Category Archives: Contributed Articles

Articles written by me for magazines, newsletter, etc.

Contribution to Singapore CHild Magazine (Jun 09 issue)

Posted on June 17, 2009 | Leave a comment

My contribution in the capacity of a staff member of the National Parks Board (NParks) to the Singapore Child magazine’s June 09 issue was recently published. The article where my comments appeared is entitled “Your Budding Green Fingers” and can be found on page 50. The reader will also find inputs from Shirley Ling, one of my fellow colleague from NParks’ Community in Bloom.

In the article, I shared that gardening is a good activity that can bring people together, teach children about food production, sustainable gardening and environmental and wildlife issues. When working in the garden, adults should be around to supervise the usage of sharp cutting tools. Children should not be allow to run around with them or play with them. Kids can also be encouraged to turn everyday items into equipment that can be used in the garden.

The reader will also be able to find useful tips on growing plants indoors. Sunlight is perhaps the most important factor that is often taken for granted. To grow edible and many flowering plants successfully, it is essential to locate them in an area with at least 6 hours of direct sunshine. For container gardening, it is advisable to buy premixed potting mixes. Soil taken from the garden is often too clayey and heavy which compacts over time and harbour undesirable organisms. To feed plants, chemical fertiliser pellets may be a better choice compared to organic ones due to the fact that the latter may emit objectionable odour and attract critters.

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Home Concepts Magazine (June 09)

Posted on June 1, 2009 | Leave a comment

For this month’s Garden Treats column in the Home Concepts magazine, I contributed an article entitled ‘Plants for the dry season’. Now is the month of June and in Singapore, it is expected to be a dry and hot one. This hot season is expected to persist until August and would entail more work in the garden. More frequent watering is required to keep up with the thirst of our plants and mulching will come in handy now to reduce the rate of water loss and to keep plant roots cool and moist. 

In this month’s article, I took the opportunity to introduce some of the drought-tolerant plants in HortPark’s Silver Garden. They are expected to look their best during this hot and dry period. Many of the plants in this particular theme garden possess leaves that are silver or grey in colour because they are covered with either a dense mat of fine hairs or coated with a waxy substance, which confers plants the ability to withstand short periods of drought. The coating help to reflect solar radiation and reduce moisture loss.  

Look forward to see the pictures and read more about the five plants that are being featured in the article. They include variegated lily turf plant (Ophiopogon jaburan ‘Variegata’), ash plant (Leucophyllum frutescens), bird-of-paradise plant (Strelitzia reginae), Bismarck palm (Bismarckia nobilis) and rose myrtle plant (Rhodomyrtus tomentosa).

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Contribution to Home Concepts (May 09)

Posted on May 26, 2009 | Leave a comment

For the month of May 09, I contributed an article written about three new, green places to visit in Singapore. Entitled “Great Green Getaways”, the article published in the Garden Treats section introduced the Southern Ridges, HortPark and Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden.

The Southern Ridges which is a 9-kilometre long chain of green spaces that link up several hill parks such as Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park before ending the walk at West Coast Park. Between these parks are a series of interesting nature trails that meander through a soothing green sanctuary of secondary forests that were previously inaccessible.

The second green place to visit that was introduced in the article is HortPark. HortPark – the gardening hub of Singapore brings together gardening-related recreational, educational, research and retail activities under one roof in a park setting. It is part of the Southern Ridges network where you can experience the joy of gardening through various hands-on activities and events.

 

The third and last green space to visit is the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden that is located near the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden is Asia’s first children’s garden. This garden serves as a unique and interactive fun place to cultivate in children an appreciation for plants, nature and the environment.

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Contribution to Time Out Singapore Magazine (May 09)

Posted on May 6, 2009 | 1 Comment

The May 09 issue of the Time Out Singapore magazine published an article entitled ”It’s easy being green” that was was penned by Wendy Bruere, who is one of the magazine’s contibutors. In the article, the reader will be able to learn some tips on successful highrise gardening which I shared in an interview with Wendy in the capacity of a staff member of National Parks Board (NParks).

