Nine-year-old Syahirah’s first foray into gardening started out with growing green beans in a plastic cup. Her budding interest has slowly blossomed into a full-fledged passion for gardening, shared by her schoolmates in Hougang Primary School. Sudarshan, another member of the school’s gardening club, enjoys nurturing flowering plants. “I get excited when the flowers bloom in the garden. They’re so colourful!” he exclaims.

If you love plants and animals, here’s a way to combine both interests: make a mini green roof on top of your pet’s kennel. A green roof refers to a building’s roof that is partially or wholly covered with plants.

In the previous issue of My Green Space, we introduced a selection of sun-loving flowering species in this article (/keeping-it-local-with-native-ornamental-plants/). If you lack a gardening area with full sun, do not despair – here, we introduced a range of native species that are good for shady outdoor areas. These plants are also suitable for high-rise dwellers with a partially shaded balcony.

Have you ever noticed your plants getting ‘top heavy’? From time to time, you may find that the weight of a plant’s canopy is causing its stem to bend. Gardeners stake their plants for this, and other reasons. For instance, stakes also helps to prevent plants from toppling or being uprooted by a gust of wind.