Singapore prides itself on being a garden city and these days, Singaporeans are getting more opportunities to help it keep its reputation.

The National Parks Board (NParks) is leasing out garden space in its parks for the first time to community gardeners. It aims to build 1,000 of these "allotment gardens" in 10 parks by 2019. Each 2.5 sq m plot costs $57 a year for up to three years.

The move sprung up in response to a growing interest in gardening here.

According to NParks, there are now more than 1,300 community garden groups in Singapore. There are also close to 1,000 community gardens across the island, engaging more than 20,000 residents.

This month, President Halimah Yacob also launched a programme for volunteer gardeners to allow them to prune, water, grow and harvest plants in seven to eight areas in the Istana up to three times a week.

Samantha Boh