In the article, Wendy included a paragraph that described about vertical gardening which is now a very popular and space-saving means to grow plants at home. The article also introduced a variety of plants that one can grow at home. Three groups of plants suggested by me were featured and they include herbs and spices, fruit-bearing plants and seed sprouts. The first two groups of plants can be successfully grown in a high-rise apartment’s balcony or corridor as long as they can receive 4 to 6 hours of direct sunshine daily.

Seed sprouts, in general, do not require direct sunshine to grow. Some can be located in a bright windowsill while others can be started in the dark. They can be started from seeds bought from the grocer or seed dealers that offer sprouting seeds. Besides having the advantage of not requiring high light conditions for growth, seed sprouts have a very short growth period and they can be harvested within a week or two, depending on the sprout that is being grown.

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My first contribution to SUTRA magazine

Posted on May 4, 2009 | Leave a comment

My first contribution in the capacity of a staff member of the Singapore National Parks Board (NParks) to the SUTRA magazine was published in its May 09 issue. I managed to purchase a copy of the Malay lifestyle magazine from the newstand recently after I saw an advertisement that appeared on the Straits Times broadsheet which carried a small thumbnail depicting a photographic shot done at the familiar Lifestyle Corner at HortPark.

 The feature article entitled “Taman Mekar dalam flat” which translates directly to “Blooming Garden inside an apartment flat” is a feature story that shared useful tips and knowledge which one can follow so as to be able to create a beautiful and successful garden inside a high-rise apartment.

The excellent photographs that can be found in the article that spanned a total of four pages were all taken in HortPark’s Lifestyle Corner. They illustrated how plants can actually be used to decorate various parts of a modern apartment flat. I hope the reader will be inspired by the choice of plants and innovative ideas that originated from the Hort Outreach team that can be incorporated into the design and layout of the dining room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen in one’s home.

In order to have a lasting and visually appealling plant display at home, one has to consider the availability of natural sunlight in a selected area inside one’s home. Depending on their light requirements, plants will thrive and grow if they are situated in a location that receives either direct or filtered sunshine for at least 6 hours daily. One can only find such areas in the home either at the balcony or windowsill that faces East or West.

When a plant is displayed in a dim area deep inside one’s home, it is recommended to bring it to a brighter location for it to recuperate. A plant should be allowed to ‘see the light’ for at least 2 weeks after being placed in a dark environment for at most a month. Note that not all plants are forgiving when they are placed in a non-conducive environment as some sensitive ones will shed all their leaves or quickly exhibit etiolated growth that may not be that visually appealling.

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Posted in Contributed Articles, Herbs, High-rise Gardening, Houseplants

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Presenting “My Green Space” by NParks

Posted on April 24, 2009 | Leave a comment

The newsletter from the National Parks Board, NParks News, is now revamped and represented to all as ‘My Green Space’. This is a must-read publication for those who are interested in Singapore’s green spaces, flora and fauna. This newsletter has three main sections, namely, Lifestyle, Gardening and Conservation. Each section contains a handful of interesting articles.

The main page of “My Green Space” newsletter.

In the current issue (Jan to Mar 09), two articles on gardening are presented. The first piece entitled “Planting the Seeds of Friendship” was written by Mr Mohd Azmi who is from the Community in Bloom. The reader can look forward to read more about how two avid community gardeners, namely, Mdm Kamisah and Mr Richard Ashworth, indulged in the gardening hobby and spread the interest to fellow residents living in the estate where they lived.

“Planting the Seeds of Friendship” written by Azmi.

The next article in the gardening section was penned by myself which was written on a relatively new foliage plant that is very shade-tolerant and hence suitable for indoor display and planting. The identity of the plant is still under debate but currently, it is known as Carludovica ‘Jungle Drum’. Its closest relative is the Panama Hat Plant, botanically known as C. palmata.

My article written on Carludovica ‘Jungle Drum’ that was published on “My Green Space”.

“My Green Space” is free for all. To view the newsletter online, click on this link. To be notified of a new issue, all one needs to do is to sign up for it by clicking on this link.

