DPM Gan Kim Yong at the Opening Ceremony of HortFest 2025

My Cabinet colleague, Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, and Second Minister for Finance and National Development,

Ms Hwang Yu-Ning, CEO, National Parks Board,

Partners, community stakeholders and friends,

Good morning to all of you – very happy to see all of you here, and very happy to see many familiar faces. I can say that many of the people I see here have been doing a lot of good work on the parks and gardens, including those in Punggol and Chua Chu Kang, so I am very happy to reacquaint with many of you. Thank you, first, for inviting me to join you for the opening of this year’s HortFest. This is held in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the Community in Bloom programme, or CIB.

Two decades ago, 20 years ago, we planted the seeds of the CIB , to promote a gardening culture among Singaporeans, and foster a greater sense of ownership for our green spaces. 

It began as a single garden in Mayfair, and I was the MP for Mayfair then. I was very happy and honoured to be involved in this particular first project.

The CIB has since grown into a thriving community of over 2,000 groups with more than 48,000 gardening enthusiasts islandwide. 

Besides the CIB programme, we have also rolled out many initiatives to grow our gardening community over the years. 

One example is the Allotment Gardening Scheme. This  was launched in 2016 to provide more spaces for aspiring gardeners to grow greens in the parklands. From just 80 plots when the scheme was piloted here at HortPark, there are now more than 2,400 such plots in 28 parks and gardens across Singapore. 

Another example is the Gardening with Edibles programme, that saw complimentary packets of vegetable seeds distributed to 800,000 households during the COVID-19 period to encourage them to grow their own vegetables. 

And just earlier this March, NParks launched the “Grow and Share” initiative to further encourage CIB groups to share the joy of gardening with the community. 

I am very heartened that in just five months, more than 130 CIB groups have stepped forward to organise a wide range of activities. For example – 

The Giving Garden @ Kim Tian West brought together over 500 residents and students from Zhangde Primary School, PCF Tanjong Pagar – Tiong Bahru and SOTA to contribute their artistic talents to paint and plant in the garden’s new section. 

In Woodlands, Blossom Cottage Community Garden, Spring Cottage Community Garden, Garden of Bees & Blooms and Sky Harvest Garden celebrated Earth Day with over 100 residents and gardening enthusiasts by organising hands-on green activities. 

To date, close to 20,000 people have participated in more than 170 “Grow and Share” activities so far. 

I hope that more people will take advantage of this initiative to garden, and share their experiences, knowledge and harvests with one another. 

The success of the CIB programme would not have been possible without all our CIB Ambassadors, who actively share their knowledge with the community and champion gardening projects. 

One such ambassador is Mr Lim Keng Tiong. In 2007, Keng Tiong transformed an empty patch of land into the Punggol Coral Residents’ Network community garden.  And since then, the garden has flourished into a cherished community hub where residents gather for karaoke sessions, as well as cultural festivals. 

Another example is Mdm Rosalind Tan, whom I have known for more than 30 years now. Her contributions to the landscaping of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital led to the creation of therapeutic spaces for staff, patients and volunteers. Rosalind and her team also grow organic vegetables, which are incorporated into patients’ meals. I visited her garden several times and was a beneficiary of her vegetables and fruits. Once, I asked her why she did not plant durian trees. Well, she said: “That is very difficult to grow on a rooftop garden!”. 

These are among the stories chronicled in a commemorative book that NParks is launching today to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the CIB programme. 

Together, they illustrate how the CIB programme has led not only to the cultivation of green spaces, but also social spaces for the community to connect with one another and with nature. 

We see in the CIB a story about ownership and care, where residents step forward to nurture common spaces and build stronger bonds with one another. 

We see in the CIB a story about resilience, where, even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, our gardens have become spaces of hope, purpose and togetherness. 

And we see in the CIB a collective journey to build a more liveable, inclusive and community-driven City in Nature. 

Today, we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the CIB programme, with the opening of the HortFest here at the HortPark. 

Since opening in 2008, HortPark has grown into a horticultural hub for recreational, educational and research activities. 

Besides celebrating our local gardening community, HortFest also showcases our local horticultural excellence. 

I look forward to announcing the results of the NParks’ Horticultural Competition and Community Garden Edibles Competition. 

Both these competitions provide a platform for gardening enthusiasts to showcase their horticultural talents and mastery in growing ornamental plants, as well as a variety of fruits and vegetables. 

I hope that the HortFest will further galvanise the gardening movement in Singapore. 
 
Let me end with this thought – Just like planting, where the smallest seed can grow into beautiful plants and trees, through community gardening, we can also come together as neighbours, friends and fellow Singaporeans to grow our common space and strengthen our community ties. 

Let me once again congratulate NParks and our CIB ambassadors and volunteers for this significant milestone of the CIB programme. 

I wish all of you a wonderful and memorable HortFest. 

Thank you.

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