WHEN you're a businessman who has to travel often in the line of work, you need a garden that's low maintenance.
That's especially so for Mr Vincent Ko, head of a Singapore-China joint venture company.
The 55-year-old is based overseas much of the time and returns only about once a month.
Yet his garden is full and lush almost beyond belief. 'I wanted to create a jungle,' he said. And he has.
The self-described 'kampung boy' grew up not far from where he lives now in Toh Tuck Road.
In the 17 years he has been there, he has been steadily transforming his urban patch, which measures about 5m by 3m, into a rural recreation of his boyhood home.
The whole of his balcony has been completely colonised by plants, most of which were bought as small potted plants but have since grown and multiplied.
They include the dracaena fragrans, which he prunes by sawing off the tops of the leafy stems and which responded by growing back even more vigorously.
He is particularly proud of a fern which was bought as a small plant from a local nursery and has since grown into a thick clump over 2m in height.
Creeping their way up
His plants have not only spilled out into a grassy patch outside his ground-floor maisonette, but creepers like a huge money plant have also colonised the outside wall of his unit and clambered their way up almost four storeys to surround his neighbours' windows.
Fortunately for him and his plants, the neighbours are also fond of greenery and are quite happy with the look.
Sharing space with the plants are four koi, measuring 50cm to 60cm long, which appear equally content occupying a 1.5m by 1.5m pond.
When you point out that the pond is too small for the fish, the response is: 'They were much smaller at first, but they keep getting bigger, so they can't be too unhappy about it.'
The plants also seem to like the pond. A number of them, especially the giant money plant, have extended their roots into it where they draw refreshment and oxygenate the water in return.
The water in the pond is changed periodically and what is pumped out is used to water the garden.
The rest of the time, the only maintenance the garden gets is when his domestic help feeds the koi and waters the plants using a hose.
'The garden seems to have taken on a life of its own,' says Mr Ko, 'so I don't have to do much other than pruning, tidying up and a little rearranging when I'm back'.
This gardening column appears on the last Saturday of each month.
Bloomtime
CALLING all gardeners. The National Parks Board's nationwide gardening competition, Community In Bloom, is on again.
The contest aims to develop and reward an interest and creativity in gardening as well as instil a sense of community spirit among those who create and maintain gardens.
The event is now a biennial one to coincide with the Singapore Garden Festival, which is also held once every two years.
This year's contest is divided into two main groups:
> Community Gardens: Open to those in the following categories - public housing estates, private housing estates, schools and other organisations.
> Home Owners' Special - Balcony Gardens: Open to public and private high-rise residents who maintain balcony gardens within their apartments.
Top prizes for all categories in the Community Gardens and Home Owners groups are $1,000 in cash and a certificate of achievement.
The contest closes at 6pm on March 1 next year and shortlisted applicants will be notified soon after.
Entries may be sent online or by post. Log on to www.nparks.gov.sg to enter online or download an entry form or call 6471-7808 to ask for one to be sent to you.
Forms are also available at the Botanic Gardens' visitor centres and about 20 nurseries around the island.
