SINGAPORE - More gardening enthusiasts can hone their green fingers with 360 new gardening plots opening across eight parks islandwide.
Called allotment gardens, each plot comprises a raised planter bed and a mini storage area for tools. They will each be leased for up to three years at $57 annually.
The allotment gardens are located within parks in Bedok Town, in Bedok North Avenue 3; Choa Chu Kang, beside Kranji Expressway in Choa Chu Kang Drive; Pasir Ris, opposite the MRT station; Sengkang Riverside, in Anchorvale Street; Yishun, off Yishun Avenue 11; Jurong Central, at the junction of Jalan Boon Lay and Boon Lay Way; Kallang Riverside, at the corner of Kallang Road and Crawford Street; and Tiong Bahru, off Henderson Road.
Bedok Town Park will have the largest number of plots with 128 allotment gardens.
The Straits Times had previously reported that more people were turning to gardening as a hobby amid the pandemic and work arrangements that saw them spending more time at home.
Online applications for the new plots - which will be assigned through computerised balloting - will open for two weeks from 10am on Friday (Sept 24) to Oct 6.
Successful applicants will be notified on the outcome of their application within three months of the closing date.
"Members of the public are encouraged to apply for the gardening plots nearest to their residence," said the National Parks Board (NParks) in a statement on Wednesday.
The 360 new plots bring the total number of allotment gardens across 23 parks and gardens in Singapore to more than 2,000.
Apart from allotment gardens, there are more than 1,600 community gardens on rooftops, and in parks, housing estates, companies and schools nationwide, according to the NParks website.
Both community and allotment garden initiatives are part of Singapore's City in Nature vision to open up more spaces for gardening in the community.
Commenting on the new allotment gardens in a Facebook post on Wednesday, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said: "I met some gardeners at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park recently and was amazed by the variety of produce, flowers and herbs that they grow in their allotment garden plots. There were tomatoes, brinjals and rosemary, just to name a few."
In a video alongside his post, Mr Lee added: "The allotment gardeners visit their plots every other day... It is a tight-knit community - they help to water one another's plots, share tips, and even their harvests with one another."
NParks previously announced that it is aiming to have 3,000 community gardens and 3,000 allotment gardens by 2030.
The online application form is found in this website.
