Twenty plus years. The exact length of time is something that I have lost count because I cannot remember when I exactly started to garden avidly. For more than two decades, I have been hoping for a private space that is in the boundary of my adobe to do gardening.
For an apartment dweller like me, I can only think of having a garden in a balcony. Although I have moved house two times in my life, both apartments did not have a conducive balcony. Although the second and current apartment that I lived in at Serangoon North has a balcony, the wierd thing about it was that the balcony was built inside the lift lobby! Although now I have a community garden, I still very much wanted a balcony or at least a sun-lit corridor where I can grow something near home.
My parents declared in an unexpected occasion this April that they wanted to shift out of the current apartment for a change in our living environment. After a few month’s worth of search, we finally decided to buy and move to a maisonnette apartment near Hougang Central.
We just got the keys to the apartment only yesterday after the final bits of paperwork had been completed. My family and I, brought along my dog to our new apartment to take a closer look at it and also to discuss the renovations that need to be undertaken to refurbish it. The gardening part of me kicked in and I went to survey the possible gardening areas’ availability of light and space.
The balcony of a typical maisonnette apartment in Singapore is unique among other publicly-built apartments. Because the apartment is a two-storeyed one, the balcony has a high ceiling that allows much natural light to stream into it. My balcony faces North and as a result, it would probably be receiving some direct sunshine only during the April to August period each year.
With this type of lighting conditions in mind, the types of plants that are suitable would be shade-loving ones like flame violets, prayer plants, gingers (such as my present favourite – Costus or Spiral Gingers), ferns and related allies, shade-loving orchids and palms. I intend to have a small round garden table in the balcony as well, so that my family can relax in a lush, tropical paradise.
The only places that I will have direct sunshine would be my bedroom and the stair-landings located just outside my apartment. The two areas will be receiving direct morning sunshine all year round as they face directly eastwards.
The thought in many people that their bedrooms will be receiving direct sunshine is a disaster to them because the room will be expected to heat up to a high temperature during the daytime, which can get quite unbearable and uncomfortable. I thought little of that because for five days a week and sometimes six, I would have departed home for school (and soon, work) or gardening very early in the day. I told my parents to build a low, long row of cupboards along the window so that the top part of the cupboard can serve as a ledge where I can grow some smaller plants.
The two stair-landings located just outside my apartment also faced east and fortunately, they have not been occupied by anyone. I have been told by my new neighbours that this staircase located at the end of our corridor is hardly used. I thought of constructing some metal racks where I can line the along the ledge some pots where I can now grow various edible plants or any other sun-loving plants.
It is now time to brainstorm for the design to be adopted for my balcony as well as what are types of plants that I must have. I must also go get a contractor to take the measurements of metal racks I want to have at the stair-landings. My dream has finally come true and the new gardening era for me has just began.
