The Plant Story: Try Out Urban Gardening In Singapore & Build Your Own Terrarium

Let’s be honest, we are all slaves to the never-ending pile of work that somehow lands a permanent spot in our mind. What makes it worse? The humdrum that follows our daily routine in and out of school or at work.

Before you know it, the hustle and bustle of city life starts to wear you down; it’s time to break free from this vicious cycle! Take a chill pill and go to The Plant Story to try out urban gardening!

Situated along Marina Bay, overlooking the Benjamin Sheares Bridge and the skyscrapers of the Central Business District, lies a quiet haven that every stressed individual should visit.

The Plant Story was opened in 2009 to encourage urbanites to keep in touch with nature, without the need to labour under the sun.

The brightly lit compound, with its smooth cemented concrete flooring, as well as simple wooden furniture radiate a warm and homely feel. All this, coupled with the aroma of brewing coffee and classical music playing in the background, makes this place even more soothing and relaxing.

The Plant Story also features an idyllic open-air front yard garden, containing common herbs and simple garden vegetables.

Three times daily, The Plant Story hosts a series of urban gardening workshops, including miniature gardening, home apothecary and urban farming. Which aims to educate, inspire and empower urbanites to find their inner peace through nature.

We couldn’t help but to try our hands at the Miniature Gardening workshop (1 hour). Here, you’ll get to learn, create and bring home your very own self-sustaining miniature garden.

You can sign up for any of the workshops at just S$80, and they include a complimentary high-tea welcome set that is only available for a limited time. Participants are also free to choose any of the jars, except The Aquarius which requires a $20 top-up.

We were offered four different miniature garden themes to choose from: The Rainforest Terrarium, The Desert Garden, The Water Garden and The Air Garden.

Each theme is unique as it features different sets of plants and designs.

We went with The Desert Garden which features an exotic oasis of succulents and cacti. Following that, we were prompted to choose our jar; which are all custom made, and again made it even harder for us to choose which to get.

These cute Murano Glass figurines are also available for purchase over the counter, perfect as the finishing touch to your masterpiece.

Once we settled on the jars, our guide proceeded to educate us on the characteristics of the various plants.

For instance, the Rainforest Terrarium features an enclosed garden that has a high humidity, allowing the Fittonia plants to self-water within the enclosure. The Air Garden on the other hand, is a soilless garden featuring Tillandsias that do not need soil to establish themselves.

When everybody was ready, we began by donning our green gloves and getting our hands dirty.

We started with the first layer, also known as the drainage, where we put gravel and coloured sand as the base. This layer helps to store water and provides an aesthetic touch to the garden.

We then added the premixed soil as the second layer. The difficult part was when we started transferring our selected plants to the jar. The key here is to dig a deeper hole within the soil layer, so that the plants are able to anchor their roots properly.

Otherwise, you’ll struggle with the plants toppling over and over again.

For the last layer, also known as the mulch, we added rocks and more gravel to weigh the soil down and prevent water from escaping easily. You can add an extra layer of coloured sand for extra aesthetic appeal.

One of the participants chose to do the Water Garden, which features the Marimo balls that are natively found in the cooling Lake Akan in Hokkaido (Japan) — the choice is yours!

If you’ve got more time to spare, have a go at the Home Apothecary workshop (1 hour). Expand your knowledge of common herbs, while at the same time learn how to concoct your very own home remedies.

For S$80, you get to bring home one of the four remedies: Mozzie Away Repellent, Awakening Room Spray, So Good Vapour Rub and Yummy Body Scrub.

However, do keep in mind that the Home Apothecary workshop is not for kids and expecting mothers.

The Plant Story also houses an integrated Garden Cafe, where you can take a break and indulge in some quality time with yourself amid the calming ambience and comfort food.

If you’re looking for a zen yet fun activity to do over the weekend, you’ll definitely have to drop by The Plant Story.

Directions: Alight at Stadium MRT station. Proceed to take Bus 11 and alight at Costa Rhu Condominium. Walk towards Passion Wave which is located to the left of Costa Rhu.

Expected damage: S$80++

The Plant Story: Marina Bay, 11 Rhu Cross (Passion WaVe at Marina Bay) #02-03, Singapore 437440 |Opening Hours: 10am – 7pm, Closed on Wednesdays & major PH | Tel: +65 6348 8040/+65 9722 0438 | Email | Website | Facebook