Gardens

Gardens

A scarce commodity in Singapore... How many Singaporeans wish they'd have a garden. Some worked hard so that they could earn enough money just so they can buy a house with a small piece of grass patch called 'garden'. However, i'd just call that piece of land a small 'lawn'. Come on, for those of you that object... You really want to call that small piece of grass patch a 'garden'? I'd think not. But let's not go into this.

I, myself, have a mix view about gardens. Because land in Singapore is scarce, many people clamour to have a piece of land they can call their own and that doesn't include HDB flats, mind you. For those with land, naturally they'll appreciate that piece of land more, me included. I think i'm quite fortunate i can live in a place with some land i can call a garden. Thank you, mom and dad! Imagine what you could grow with a piece of land. Flowers, fruit trees, herbs. It's limitless. Well, for some people, they just keep their garden clean of everything except for carpet grass, that i don't understand why. Having a garden is so useful. There are some people who grow flowers to beautify the place, there are others who grow things that they might need. For me, a mixture of everything is grown in the garden. If i need pandan leaves, i cut it. I need ginger? I dig it up. I want to eat bachiku? I pluck it. (I never eat it before though.. Don't know why was that tree grown) That's how it goes. Of course having a garden means you must take time and effort in caring for the things you have grown there. Maybe that's the reason why some gardens are so empty, people have no time at all.

The best thing about having a garden? The air you breathe is always fresh and the temperatures at night is always cooler. No matter how hot the day is, the temperature cools down much more faster as compared to other places. (And it's not because my house is haunted!) I wake up freezing sometimes and i did not even switched on the air conditioner at all. But of course it might differ for some people.

However, having a garden isn't all that good either. Neglect it and everything grows wild. I've experienced it before. (The pandan grew out of control) So it's no easy task trying to keep the things you grow in check. Anything you grow today might be deemed a pest next time just because you let it grow wild. I had a hard time clearing up the pandan plants. (They crept along the ground and grew all over the place) Pandan leaves for sale, anyone?

Another thing about having a garden... The INSECTS. With a garden, there'll always be insects. They always come in a package. (Kinda like buy one, get one free) Of course i have nothing against insects, they have a right too. I like seeing the butterflies and bees flying among the flowers but i hate it when other insects irritate me. Eg. Now... It's dark, just rained and all the flying insects are out in full force. I just cannot stand it. Every now and then, a flying ant comes in through the window and i have to throw it back out. (They crawl/fly all over the place!) Mosquitoes are out in force also. (I hate them!) And the worst thing to come? I think the cockroaches will appear soon enough. (Argh!!! Someone save me please. I'm absolutely terrified of cockroaches!) I'll most probably close the windows tonight to keep them out. Of course the easiest way to get rid of all those insects that try to fly in is to either switch off the lights because they're attracted to it or to cool the place down considerably. (eg. switching on the air con) You shouldn't be using baygon or shieldtox.. It'll just stink the place up. And you'll have a hard time sleeping because of the smell. (But it's always handy against cockroaches! That i concur)

Nevertheless, having a garden is like a give and take situation. You can't be always taking something without giving something back. That's the way life goes. "When you take something, something else must be given back in return" (My thesis, LOL) So having a garden means that you have learn how to live with the things that come with it. The most you can do? Whine about the problems you face in a blog. (What i'm doing) If not, don't own a garden at all!

Ya, that's about it. See ya..