Below is the full article that I wrote for a newsletter. It is in a question-and-answer style; interview by Isnis:
Horticulture and bringing a touch of green into your home or office
1. So what got you first started into gardening?
It started when I was in primary school and found the lessons on germinating green beans, balsam seed pods dispersing seeds through splitting, and vegetative propagation of African violets extremely fascinating.
My forays into gardening are mostly restricted to containers. You’d be amazed at how many different species and varieties one can raise in containers and pots of soil. Unlike gardeners with plenty of space to design a landscape of plants with varying heights and colours, I grow tropical plants as specimens to be admired and appreciated on their own: unique botanical outcomes of evolution and natural selection over millennia. This is why I am partial towards ferns, a plant with an extremely long history.
2. What was your first gardening ‘experiment’ and how did that turn out?
I had bought a packet of petunia seeds from a plant nursery. Petunias are a genus of South American plants that have been extensively hybridised into showy varieties. If you hadn’t grown them before, you will know that the seeds are very tiny and needs light to germinate. The tiny seedlings emerged eventually, and they bloomed after 10 weeks. I recall vividly the first trumpet-shaped bloom unfurled at dusk, and had a slight scent
That experience of raising a flowering plant to maturity from a very tiny seed was immensely satisfying. It was pleasing to watch new furry leaves and buds forming over time.
3. What is your greatest ever ‘success’ whilst gardening?
It’s hard to answer this question. All my plants are successes, in a way. Whether they survive or not, there's always something to learn.
4. What can be said to be the most embarrassing thing that had ever happen to you while gardening?
Absolutely nothing, so I really don’t know how to answer this.
5. Tell us more about your ‘gardens’ at home?
These are all restricted to containers and are mostly leafy plants, such as Bird’s Nest Fern, Rabbit’s Foot Fern, Money plant, Zamioculcas, Dracaena and a curry plant. They are easy to maintain, and adds a soothing splash of green. Their differing growth habits, leaf shapes and shades of green provide pleasing contrasts. Beyond aesthetics, the curry plant is useful for cooking; whenever I need it, I can just pluck off a sprig or two to add an aromatic lift to a pot of curry.
Zamioculcas originated from East Africa. An easy plant to grow, it holds auspicious meanings for the Chinese (金钱树). Its ingot-shaped leaves symbolises wealth. This is one plant that rewards that extra bit of care with glossy leaves and vigorous growth. Its fleshy stems and underground tubers mean that it can do without watering for some time without dying. As long as the pot is allowed to drain freely, overwatering is also unlikely to kill it. Tolerates shade.
Rabbit’s Foot Fern is so named because mature specimens produce furry rhizomes that protrude from the soil, and resembles rabbits’ feet. Despite its delicate appearance, this is a tough plant that tolerates shade.
Money plant is extremely easy to grow. A vigorous plant, it has nice splashes of variegation on its leaves. Its long stems make it ideal as a hanging plant. If allowed to grow up a wooden stake, the leaves becomes extremely large. Easily one of the easiest plants to grow. Its vigor will depend on light availability. Its leaves tend to become greener in low light conditions.
The only plant that I grow for its flowers is the Hedychium coronarium (White Orchid Ginger). So named for its orchid-like white blooms, the scent is amazing, especially in the evenings. It never gets afflicted by insect pests and regularly sends up a spike of blooms which lasts several weeks, with deadheading. Ants love to crawl into the blooms to retrieve nectar.
White Orchid Ginger originated in the Himalayans regions. The flower scent is indescribably sweet, with hints of citrus.
6. How did your friends and colleagues react when they find out you have a green thumb?
Most of the time, people are surprised because there simply aren’t many (relatively) young people in Singapore who appreciates plants the way I do. Really, it isn't something just meant for retirees and housewives.
7. Whilst overseas or locally, what in your view is the best example of a lush green sprawling garden?
I am extremely impressed by the Kew Gardens in London, in particular, the tropical collection dating from Victorian times. I consider the Gardens a must-visit for any trip to London. Specimens are labelled, well taken care of and flourish in the greenhouse.
The greenhouse in Kew Gardens, London containing tropical plants collected from all over the world during the heyday of the British Empire. Many of the plants (especially the Chilean Wine Palm) are so advanced in age that they threaten to break through the roof of the one-story glasshouse.
The Victorian period was a golden era of plant collecting. Intrepid botanical adventurers travelled the world to collect exotic specimens of trees, orchids, medicinal plants, ferns and palms, often at great personal risk. Many new species, including valuable cash crops were discovered and studied. An example would be the rubber tree, which was first grown outside South America from seed, in the steamy greenhouses of Kew. Carefully nurtured seedlings were sent to Sri Lanka and Singapore in 1876. Once they were established, rubber plantations spread throughout Malaya. Looking back at our history, I would say that, Malaya owed its prosperity in part to this. Rubber was once a significant backbone of the economy during the 19th century and early 20th century. Therefore, the Gardens is very much a history museum, but with artefacts that are still growing, flowering and fruiting year after year.
