Kale seedlings

I sowed a pot of kale seeds a week ago. Though the planter box is compact, you would be surprised at how well they can grow. I've grown kang kong and chye sim successfully on these small containers in my patio. A pot like this can produce enough vegetables for a family meal.

The true leaves are finally emerging. Kale leaves are very pretty, with a naturally waxy powder-like surface. Freshly harvested kale is extremely crisp with a nice bite when stir-fried. After tasting home grown kale, I can never bring myself to buy from the market anymore.

Beautiful Gardens of Provence

Summer is the best time to visit beautiful Provence in France. The weather is perfect and the gardens burst into a profusion of colours!

Lavender field.

Herbs for sale at the farmers market.


Even the wild flowers are beautiful.

The French are good gardeners.


A landscaped garden at the hotel.


Succulents.

Balinese Garden

After visiting Garden Tech exhibition at Hortpark last week, my friend and I adjourned to Gillman Village across the road for a drink.

It was a warm and humid afternoon, the exhibition area was hot and stifling, so we were glad to be out in the open again.

We walked across the old bridge that leads to Gillman Village and it brought back memories of the years I was studying at St Andrew's Junior College. Back then we used to swim at the pool at Gillman Barracks just behind our school.

While the army camp is now converted into a sleepy enclave hosting a cluster of bars, restaurants and furniture shops, the bridge remains unchanged, albeit older and worn out.

At the end of the bridge is a Balinese garden, sort of unkempt but naturally gorgeous and attractive. It leads to Villa Bali, a sprawling restaurant and bar set amidst luxuriant tropical garden with frangipanis and heliconias framing a water fountain and a Balinese pavilion.

The gorgeous sight really lifted our spirits on a muggy day. Soon, the sky opened up and heavy rain came pouring down. The tropical weather is just perfect for a garden like this.

Here comes the sun

Gardeners know how important the sun is for plant development. For months, my patio garden was in the shade, so you can imagine my joy when I see the sun shining on my plants again. What joy!

I've managed to grow watercress successfully from seeds. I've always placed it in a cool and shady area. It must really like it there. It's too pretty to be eaten, so I'm planning to keep it as a decorative plant in my garden.

Purple and curly

The mystery orchid (left behind by the previous house owner) has finally bloomed. The flowers are curly, in an interesting shade of purple. While we grow many kinds of Dendorium orchids at the farm, I don't think I have seen this.

Ode to farmers

I'm been told many times that I'm lucky to have lived in the countryside almost all my life. It's a privilege because Singapore is a land-scarce city-state, only about 3% of the total land area is used for agriculture.

Indeed I am lucky. I'm so used to the large expanse of space and tranquility, I often find life in the city very stifling. There are lots of things I miss about the living in the countryside, from the smells to the sounds at night. Would you believe that one of the things I miss most is the 'kampong spirit'?

Kampong (village) spirit is that camaraderie and sense of extended family that comes from living in close proximity with our neighbours. Growing up, grandma visited her neighbours frequently, bringing them fruits from the garden and home-made cakes. People stop to chat when they meet along the way to the market. We don't fence up the yard or lock the doors at night. When a family needs help in building a house, everyone chips in to help. The mutual support is strong in the village.

Since Singapore became urbanised in the 1970s, that kampong spirit has been lost and people have become self-oriented.

Lucky for us who're still living in a farm, we're surrounded by farmers. We have vegetable, fish, orchid and egg farms in our neighbourhood, so naturally the kampong spirit is still there (but fading).

Our tenants at the farm are some of the nicest and most generous people who ply us with fruits, vegetables, herbs and plants without expecting anything in return. They're hardworkers who toil from dawn till dusk, yet they do not complain. Their face may be tanned and lined, but only kind words escape from their lips and they extend their rough calloused hands to give us the fruits of their labour.

I have lots of respect for farmers for they know how to work in tandem with the earth to produce miracles. They know the secrets which no gardening books can teach. They treat the earth with kindness and coax their plants to produce the sweetest and freshest crops.

My basil family

The basil is an amazing plant. When I first brought it home, it was just a wisp of a plant. Then it grew into a bush. I use the leaves for cooking... the more I cut, the bushier it gets.

I put the little stems that I cut back into the soil and they grow into little basil plants. Now mother and children are doing well.

Soon, we will have one big basil family. I must thank the nice lady at the community garden for giving it to me.