End of an era for Min's Garden

Married couple Irene Ngoo and Ronnie Lim, who nurtured a jungle in their bungalow, have moved to an apartment with just a patch of green

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For the last 36 years, Min's Garden has thrived as a testament to the beauty of rare tropical flora.

The garden's carefully curated tapestry of scented flora framed with lush foliage in a 7,800 sq ft bungalow off Clementi Road, has become one of Singapore's best documented private home gardens on social media.

Its co-creator Irene Ngoo, 70, who has successfully grown some of the most finicky and temperamental flora in the Southern Hemisphere, has a talent for giving practical tips with poetic flourishes.

Take, for example, the True Jewel Palm (Licuala cordata), a rare and demanding species prized for its round, pleated leaves.

Ms Ngoo's success with this plant, which she calls "a jewel in my garden", has drawn admiration from fellow gardeners who follow her exploits on Instagram and Facebook.

Other rare flora which she assiduously documents include the King Fern (Angiopteris evecta), regarded as one of the largest ferns in the world; the Black Bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra), known for turning ebony black with age; and the Exotic Elephant Ears (Colocasia and Alocasia varieties), with their dramatic, outsized foliage.

Min's Garden - named after Ms Ngoo, whose Chinese name is Ai Min - has been a back-breaking labour of love for her and her husband Ronnie Lim, 76, since they bought the property in 1990.

About 5,000 sq ft of the space is taken up by plants, such as the willowy Australian Weeping Tea Tree — with pristine white bark and drooping branches — which welcomes visitors at the entrance to the home.

But all that is about to change.

The Singaporean couple, both former journalists, recently sold their home, which includes a double-storey bungalow, and are "right-sizing".

They have moved to a smaller, more manageable condominium with just a patch of green. Gardening will continue, but on a much smaller scale.