Therapeutic gardens (TGs) within our green spaces are designed based on scientific research to facilitate people’s interactions with nature, with each area carefully planned to provide visitors with a serene and tranquil environment.
All therapeutic gardens adopt the following key principles:
• Clear and well-connected layout with looped pathways that provide continuous circulation, enabling visitors to navigate the space with ease. The wide pathways also enhance accessibility for visitors, including those using wheelchairs.
• Curving pathways and vegetation that partly obscure what is coming next – a glimpse of something that engages the visitors and draws them forward.
• A contemplative and rich setting with many opportunities for sensory engagement – e.g., a garden can have a clear layout but rich with trees, shrubs, flowers, ample places to sit, and paths to wander.
• Different planting zones with a specific selection of plant species to evoke memories of the past and engage the senses. These include plants that are fragrant, edible, or medicinal, coloured, or textured, as well as those which attract birds and butterflies.
• Raised planters that are ergonomically designed to enhance accessibility for wheelchair users and standing planters for elderly who are physically fit.
Read on if you are keen to visit our Therapeutic gardens (TGs) located in various parks!
Find out how you can start a therapeutic garden or learn more about therapeutic horticulture programmes.
You can also pick up skills and knowledge in therapeutic horticulture to bring out the optimum benefit during people-nature interactions with workshops and courses offered by the Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE) website. These workshops and courses cater to the needs and interests of a wide variety of professionals including caregivers, healthcare practitioners, landscape designers and landscape industry professionals.
Therapeutic Gardens in Parks
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Bedok Reservoir Park
The 1,650sqm Therapeutic Garden @ Bedok Reservoir Park overlooks the scenic Bedok Reservoir. It is the first therapeutic garden to be built over a former sand quarry, and to have an interactive rock garden as one of its features.
Stones and boulders have been incorporated into the garden’s features and amenities to reflect its heritage. The garden has a pavilion which offers visitors an unobstructed, scenic view of the reservoir and offers sheltered space for group activities in the future.
Location: Bedok Reservoir Park, Carpark B
Getting there:
- By MRT/LRT: Bedok MRT, Bedok North MRT Bedok Reservoir MRT
- By Bus: 5, 21, 22, 59, 65, 66, 228
Find out more about Bedok Reservoir Park.
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Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park (Pond Gardens)
The 900 sqm Therapeutic Garden at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is situated near the pond gardens and was launched on 19 September 2017. The garden is specially designed to engage the senses with a landscape of plants divided into four zones: Fragrance zone, Biodiversity zone, Edibles and Medicinal zone and Colours and Textures zone.
Location: Along Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 (After junction of Marymount Road, Opp Block 223)
Getting there:
- By Bus: 262 from Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange
Download the Therapeutic Garden @ Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park brochure to learn more about the features of this garden.
Find out more about Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.
The 900 sqm Therapeutic Garden at Choa Chu Kang Park was launched on 7 July 2018. It is situated next to the Community-In-Bloom Garden and Allotment Garden, which helps improve the social connection to the gardening communities in the area. Launched in July 2018, it is specially designed with features that bring about restorative effects to our mental well-being and relieve stress. The garden includes edible and fragrant plants, a calming water feature and is wheelchair friendly.
Location: Along Choa Chu Kang Drive
Getting there:
- By MRT: Choa Chu Kang MRT Station
- By Bus: 307, 925, 927, 974
Find out more about Choa Chu Kang Park.
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East Coast Park (KPMG Wellness Garden)
Located in East Coast Park Area D5, this tranquil 1,100 sqm space was launched on 17 February 2023. The garden is a multi-generational space designed to promote physical and mental wellbeing for park visitors of all ages. It also has an elevated deck where you can enjoy a great sea view. The facilities in the garden include a therapeutic garden, green roof shelter, physiotherapy steps, elevated deck, trellis, benches, an inclusive garden, and barrier-free access.
