I have fond memories of the Botanic Gardens. Growing up, there were only two places that we went during the holidays – either the old MPH bookstore on Stamford Road, where I would read to my hearts content, or the Botanic Gardens, where my family would walk through the park from one end to the other. I still go back there once in a while, though this time with an eye to photography.

It’s still a magical place to visit, despire the changes over the years – mostly for the better, though I remember there were fewer buildings and far more parkland before. The gardens are also resonant with history – every school-child knows that rubber was first successfully grown in south-east asia at this very spot, and the Botanic Gardens have a long history of growing orchids. Mostly though, they are a quiet green heart to a crowded city – a landscaped oasis of serenity only a few bus-stops away from the crowds of Orchard road.