free to drop me an email if you wish to sample the fruit.
Happy Gardening!
Matthew Tan
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August 28, 2008 at 11:14 am
· Filed under General
Big trees have always fascinated me ever since I was a kid. I guess all the warnings from my parents not to climb them just made them more appealing because as we all know, we just love to do the things they say we shouldn’t. Other than just fun structures to play on, large trees have always been a place for me to find new creatures and I still remember the first time I discovered a baby tree snake tucked into the flaking bark of an old Saga tree (Adenanthera pavonia) in St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
Now, 15 years later, as a person who deals with heritage trees, I get to work with big trees for a living! As most heritage trees are on the large side, you can imagine the excitement I get from working with them. My favourite of all the heritage trees in Singapore so far has got to be the Kapok Tree (Ceiba pentandra) in the Singapore Botanic Gardens along Lower Ring Road.
The tall, thorn-covered trunk just looms up from the ground and strikes an imposing presence throughout the entire landscape. Ones eyes struggle to capture the full image of the tree while your mind fumbles at trying to comprehend how the tree could grow so large, and most of all, how long it must have taken to attain such sheer volume. The immense buttress roots adds to its aura and their snaking shape looks as if they are trying to hold you in an eternal embrace. This grand, towering tree also produces seed pods that have seeds covered in fluffy fibres that locals once used as pillow stuffing. As hard and strong as the Kapok Tree may look, it is ironic that it produces something so soft and comfortable.
Now the next time you are taking a stroll in the Botanic Gardens, remember to pay this Kapok Tree a visit. And if you are lucky, you might just witness the seed pods ejecting their fluffy seeds!
Joey Gan
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August 21, 2008 at 9:15 am
· Filed under General
Taking the full advantage of its breezy, bright yet shady environment, the miniature green wall overcomes the space constrains and transforms itself into a heaven for relaxation. The green wall is ideal for the multitude choices of tropical plants. The suburban landscape is also a paradise for bees, butterflies and birds.
Recycled bamboo poles were used to construct the vertical green wall. It measure approximately 3 meters (height) by 1 meter (width), which occupies the side wall of the 3 square mater; balcony space of my apartment suitated at Flora Road. The structure of the green wall comprises planting cells, which incorporate sufficient drainage and rooting space to promote even watering and plant health. Safety is one of the primary consideration factors in the green wall planting. Lightweight planting materials were used and all overhead plants were properly secured. The managing agent of my apartment also conducted safety inspection to the green wall after its completion as part of the overall safety measure.
The green wall not only helps to cool down the indoor temperature and improve the aesthetic view of the balcony, it also helps to remove the airborne contaminants and improve air quality.
Albert Quek
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August 14, 2008 at 11:08 am
· Filed under General
Various community groups have been invited by the CIB over the course of the SGF to come to Suntec Convention Center where they have been given mini-booth areas to showcase their gardens to the visitors of the SGF. Community gardeners who came are a generous lot - not only they shared their knowledge and experience with the public, they also shared cuttings taken from their garden plants as well as seeds. I often see the elderly and middle-aged ladies (we affectionately call them “aunties” here) clustering around these booths where engaged in idle garden chat. Below is the mini-booth space that has been set up by Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
The CIB exhibition area would not be complete if there was nothing to cater to youths. Two simple games that have been thought out by the CIB team could be found near the backend of the CIB exhibition area. I thought these were very ingenius ideas where common game gadgets were very slightly modified to fit the garden festival theme.
Instead of soccer players, the above game used mini-garden tools instead. In place of a soccer ball, the CIB team replaced with it either a seed from a plant or a small fruit, such as a lime. The same applies for the game shown below which employed seeds and fruits of various sizes.
These games had been highly popular with the younger members of the SGF crowd. I saw people, adults included, queuing up to take turns to try their hands on them! There is also IT-based game meant for an even younger crowd - kids - located in the same vicinity where they can use the touch-screen function to plant and landscape their own garden city. The height of the two touch-screens had been fixed quite low so that the children can reach them.
Wilson Wong
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August 7, 2008 at 10:42 am
· Filed under General
Unlike the first Singapore Garden Festival (SGF) and previous large-scale exhibitions, I noticed this year’s Community in Bloom’s (CIB) exhibition area at the SGF 2008 involved quite a substantial amount of contribution and participation from the various groups from the local community.
The decor and landscape could have been deemed too perfect to the eyes of most visitors. I would not be too surprised because much thought and coordination had been put in by everyone that ensured the success of the CIB exhibition area. The crowd and participants that are involved in the CIB area appeared to be the happiest people in the entire SGF - all because of their love for what they have been doing – gardening.
I have noticed besides just plants, there were quite a lot of garden hardware being incorporated into the CIB exhibition area this time around. They were all crafted out by community gardeners even though some of them looked as if they were store-bought ones. Notably among those that have been featured were the several artistic and meaningful metal sculptures that were done by Mr Richard Ashworth from the Ivory Heights Condominium. Richard’s community garden is one of the winners of the Community in Bloom Award 2008 for the private housing estate category.
Several community groups have also been invited to do some landscaping in the CIB exhibition area. Green Culture Singapore (GCS) was among those that have been invited and the few of us, namely, Richmond, Teresa, Phillipe and myself were there two days before the SGF was opened to decorate a mock-up balcony garden using a range of plants that had been provided by the nursery engaged by the CIB. Some community groups even carted in their plants and garden hardware taken from their own community gardens to be incorporated into their landscapes!
Located on the artificial wall behind the glass parapet of the mock-up balcony was a beautiful vertical garden constructed by Mr Albert Quek who is also a Community in Bloom Award 2008 winner for the balcony garden category. His vertical garden concept had been featured on Straits Times Life! a few weekends ago. His ingenius creation was made from recycled materials such as bamboo poles and paper egg trays. I have seen Albert at the CIB exhibition area quite frequently and from that, I know he is a committed and highly dedicated person as he makes it a point to be at the SGF whenever he can find the time.
Amongst the many plants in the CIB exhibit, the passionfruit plant that had been trained up a recycled umbrella structure drew the most attention from visitors. Sourced by Prince Landscape and Nurseries, this specimen gives gardeners an idea on how we can grow and display edible plants ornamentally. I believe it has become a hot item as I have heard visitors asking the CIB staff whether the plant is for sale after the show.
to be continued…
Wilson Wong
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