Revitalize with Gardening as a Hobby

by Leong Ming Chee

With retirement, we have more time on our hands. Some of us look after the grandchildren, others exercise like going to the gym, cycling…hiking…., learning a new language and taking up hobbies like gardening.  Many have great satisfaction to see plants thriving well in our gardens, fruits on the trees, cutting vegetables /herbs from the garden for our cooking.

We organized a gardening session at the Perdana Botanical Gardens (formerly known as Lake Gardens) on Monday 15^th May 2017 where En Zakaria Mat, Head of Lake Gardens/Herbarium gave a brief history of Perdana Botanical Gardens and its transformation over the years, how to plant flowers, vegetables, green plants, etc; what kind of soil to use and how to make our own compost.

This activity benefitted 25 Retirees who turned up early at the new Herbarium Building for the briefing session. We later toured toured the grounds, composting station and the edible garden.

At the composting station, we were shown how different soil used can affect the growth of the plants, use of cuttings to replant and most importantly right soil, sufficient moisture and sunlight during its different stages of growth.

We can easily set up an edible garden at home by using 4’ x 4’ wood planks and soil to plant different species of herbs and vegetables in a small plot of land. The Edible garden there is a good demonstration of this.

After 2 hours out in the field we later adjourned back at the Herbarium to have a Quiz and those who answered correctly were rewarded with a pot of plant to take home. Lunch consisting of Mee Siam and Nestle Canned Drinks were served to all.

What a great morning to experience this with a truly passionate and professional “gardener” like En Zakaria Mat. At  the end, the participants asked for a follow-up session on this. But wait….. lets see how we progress at home after this.