A new set of themed gardens has opened at Bukit Canberra, including a nature playgarden for kids, along with others that provide a window to nature.
Bukit Canberra, where the former Admiralty House stands, is a community hub with sporting facilities, a hawker centre, as well as family friendly spots such as the Canberra Cove water play area.
Bukit Canberra’s Five Themed Gardens
Families and residents looking for a dose of nature will appreciate the five themed gardens on the southern side of the hill.
The Sunken Garden, Nature Playgarden, Fruit Orchard, Food Forest, and Herb and Kitchen Garden all flow into each other and have been curated with an eye to Bukit Canberra’s past and memories of the plantations and villages of the surrounding area.
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Sunken Garden
Once the swimming pool of Admiralty House, the Sunken Garden continues to serve the recreational needs of visitors. The shape of the swimming pool has been retained with seating added around the perimeter and planters at the centre.
Plants like the Red Coffee Bush, Balfour Aralia and Coral Plant provide different hues and textures at the centre planter.
Nature Playgarden
Step through the Bamboo Trellis at the Bukit Canberra Nature Playgarden and enter into a sandpit where kids can skip over logs as they practise their balancing skills.
There are two sand pits at the Nature Playgarden where kids can engage in free play.
Other features at the Nature Playgarden include a log trail where kids can balance their way across the horizontal logs and beams.
A series of tiny hills invite adventurous play for little ones.
Fruit Orchard
View fruits like bananas, chiku, soursop, mangos and guava at the Fruit Orchard.
Here, the trees have been clustered together as you would find in an orchard.
Look out for the two mature mango trees, as well as a beautiful rain tree that has been preserved.
Food Forest
If the Fruit Orchard is meant to represent a cultivated plantation, the neighbouring Food Forest draws inspiration from a natural forest.
In this area, see if you can spot the distinctive layers found in a forest ecosystem – the canopy, emergents and the understory.
Also look out for crops like torch ginger, coffee, date palm and jackfruit in the Food Forest.
Herb and Kitchen Garden
The last of the five themed gardens at Bukit Canberra is the Herb and Kitchen Garden, a collection of more than 30 plants commonly used in local cooking.
Plants like mugwort, pandan, chillies, a collection of mint species and others are being cultivated in raised planters. Set at two different heights, these planters allow both wheelchair users as well as children to enjoy viewing the plants together.
Also have a look at the row of espalier trees. This is a practice of growing trees on a flat plane against a wire frame.
Themed Gardens at Bukit Canberra
The five themed gardens at Bukit Canberra can be found on the southern side of the hill.
You can reach them by circling around the Admiralty House structure, past Canberra Cove or the Forest Gym sport obstacle course.
