Community gardens to revisit good old days

SINGAPORE — Some of the Republic’s most iconic motifs of heartland life — from the bird-singing corners in housing estates to a replica of Toa Payoh’s dragon mosaic playground — will find their way into a cluster of five community gardens at HortPark, as part of celebrations for Singapore’s Jubilee year.

To be ready from September, these Community In Bloom (CIB) gardens will be about 200 sq m each and will be managed by community gardeners from the five Community Development Council districts, who will chip in ideas on how to implement each garden’s themes, and the National Parks Board (NParks). This concept of industry players and the community co-creating gardens will be part of the plans for Jurong Lake Gardens, set to open in phases from 2017.

Speaking at HortPark yesterday, where plans for the five community gardens were unveiled, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong said a roving exhibition to gather ideas from the public for Jurong Lake Gardens will be launched in April. “I think having people involved in gardening is a very good way to get the balance right because we have many people coming together. They are involved not only in maintaining the gardens, but also in creating the gardens.”

By growing their showpiece gardens, community gardeners will take pride in their work and subsequently take families and friends to the gardens as well, he added.

Announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the National Day Rally last year, Jurong Lake Gardens will combine the Japanese Garden, Chinese Garden and Jurong Lake Park, which he said have not changed much in years and seem under-utilised.

The five SG50 community gardens will involve about 250 NParks staff and community gardeners, who include secondary-school students, residents, grassroot volunteers and the private sector. Of the five gardens, four will be based on themes related to Singapore’s past and identity.

The BLK 50 garden, to be managed by Central Singapore District, will be inspired by Housing and Development Board communities. Another garden, Balik Kampung, to be managed by North West District, aims to ignite the nostalgia of kampung days. The themes were conceptualised by NParks.

Community gardener John Hou, 70, will be working on the garden themed Talk Bird, Sing Song inspired by the old pastime of listening to birdsong, to be managed by South West District. Poles with hanging birdcages — albeit with plants instead of real birds — will be placed in a garden filled with flowering plants that can draw birds. Audio recordings of birdsong may also be played.

The Bukit Batok resident, who used to visit bird-singing corners at Tiong Bahru in the 1960s, said such spaces have been phased out. “I remember in those days, we used to go there and take coffee and listen to the birds. We are going to bring back the memories,” said Mr Hou.

South East District will manage the Play Mosaic garden, which will create a replica of the iconic Toa Payoh dragon playground to bring back memories of Singaporeans’ childhood, when glass mosaic tiles were popular as finishes in playgrounds.

Managed by North East District, the fifth garden, titled 2065, will look to Singapore’s future. Visitors can expect a vision of how Singapore’s gardens will evolve over the next 50 years, with the space featuring the use of recycled materials and rooftop gardens.

Construction of the SG50 community gardens will begin in July. The gardens will be on display until 2018 and taken down after. Xue Jianyue