\n<\/p>\n
It’s almost as if a switch flipped for Mr Yeap \u2013 gardening was no longer just a personal, private hobby, but a shared activity that could bring people together.<\/p>\n
He went on to take part in all eight editions of the Singapore Gardeners’ Cup since the inaugural one in 2010, being appointed leader for his cluster in the first seven and co-leader in the latest one this year.<\/p>\n
Of the eight iterations, Mr Yeap’s cluster won the top award for three of them \u2013 a truly impressive feat, I came to understand, as he patiently explained the gruelling preparation involved in these tournaments.<\/p>\n
The cup itself is usually held every two years around July at the biennial Singapore Garden Festival, but preparations typically start as early as the last quarter of the preceding year.<\/p>\n
Each cluster typically brings together a number of gardening groups, anywhere from five to 12 depending on how districts are organised each year. The groups involved would first meet up, visit and take stock of each other’s gardens and get to know each other’s strengths before brainstorming ideas for the show garden.<\/p>\n
In Mr Yeap’s experience, most gardeners in the community are very open to connecting with each other, particularly when it comes to pooling resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“They will share their knowledge, share what they know, and they will even share their harvest.”<\/p>\n
Months go into propagating plants, testing display prototypes and refining plant arrangements, before the teams are given about a week to assemble the final show garden.<\/p>\n
For example, for this year’s cup, Mr Yeap’s team chose the futuristic theme Quantum Fair 3026. Their garden included a 1.5m-wide flying saucer sculpture that held about 600 succulents. The team tried three different variations of the design before finding one that worked best.<\/p>\n
“Then we spent three full days at the Singapore Garden Festival, about four or five people, just doing that (assembling the succulents).”<\/p>\n
This year, each district’s team comprised 12 community gardens. And with around 10 volunteers per garden, he estimated about 100 participants were involved in the district’s showcase.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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