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Posted in Contributed Articles, Gardening People in Singapore, Houseplants, Interesting News

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Home Concepts Magazine (Apr 09)

Posted on April 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

This month, I contributed an article entitled “Garden of Refreshment” for the Garden Treats column of the Home Concepts Singapore magazine. In it, I introduced four plants that are used to make healthy drinks which include passion fruit (Passiflora edulis), medicinal aloe (Aloe vera), dragonfruit (Hylocereus spp.) and roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa). 

All the abovementioned plants can be grown in Singapore, that is, if you have an outdoor garden. The passion fruit vinerequires a trellis to climb on, although some apartment gardeners with a bit more space have reported to be able to grow the vine in a large pot and seeing the plant fruit for them. The dragon fruit plant is a large sprawling cactus which needs to have a strong support to grow on. It requires full sun to grow well and hence it is kind of out of the growing list of a typical apartment dweller.

For apartment gardeners, try growing the medicinal aloe and roselle, which are two plants with a more manageable size. These two can be grown inside a large container but both plants require at least 6 hours of direct sunshine to grow well. Get a baby plant from a neighbour who grows the medicinal aloe to get started. The roselle can only be grown from seeds and scout around your nearby community garden to see if you see anyone growing this shrub.

To make refreshing drinks from these plants, try the following. Passionfruit juice can be made by blending passion fruit pulp using a blender at low speed. The same can also be done to dragon fruits. Do remember to filter the seeds away! 

For the medicinal aloe, you can cut the translucent gel found inside the leaves into small cubes and then boil them in water. Add sugar to taste. My mother puts in rock sugar to boil with the gel bits. The gel bits make an interesting chewy addition to the decoction.

Roselle drink is made from boiling the calyces from the fruits formed by the plant. Dried version of the calyces are available for sale from the local Chinese medicine hall. Do note that the drink needs to be sweetened using sugar as it can be quite sour to taste. Once sugar is added, the drink tastes somewhat like Ribena which is popular with young children.

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Serangoon Newsletter (Mar 09 issue)

Posted on April 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

 I contributed a concise article written about the Indian borage (Plectranthus amboinicus) that was published in the March 09 issue of the Serangoon Newsletter. This newsletter is distributed to all Serangoon Constituency residents.

Although I wrote a feature article on this plant before that was published on the Green Culture Singapore website, I continue find the confusion that the Singapore public has between this plant with the true mint (Mentha spp.) still prevalent. That is why I decided to submit this shortened version of the original Indian borage article for publication on the Serangoon Newsletter.

The Chinese here call the Indian borage as “Por Hor” which is, in fact, the same name that is used to call the true mint, which is probably a spear mint.  For those of us who know how spear mint smells like, we know its fragrance is very different from that of the Indian borage. Although both plants are members of the Lamiaceae family, in terms of appearance, the look of spear mint and Indian borage is very diverse. The spearmint plant grows like a prostrating creeper whereas the Indian borage attains more of an upright growth habit that bears some resemblence with the colourful coleus plant.

The Indian borage seems to be able to take shadier conditions quite well and is suitable for apartment gardeners using containers. Under shady conditions, the plant may etiolate a bit where the stem internodes lengthen but leaves will stay green and lush. When placed under full sunshine, the leaves of the Indian borage become bleached and tend to look sickly.

If you are keen to grow the Indian borage, look out for the variegated cultivar that has leaves that are edged white.

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Contribution to Home Concepts magazine (Mar 09)

Posted on March 17, 2009 | Leave a comment

The Garden Treats column in this month’s issue of the Singapore Home Concepts magazine focussed on a selection of plants which are used in the perfumery industry. Five different plants where featured which included the ylang ylang (Cananga odorata), champaca (Michelia spp.), jasmine (Jasminum spp.), frangipani  (Plumeria spp.) and rose (Rosa spp.). Essential oil is extracted from their flowers and are used to make various fragrance products.