Location: East Coast Park Area D5
Getting there:
Find out more about East Coast Park.
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HortPark
The first therapeutic garden in Singapore was launched at HortPark on 14 May 2016. This garden has a restorative zone and a complementary activities zone. It is a restful garden with ample shade, wind chimes, water features and an intensive landscape of fascinating and familiar plants to awaken the senses.
Location: 33 Hyderabad Road, Singapore 119578 (Off Alexandra Road)
Getting there:
- By Bus: 61, 93, 97, 100, 166, 963 from Harbour Front MRT Station
- By Bus: 51, 61, 93, 97, 100, 120, 166, 963 from Labrador Park MRT Station
- By Bus: 120 from Outram Park/ Redhill/ Telok Blangah MRT Station
Find out more about HortPark.
The 3,100 sqm Therapeutic Garden at Jurong Lake Gardens was launched on 23 October 2021 and consists of two sections – one designed for adults and another for children, with features specially curated for seniors with dementia and children with conditions such as mild autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Both sections are wheelchair-accessible.
Location: Along Yuan Ching Road
Getting there:
- By MRT: Lakeside MRT Station
- By Bus: 49, 154
Find out more about Jurong Lake Gardens.
The 1,600sqm Therapeutic Garden @ Pasir Ris Park is located 67 metres from the sea, making it the first therapeutic garden that offers a sea view. See if you can spot some of Singapore’s “kelongs”, a structure which is built out at sea, mainly from wood.
The garden has a fitness area that incorporates play elements that encourage physical movement and social interaction in seniors. Another feature is a swale which runs through the garden. A short bridge connects the main entrance pathway to the activity pavilion and deck.
Location: Pasir Ris Park, Carpark E
Getting there:
- By MRT/LRT: Pasir Ris MRT
- By Bus: 403
Find out more about Pasir Ris Park.
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Punggol Waterway Park
The 900 sqm Therapeutic Garden at Punggol Waterway Park was launched on 4 May 2020 and offers an elevated vista of the waterway. Incorporating features such as the communal planter and fitness area, users would be able to utilise these features to improve their mental and physical well-being. The garden also includes a wellness zone with plants that evoke the senses.
Location: Punggol Waterway Park near Carpark A
Getting there:
- By MRT/LRT: Punggol MRT, Nibong LRT
- By Bus: 84, 382
Find out more about Punggol Waterway Park.
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Telok Blangah Hill Park
Situated close to the hill forest at Telok Blangah Hill Park, the 620 sqm Therapeutic Garden embraces the tranquillity of its natural setting. Launched on 9 March 2020, the lush greenery all around the garden creates a restorative environment to engage the senses and to uplift both mental and emotional well-being, while also serving as complementary habitat for native biodiversity.
Location: Telok Blangah Green off Henderson Road
Find out more about Telok Blangah Hill Park.
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Tiong Bahru Park
The 750 sqm Therapeutic Garden at Tiong Bahru Park was launched on 19 September 2017. The garden is specially designed to engage the senses with a landscape of plants divided into four zones: Fragrance zone, Biodiversity zone, Edibles and Medicinal zone and Colours and Textures zone.
Location: Tiong Bahru Road, Singapore 168731 (Along Lower Delta Road, Opp Jalan Bukit Ho Swee)
Getting there:
- By MRT: Tiong Bahru MRT Station
- By Bus: 33, 120 from Redhill MRT Station
Download the Therapeutic Garden @ Tiong Bahru Park brochure to learn more about the features of this garden.
Find out more about Tiong Bahru Park.
Training Workshops for Professionals
Training workshops in therapeutic horticulture aim to impart skills and knowledge to bring out the optimum benefit during the people-nature interactions. These workshops and courses cater to the needs and interests of a wide variety of professionals including care-givers, healthcare practitioners, landscape designers and landscape industry professionals.
For more information on the courses and workshops available, please visit the Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE) website.
Resources