Community Gardens

The initiative was called Community in Bloom. The idea was to turn common spaces into community gardens allowing people in the community to come together to create, develop and sustain a gardening space in their locality.

“Through community gardening, the gardening culture and a greater sense of civic ownership is manifested amongst the public and private estates, schools and organisation. Not only does it beautify our city with blooming flowers, vegetables, spices and fruits, it is an opportunistic platform for your neighbours, peers and colleagues to come together for bonding and sharing of knowledge and experiences.”

Especially here in land scarce Singapore, where some refer it to a concrete jungle, community gardens provide a platform for people to bond with the wider community, nurture the values of cooperation, volunteering, respecting diversity and creating ecological awareness as well as drawing us closer to nature in our cityscape!

In addition to planting edible crops, community gardens also help to attract wildlife to our urban greenery. Thanks to these pockets of green spaces, birds and butterflies are increasingly becoming a common sight in our neighbourhoods and communities.

To ensure that people who join the community gardens are serious in gardening, the authorities charges a nominal fee of $57 for a plot, for three years. Each allotment garden plot consists of a raised planter bed (2.5m x 1m) and comes equipped with soil in the planter box, as well as a mini storage area for tools. Despite the fee, the garden plots are quickly taken up. And there is demand for more of such.

There are now over 1,600 community gardens across Singapore beautifying and adding vibrancy to our community spaces. Garden plots can be found in parks and gardens island-wide. Applicants can grow herbs, vegetables or any other ornamental plants. It’s up to the plot owner to be creative.

The following are pictures of a community garden plot, in a corner of a park.

A very healthy Chilli padi plant.

Orka - a big healthy one too.

Young Spinach.

Spring Onions.

Pandang leaves.

Aloe vera.

Long beans.

Sweet potato plants. The leaves are a local favourite dish.

French beans.

'Four angle/corner beans' - literally translated from the Chinese name I know of it

Successful bidders of these plots usually plant vegetables of one kind or another. Fresh organic vegetables freshly harvested. One can't get fresher vegetables than that.

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