360 new gardening plots to open in eight parks

More gardening enthusiasts can hone their green fingers with 360 new gardening plots opening across eight parks.

Called an allotment garden, 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. They 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 reported that more people were gardening amid the Covid-19 pandemic and with flexible work arrangements in place.

Online applications for the plots - which will be assigned through computerised balloting - will open from 10am tomorrow and end on Oct 6.

Successful applicants will be notified 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) yesterday.

The new plots bring the number of allotment gardens across 23 parks and gardens in Singapore to more than 2,000.

Apart from allotment gardens, there are also more than 1,600 community gardens on rooftops, and in parks, housing estates, companies and schools, according to the NParks website.

The garden initiatives are part of Singapore's City in Nature vision to open up more spaces for gardening in the community.

In a Facebook post yesterday, National Development Minister 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 is aiming to have 3,000 community gardens and 3,000 allotment gardens by 2030.

Go to www.nparks.gov.sg/ gardening/allotment-gardens for more information.