Living in a high rise HDB block, we are faced with so many constraints when it comes to starting our own little green patch. Space constraints, lack of light and now the new need to be careful not be an accidental mosquito breeder, it is not easy at all to be a high rise urban gardener. Luckily for us, we are living in a end unit, which means we get to use the stair landing space for gardening! The design of the corridor also allows light in adequate amounts which means we can grow plants that have moderate light demand
We have actually been gardening in the space for quite a while now. Unfortunately, depending on how busy we are, our little secret garden have either been cared for intensively or neglected with equal "enthusiasm". As of recently, it was looking kinda neglected with overgrown, gangly, root bound, whitefly infested (the list goes on...) plants. There was always a thought lurking at the back of our minds to just chop down and tidy up everything. But... lazy la...
A visit this Sat to a restaurant in Sculpture Square called Artichoke provided a catalyst though. Besides having great food (the thick cut bacon is to die for!), it is located in a charming building in between 2 others, with a rustic little square in front of the restaurant which they used as a gardening area to grow various crops like tomatoes, mint, curry leaves, pumpkin etc. It looked really cool and re-invigorated our efforts to revitalize our own high rise garden
To further ensure we do not falter (once again) in our quest to maintain our high rise garden, we have decided to document the evolution to serve as a reminder of our past efforts and to carry on caring for it. We do like the idea of a beautiful as well as functional garden, so we will be planting a mixture of edible crops as well as ornamental plants, subject or course, to their light demand and how well they do within our high rise constraints
So.. on a nice cooling Sunday morning, we got to work! Man, the amount of work required was herculean. From re-potting the root bound crab apple tree, planting beans, trimming and re-positioning the passion fruit vine, we were beat by the time we were done. Although looking a little bare now, we are sure once the plants settle in, they will fill in nicely and start greening up the entire corridor (with a little help from us shooing away those pesky ever present white flies!)
We have actually been gardening in the space for quite a while now. Unfortunately, depending on how busy we are, our little secret garden have either been cared for intensively or neglected with equal "enthusiasm". As of recently, it was looking kinda neglected with overgrown, gangly, root bound, whitefly infested (the list goes on...) plants. There was always a thought lurking at the back of our minds to just chop down and tidy up everything. But... lazy la...
A visit this Sat to a restaurant in Sculpture Square called Artichoke provided a catalyst though. Besides having great food (the thick cut bacon is to die for!), it is located in a charming building in between 2 others, with a rustic little square in front of the restaurant which they used as a gardening area to grow various crops like tomatoes, mint, curry leaves, pumpkin etc. It looked really cool and re-invigorated our efforts to revitalize our own high rise garden
To further ensure we do not falter (once again) in our quest to maintain our high rise garden, we have decided to document the evolution to serve as a reminder of our past efforts and to carry on caring for it. We do like the idea of a beautiful as well as functional garden, so we will be planting a mixture of edible crops as well as ornamental plants, subject or course, to their light demand and how well they do within our high rise constraints
So.. on a nice cooling Sunday morning, we got to work! Man, the amount of work required was herculean. From re-potting the root bound crab apple tree, planting beans, trimming and re-positioning the passion fruit vine, we were beat by the time we were done. Although looking a little bare now, we are sure once the plants settle in, they will fill in nicely and start greening up the entire corridor (with a little help from us shooing away those pesky ever present white flies!)
Beans from a Malaysian aunt. Heard they are not the vine type. Looking forward to fresh beans for dinner soon! | Mint growing in a self watering pot we made ourselves (using 2 IKEA tubs). We will share details on how to make these in the future. They are great for plants that cannot dry out (e.g. cucumber, tomatoes). Can you spot the fugitive ladyfinger plants (we used to use the soil to grow ladyfingers and some seeds probably dropped in) hiding among the mint? |
That's all from us for now. Stay tuned for more updates!