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Archive for July, 2009
July 30, 2009 at 7:50 am
· Filed under General
Mr. Scarecrow
Pasir Ris Zone 5 RC members
And this time, he celebrated Racial Harmony Day with the many residents of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC! Held on 19 July 2009 at the vacant field next to the Pasir Ris MRT at Pasir Ris Central, this event was a great success as it saw an estimated 3000 participants.
Pasir Ris Zone 5 RC Eco Garden was invited to participate to this important event. We were delighted to showcase the “fruits” of our labour to other enthusiastic residents who share the same passion for gardening. The various herbs and vegetables were placed in recycled pots and were transported to the event venue where participants had the opportunity to admire them.Besides this, we also encouraged participants to be involved in community gardening. Staying in high-rise flats should not be an obstacle for one to be involved in “green” activities. There are many ways for one to be involved, whether by growing pots of plants at one’s doorstep or contributing to a community garden near them.
We also emphasized greatly on the importance of the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle). Residents would be aware of how the 3Rs can be a simple way to save money and more importantly, the environment. As community gardeners, we made use of recycled containers and planter boxes, to show how integrating the 3Rs in our lives are possible.
When asked, most participants felt that growing Kalan in containers would be an impossible task. However, we were able to show them that this is possible as long as the right soil and environment was present. Many of them were amazed as to how one of our Eco Garden members could achieve success in this.
Kailan and Bittergourd in plant containers
Budding gardeners shared their ‘know-how’ on gardening; they explained how to make compost and how to control pests without spraying harmful chemicals. Many shared their ideas, experiences and thoughts too.
Nparks, was very supportive of us in this event, bringing in many colorful brochures packed with ideas on community gardening as well as attractive souvenirs.
DPM Teo Chee Hean together with MPs and residents
Community gardeners here at Pasir Ris Zone ‘5’ RC would like to thank Nparks and Lily Chen for making this event a very meaningful and rewarding experience for us as well as the residents.
Anny with children celebrating Racial Harmony Day
Anny Tan (Pasir Ris Zn 5 RC Chairman); Lily Chen (NParks); Rachel Soo and Alice Tan (CIB Volunteers)
AliceTan
CIB Volunteer
Pasir Ris Zone 5 RC - Eco Garden
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July 23, 2009 at 8:41 am
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Plants have never been a big part of my life and I thought they will never be until I feasted my eyes on this green ball……
When I saw the Marimo Ball at HortPark’s Lifestyle Corner in February, the first thought that came to my mind was, “Gosh, it reminds me of the Japanese cartoon, Majacko aka 宇宙小毛球, that I watched when I was young!” And I started humming the song, Moja Moja (和世界面对面),that used to come on whenever the cartoon ended.
The furry ball that only says,’对啊, 对啊, 对啊!’(source:http://i99.ku6.com/200811/27/10/1230575785759/3.jpg)
Like falling in love, I couldn’t get the Marimo Ball out of my mind and I thought to myself, I must get my hands on it! Much to my delight, a kind friend gave one to me and since then, it has been my constant companion at work. It never fails to bring me a sense of tranquility whenever I look at it or give it a good bath by changing its water once a week.
For someone who knows nuts about plants, I am glad that Marimo is quite easy to maintain. Originating from the lakes in Hokkaido, Japan, and Iceland, this hardy plant survives best in an environment with cool temperature. Therefore, an air – conditioned room like an office would probably be the best place to keep it in hot Singapore.
Marimo@ HortPark’s Lifestyle Corner
So if you happen to drop by the Lifestyle Corner at HortPark, look out for this aquatic plant and marvel at its ‘cuteness’!
Jezialle Wang
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July 16, 2009 at 9:24 am
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Meet Mr Ream Tan. He was a Geography teacher, a museum curator and an events manager. Now, he’s a Park Manager at the National Parks Board, Singapore. A job that encompasses his two greatest passions - plants and the environment.
Currently assigned to managed Yishun Park and Yishun Neighbourhood Park, a typical day at work involves visiting the parks to oversee the horticultural operations, organise outreach programmes and promote parks as choice venues to suit different lifestyle preferences. Ream is also involved in managing special projects.
The person who had a direct impact to his career path is his mom. Ream’s mom stoked Ream’s interest in plants as she had the amazing ability to get virtually any plant to bloom, including cacti! Hopefully through Ream’s passionate and tender loving care, the plants in the parks would also blossom day by day.
Ream and his “green friend”
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July 9, 2009 at 8:20 am
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Last Saturday at the Botany Centre’s Function Hall, following his talk on the Zingiberales order that was given on March 14, Wilson Wong dived into the family of true gingers - Zingiberaceae.
The well-known plant lover and gardening columnist, who now plies his passion and skills in the Hort Excellence Division, gave an informative and entertaining commentary on the family, which comprises numerous plants that have important economical, ornamental, medicinal and culinary uses.