From the above selection, of particular significance are two tropical flowers, namely, ylang ylang and white champaca (Michelia x alba). Essential oil from these flowers is used to make the Jean Patou cult classic, Joy and Chanel No. 5, respectively. Extraction of essential oil from flowers is usually not feasible at home due to the lack of access to specialised equipment. But one can still enjoy these flowers for their fragrance which is emitted into the space of a garden or home. Hence it will be prudent of one to grow these fragrant plants in a pot and so that they can be easily shifted around!

For the entire of March, visitors to HortPark will get a chance to know more about perfumery plants as a showcase has been put up at the timber deck located just outside HortPark’s Lifestyle Corner. The display was put up by myself and my fellow colleagues working in HortPark in conjunction with my article on perfumery plants in the Singapore Home Concepts magazine. Information on how to grow and care for these plants in the garden is provided. Guided tours of the Lifestyle Corner as well as the perfumery plant showcase, lasting for an hour, have been organised on two Saturday afternoons – 14 and 21 Mar 2009 at 5 pm.

In the perfumery showcase at HortPark, one can expect to see a few more perfumery plants in addition to the five mentioned in the article. They include the citronella grass (Cymbopogon nardus), lemon (Citrus limon) and tuberose (Polianthes tuberose). As mentioned earlier, flowers are the main raw material that are harvested for perfumery uses but for citronella grass, it is the leaves that are harvested. In the case of the lemon, the peel of the fruit is used. It will be a good idea to drop by later in the evening. The fragrance of the flowers usually intensifies when night falls.

One very important thing to note for the growing of these perfumery plants is that the majority of them are sun worshippers. They need direct sunshine to grow well and produce flowers. Apartment gardeners are likely to encounter alot of difficulty in trying to get these plants to flower if there is insufficient direct sunshine at their homes. Many of these perfumery plants are also shrubs and they need to be pruned periodically to ensure they do not become straggly. Pruning will encourage the growth of side shoots which will help to keep the plant compact-looking.

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Green Culture Singapore Feature Articles (Feb 09)

Posted on March 5, 2009 | 2 Comments

I admit that I have been way too late to have put up February’s Green Culture Singapore gardening feature articles.  Work has been hectic lately but I have managed to upload two gardening feature articles for leisure reading by my members at the Green Culture Singapore discussion forum. It’s better to be late than never!

The two feature articles focussed on hoyas this time around. The first article was contributed by Crocus Sativus which was an interview with  Anders Wennstrom, a co-author of the book entitled “The Genus Hoya”. I have obtained a copy via the help of a good friend and I found it extremely informative!

An Interview with Anders Wennstrom

Hoya enthusiasts would have heard about the publication of a new book entitled “The Genus Hoya” that was written on this fascinating group of plants. Read this feature article that was contributed by Crocus Sativus which is an insightful interview with Anders Wennstrom, who is a co-author of the book. This interview was reproduced with permission from the Singapore Gardening Society.

URL – http://www.greenculturesg.com/articles/feb09/feb09_wennstromintervw.pdf

 

The second article was a joint effort between my fellow colleague at HortPark, Jin Hong and myself. This feature article can likened to be a follow-up of the gardening talk that was held on this year’s Valentine’s Day in HortPark. It serves to introduce to the public the heart-shaped leaves of the sweet heart hoya (Hoya kerrii) which can become popular gifts for one’s partner on Valentine’s Day. In it, there is a series of steps which can be easily followed by the layman to teach one how to paint these heart-shaped leaves, as well as, cultivation information that is applicable to the sweet heart hoya and other Hoya species.

Grow Your First Hoya Plant with Love

Although roses are traditionally associated with Valentines’ Day, there are also other plants that can be used to convey your feelings to your loved ones. For those of you who have received a heart-shaped leaf that is potted up and adorned with sweet nothings and motives of hearts and other love symbols, the leaf you have gotten as a gift actually came from the sweetheart hoya plant. Read this feature article to know more about the sweet heart hoya and learn how to grow it. This article also contains basic cultivation information that is relevant to most other Hoya species.

URL – http://www.greenculturesg.com/articles/feb09/feb09_hoyakerrii.pdf

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