70,000 rubber seeds were transported to Kew in 1875 from Brazil. Seedlings were then sent to various places in the British empire, where latex and rubber production played an important role in the economy then.
Locally, I think the Singapore Zoo has some good examples of gardens that complement the animal exhibits very well. The Fragile Rainforest aviary has, in my opinion, a good variety of tropical plants that are skilfully combine to create an illusion of a rainforest, with distinct undergrowth and canopy vegetation.
Singapore Zoo’s Fragile Forest canopy serves as a conducive habitat for Flying Foxes.
Another well-designed display is the Cold Greenhouse at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The temperature is kept at around 15 degrees, and the humid environment simulates the growing conditions of high-altitude plants in Southeast Asia. Tree ferns, insectivorous pitcher plants and cool-growing orchids thrive in this environment.
The cool greenhouse in the Singapore Botanic Gardens maintains a temperature of about 15 degrees Celsius. Periodic misting of water simulates the high humidity and moistness of high-altitude cloud forests.
Epiphytic orchids grow on moist tree branches alongside ferns in the greenhouse.
Insectivorous pitcher plant winds its pitcher around other plants. Insects fall into the slipper edges and walls of the pitcher, to be digested by enzymes which are then absorbed by the plant.
8. Tell us what gardening does for your mental wellbeing!
When we are close to nature, enjoying its many colours, movements, shapes, textures and scents, the attention we pay is involuntary, and I feel, very rejuvenating in the midst of our busy lives. It allows for the resting of voluntary attention – the kind that tires one out, but needed for tasks such as writing reports, planning and meetings. It may very well be imagined by me, but it works for me – gazing at greenery and observing new leaf shoots emerging from my plant is restorative for me. It gives me that bit more energy to face the challenges that life throws up.
And we all know that green relaxes the eyes, particularly if you gaze at a majestic swathe of tall, green trees at a distance. The collection of small green plants in the office are nowhere as grand as our tropical wayside trees. But there is still something deeply stirring in observing the plants, as you water them. Drops of water that slides smoothly down a leaf’s arch down into the root area, speaks of the grand design in these living things. The turning of a leaf stalk towards the light source reminds me of how all food, and therefore, animal life, ultimately comes from plants. That’s pretty mind-blowing, when one ponders about it.
9. Any parting shots on gardening.......
It’s easy to grow plants in the office or at home. Many people think that it takes too much trouble, and that they do not have the ‘green fingers’ to keep plants alive. That I completely understand. The chief causes of plant murders are underwatering and overwatering. A solution would be a plant terrarium. Often, if I want to give a plant away, I would plant it in a terrarium, which would greatly increase the plant’s chances of survival if the eventual owner is likely to forget to water, or water too much.
It’s essentially a self-contained system, within a glass container. Water released into the air through evaporation, plant transpiration and photosynthesis is recycled. Therefore, a glass terrarium can go without watering for many months. Since no watering is required, death through dehydration (underwatering) or root rot (overwatering) is much less likely.
IKEA offers many containers suitable for plant terrariums. A red-veined Fittonia is planted in the taller bottle, and a variegated Euonymus fits snugly in the cookie jar.
This is a good starting point for apprehensive first-timers. To bring plants closer to our work and living environments breaks the disconnect we urbanites have with nature. There is a calming comfort in getting close to nature and, if only temporarily, recognize that despite the frenetic pace of modern life, nature carries on in its own steady pace.
Coriander is one herb that tends to evoke polemical reactions. Either you love it, or you hate it.
Its very history belies this.
Ugly as it may seem, the root is used to spectacular effect in Thai cuisine. Once cleaned thoroughly, the root is used in green curry pastes, soups, marinades, stir-fries and dips.
Then finely chop 6 cloves of garlic, 2cm of ginger and 1 chilli. Combine with approximately 5 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce, adjusting the amount to taste. Also, add sugar according to
Here's how to cook it. 
The picture above shows the tsunami inundating large areas near Sendai.
The hospital was one of the few buildings that remained intact after the tsunami. The Shizugawa High School on the other hand, was further away from the coast, and therefore less affected by the tsunami. The picture below shows the location of both places. The red arrow shows where the hospital is, and the green arrow, Shizugawa High School.
Can you imagine, that it is a lively community, with a high school full of energetic young people. Now, the high school has become an evacuation centre. I hope they have fuel, for it is terribly cold.
We will see many images of mass destruction in Japan's coastal communities. But we must remember that there are people, just like you and me, who are affected. People who feel, who love, who rejoice, who feel pain and sadness. The Japanese government will help them, without a doubt. But let us remember the people, the individuals, who may have lost friends, relatives, or family members, in our prayers. The picture above shows a family leaving Minani Sanriku. :(
I had watched Love Cuts at Ang Mo Kio Hub, and it certainly was a film that struck more than a few chords. There were numerous similarities and though the movie did not go into details, it brought back detailed memories of my late mother's battle with cancer.
