5. Spice Garden

What’s that lovely fragrance?

We caught a whiff of lemongrass and decided to follow the scent. It led us to the Spice Garden which was established in November 1994. It is a replica of the early experimental Botanical gardens initiated by Sir Stanford Raffles in November 1822. This must be where Ah Gong spotted the various plants which he sketched! Isn’t itfunny how our sense of smell led us to the same area?

Lemongrass… believed to relieve flatulence

During the colonial era, spices such as nutmeg and cloves were regarded as of equal value as gold. As such, the English, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese competed for control over the sources and routes to the Spice Islands of Southeast Asia and India. Therefore, Raffles wanted to develop the agriculture of these spices and initiated the establishment of a botanical garden in Singapore. He entrusted the task to Dr. Nathaniel Wallich, who had previously set up a botanical garden in Calutta. Despite being stationed in Bencoolen at that time, Raffles sent samples of spices to Dr. Wallich which he wanted to be planted in the garden. Due to the lack of funding and government support, the garden which stretched from the Masonic Hall and Armenian Church to the Cathedral, then along Bras Basah to Dhoby Gaut lasted only till 1829. Thereafter, the garden was left in the care of ten convicts and was revived in 1836 by the citizens from the Agricultural and Horticultural Society. However, the interest fettered and it was only in 1859 when the government transferred the garden to a bigger plot of land that the Society began working again.

The walk through the Spice Garden brought our attention to several other spices such as Ginger, Nutmeg, Cloves, Cinnamon and ‘Laksa’ leaves.

Ginger!
Used widely to improve digestion and counteract vomiting.

Cloves and nutmeg, which were some of the economical spices traded in the past.

Cloves!                                                                   Nutmeg!

These trees and plants reflect the cultures of the people in the Southeast Asian region who used the various spices in the preparation of their delicious dishes. Ah, some of these must have gone into the secret curry recipe passed down from Ah Ma to our mums and dads! The mere mention of curry makes our tummies rumble... But lunch can wait.

Ah. Laksa…
Yummy!

The smell of Cinnamon...

We shall continue on our trail to trace Ah Gong’s footsteps!

Resource:
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_8_2004-12-10.html