Your travel plans, if any, are now once again upended – no thanks to the constantly changing Covid-19 pandemic. Thanks Omicron. To enliven your mood and quench your thirst for travel, consider a visit to the tranquil Chengtai Nursery which is located at 51 Sungei Tengah in the north-western part of Singapore.
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Started In 1990 by director Tan Kim Kwang, it offers a wide selection of plants that will satisfy the jungle home boom and can tend to other horticultural needs including garden landscaping and rockwork construction.
One of the three covers for FEMALE'S The New Luxury Edition this month was shot on the grounds of Chengtai Nursery.
But the biggest discovery you'll make on the nine-acre property is that it boasts one of Singapore’s biggest bonsai gardens. As of the last count, there are 2,800 bonsai plants on the plot.
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So while you’re shopping for some plants to adorn your living space this holiday season, take a chance to appreciate the precious peace and calmness of these sculptural plants and cool off at the many gazebos that the Tan family had set up around the nursery's expansive grounds.
The gazebos around the nursery offer respite from the elements – and plenty of Instagram opportunities.
Ahead, Jaslin Tan, the director of Chengtai Nursery shares more about this scenic spot.
"Chengtai translates to 'upright' in Mandarin. My father (the nursery's founder) wants my siblings and I to understand and practice this traditional Chinese value, whether it’s for business or personal endeavours.”
"My father was given a lot of car park slabs by his friend who wanted to dispose of them. He thought through many nights thinking about what to do with them. Finally, he came up with an idea to build our nursery wall using recycled concrete slabs. Eventually, it turned out to look like the Great Wall.”
"While people do come here to shop for plants – our top-sellers indoor foliage varieties uch as ficus lyrata, pachira and sansevieria as they are easy to take care of – we do hope that our customers can also make use of our beautiful landscape to relax and also for their family bonding time.”
“We feel that wedding is a once in a lifetime event in the couple’s life, and that’s why we want to be part of this joyous occasion and let everyone enjoy themselves here. We do not charge the couple any fees for using our area for their photoshoot or solemnisation ceremony.”
"The thing to look out for before buying plants is the area that we intend to place them in. We must know the amount of sunlight available in that area so that we can buy the plants that best suit it.”
"The do’s: Understand the plants’ characteristics, only water them when the soil is nearly dry, prune the plants, ensure that there is enough light for the plants to grow and fertilise once a month. The don’ts: Overwater your plants, place them in an unsuitable area and over fertilise them.”