“Have you seen Tumeric flowers before?”
Starting from the culinary gingers that are used in everyday cooking such as, Zingiber officinale (common ginger) and Alpinia galanga (greater galangal), Wilson continued the discovery journey into the realm of ornamental gingers. He highlighted beautiful ones such as Hedychium coronarium also known as butterfly ginger for its fragrant butterfly-shaped white flowers and the stunning Etlingera elatior or Torch Ginger.
A large and attentive crowd listens to the interesting talk by Wilson
He also shared with his audience on how to grow gingers and problems that are commonly encountered during cultivation.
For the next talk in the series, join Albert Quek who will impart tips and space-maximising techniques on creating your very own D.I.Y home garden. It will be held on 11 July 2009 at the Jurong Regional Library Programme Zone Level 1 from 3pm to 4pm.
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July 7, 2009 at 8:27 am
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Pasir Ris Zone ‘5’ RC’s Eco Garden had the opportunity to participate in this year’s ‘Racial Harmony Celebration’ at NorthEast CDC. This event was held at vacant spot next to Tampines 1, Tampines Central.
With the support of Nparks, we promoted community gardening and also showcased our garden to residents.
The highlight was the mix and match game, where the objective was to match plants with their fruits. It was enjoyed by many residents, both young and old.
Participants were thrilled as they were given many CIB souvenirs and gardening brochures on gardening tips. Our Guest-Of-Honour, Mr Mah Bow Tan announced that an Eco Garden would be built at Tampines soon. He had the chance to visit our booth as well.
We had an enjoyable and great day!
Ms Alice Tan
on behalf of Eco Garden
Pasir Ris Zone 5 RC
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July 6, 2009 at 8:26 am
· Filed under General
“How Many Fingers Do you Have?” is the question driving the kids bananas at the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden as they count the number of bananas on the Musa acuminata x balbisiana c.Commonly known as Musa “1000 Fingers“, this beautiful plant grows up to 12 feet in height. Famed for its spectacular fruiting inflorenscence, the plant produces hundreds of small, sweet finger bananas that are only 1.5 inches long. The “thousand fingers” are borne on a massive stalk over 10 feet long, nearly touching the ground.
This particular specimen in the Children’s Garden was planted in June 2008. Originating from the Eumusa series, Malaysia, the fingers take about 6-7 months to mature. The fruiting of this plant is truly a sight to behold. Come see it now near the Sensory Garden located within the Children’s Garden.
Kids at the Children’s Garden trying to put a finger on the number of fruits on the Musa “1000 Fingers”
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July 2, 2009 at 8:21 am
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The Indian lettuce is an edible leafy vegetable that is quite prevalent in Singapore’s community gardens. Botanically known as Lactuca indica, the Indian letttuce is a member of the daisy family, Asteraceae and related to the common lettuce (Lactuca sativa).
This vegetable is not available for sale commercially in Singapore and only the more senior gardeners are probably the ones who are familiar with it. They called it the “goose vegetable” (鹅菜) because the greyish green leaves were reportedly harvested and fed to geese several decades back when Singapore still had villages and farms.
Native to warmer parts of China, Taiwan and southern Japan, the Indian lettuce is thought to be introduced to this part of the world by Chinese immigrants. The plant is a perennial which sends up new shoots from the base of the plant. It adopts a rosette growth habit when young and depending on the cultivar, the leaves of this plant can range from simple, undivided to deeply pinnated. The one seen locally produces oblong-lanceoate in shape. There is a cultivar with prominent red mid-ribs.
With time, one will notice the leaf to leaf distance on the stem elongates and the leaves start to get narrower and shorter as well. When the plant attains a height of about 1.5 to 2 m, it will start to send up its inflorescence. The inflorescence is much branched and the daisy-like flowers each resembles a poached egg, complete with a yellow center and white rays. Growth terminates for that particular shoot and the plant spends its energy to produce seed. The plant sometimes sends up new sideshoots from the base.
Seedheads form after the flowers fade. One will be able to find numerous small and black coloured seeds loosely clustered around each seedhead. Each seed is flat, hard, black in colour and has some interesting-looking fluff that is attached to it on one end. With that characteristic, seeds of the Indian lettuce appear to be wind-dispersed. To grow this plant, one has to start from seeds but these are not available commercially as well. It is best to get fresh seeds by approaching a gardener who is growing some Indian lettuce plants in his/her garden.
The leaves of the Indian lettuce are not particularly nice to eat and are rather coarse in texture. When injured, the wound exudes a white latex. In my community garden, the Indian lettuce is grown like a cut-and-come-again vegetable where the leaves located lower down on the stems are harvested while leaving the plant to continue to grow. We do not uproot the entire plant for food. Besides being edible raw, steamed and boiled, Indian lettuce leaves have medicinal uses too. According to Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA), they are believed to possess tonic, digestive and depurative properties.
Wilson Wong
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