The Wholesome Guide to HDB Gardening in Singapore
Gardening is an excellent way to incorporate physical activities into your daily routine and encourages family bonding. Research has also shown that gardening can boost one’s mental wellbeing.
However, not everyone is lucky enough to own a backyard in their home. In Singapore, many of us live in a HDB apartment with limited space. But let me tell you a secret, you don’t need much space to grow fresh herbs, vegetables, and even fruits. With the recent HDB gardening trend growing amidst covid safety measures, let’s explore how you can kickstart your very own gardening journey at home!
With the right choice of plants and equipment, you can transform small spaces like the kitchen counter or a service balcony into your Zen Garden. Try your hands at edible gardening and grow your own herbs, vegetables, and fruits with these simple tips.
Gardening on the Kitchen Countertop Space
Fresh herbs in your meals? Yes, please! Nothing beats the aromatic additions of freshly harvested herbs to any dish you whipped up. Making this happen is as easy as one, two, three as long as you’ve got some space on your kitchen counter.
Do you have a sunny window? Lucky you! You have the choice of growing sun-loving herbs like basil and rosemary to add to your daily menu. Is your kitchen counter on the shadier side? Have no fear! Fuss-free herbs options such as mint and coriander make excellent compliments to any dish or dessert too.
Visit your friendly neighbourhood garden centres to grab a pack of seeds and enjoy the experience of growing your herbs right from the start. Alternatively, bring home a pot of lavender or thyme and start reaping the benefits right away.
How do you harvest the herbs safely without causing damage to the plants? Well, the GARDENA Classic Secateurs is just the tool you need! Equipped with non-stick coated stainless steel blades, the GARDENA Classic Secateurs provide a clean bypass cut that minimizes damage to your plants. In addition, the GARDENA Classic Secateurs come with a two-year warranty on them.
Fun Fact 1:
Did you know? Pruning your mint plant frequently encourages growth.
This means even more mint for you! Hmm, imagine adding mint to your freshly brewed tea!
Gardening on the Balcony
A handful of HDB apartments has the luxury of an additional service balcony included in the unit. This add-on space is a wonderful location for you to house your Zen Garden.
Did you know? Balcony gardening is a common practice around the world.
Growing your own vegetables at home gives “Garden Fresh” a brand new meaning! For the gardeners who have just begun their gardening journey, try out easy to grow vegetables like spring onion and celery. All you need to do is leave 3-4 cm of the base/root when cutting store-bought spring onion and celery. Then, place them in a bowl of water for a few days, and voilà, you will see new growth shortly. That’s when it is ready to be repotted into a pot of soil.
For the more experienced gardeners, try your hands at growing perennial vegetables like Spinach and Water Mimosa. Planting these cut-and-grow crops will give you an abundance of fresh leafy vegetables.
To get your balcony garden up and running, all you need are some planters and plant pots to grow your plants in.
Protect those delicate hands with GARDENA Planting & Soil Gloves when you are working with soil. Made with durable materials, the GARDENA Planting & Soil Gloves provide optimum wearing comfort while providing extra protection with its reinforced fingertips.
Watering your plants is easy with GARDENA Comfort Pressure Sprayer 1.25 Litre. Fitted with an ergonomic handle, the GARDENA Comfort Pressure Sprayer 1.25 Litre lies perfectly in hand and allows for comfortable use. It also comes with a large opening for easy refills. Go about your fuss-free daily watering with GARDENA Comfort Pressure Sprayer 1.25 Litre, which comes with a two-year warranty on it.
Fun Fact 2:
You can maximize the space on your balcony with a vertical garden system. Stop by Pinterest for simple tutorials on setting up an easy do-it-yourself vertical garden system with available tools at home!
Gardening at the Common Corridor Space
Most HDB apartment comes with some form of common corridor space. When used wisely, this area is the perfect place to kickstart your HDB gardening adventure.
For corridor spaces with 4-6 hours of direct sunlight a day, try your hands at growing fruiting crops like chillies, tomatoes or lady’s fingers. Have a shadier corridor space? Try growing these plants that grow well with around 4 hours of sunlight a day, like the laksa leaves, pandan leaves or coriander.
Grow your crops neatly in lightweight planters or plant pot. And use proper plant pot stands and racks that are stable and less likely to topple for the safety of your neighbours passing by.
The common corridor area is a communal space. So remember to follow good corridor gardening practices and share some of your harvest with your neighbours to cultivate the good old “Kampung Spirit”.
Indoor Gardening
Is maintaining an edible garden too much work for you? You can start small with some pots of indoor plants around your home. Some research has shown that being around plants can help reduce stress. Besides, this list of aesthetically pleasing ornamental plants with auspicious symbolism will definitely pique your interest.
For good luck and abundance, hang a pot money plant or lucky bamboo around the house and welcome luck with open arms.
Invite peace and tranquillity into your home by placing a pot of peace lily in the living room.
Are you pursuing wisdom and harmony? Then the bonsai plant is your top pick.
Need some trusty tools for your gardening adventure? The GARDENA Wide Trowel and GARDENA Flower Fork will become your best companions. These tools are made with top-quality steel and coated with a Duroplast coating to protect them against corrosion while making them dirt-repellent and extremely sturdy. The GARDENA Wide Trowel and GARDENA Flower Fork are perfect for planting and transplanting.
GARDENA is the leading brand for high-quality garden tools in Europe. Originated from Germany, GARDENA offers a complete range of garden tools and systems for passionate gardeners all over the world.