Memory contributed by Mr Sharif Bin Ahmad, 54, Conveyance Executive. I saw an empty plot of land in Al Istiqamah Mosque and I asked myself ‘Why not?’ I recalled the lessons my uncle taught me when I was very much younger as he himself was growing sugarcanes and orchids. I started gardening in 2005 which was 8 years ago and the encouragement of other community encourages me to carry on. I love the rapport that we have created through garden visits, sharing of cuttings and workshops conducted by NParks. In 2006, I had the exceptional opportunity to have a sole display at the Singapore Garden Festival. I was very proud of my display as the then President of Singapore, Mr S.R. Nathan came by and I was the first representative to represent one of the many mosques in Singapore. I also won Community In Bloom Ambassador Award in 2010 which just spurred me to spread the love for gardening among my community. Over a period of time, both Haidir, one of the CIB Managers from NParks and myself went around Singapore to knock on the mosques doors to encourage and persuade the mosque leaders to kick start CIB program in their mosques. We are proud to say that Darul Gufran, Darul Aman and Darul Makmur mosques are advocates of CIB program in their own communities. Currently the latest mosque that we are working together with is Masjid Melaka. One of the most memorable experiences I’ve had was a visit from 40 temple patrons from Mangala Vihara Buddhist Temple to exchange gardening experiences. Such experiences teach us to understand each other cultures more. I am very excited as we are now looking at more rooftop gardening using planter boxes as there is not much land left in Singapore. It is truly an innovative and inspiring future for gardening. I’ve taken part in 3 Singapore Garden Festivals and Al Istiqamah mosque had won 4 Community In Bloom Awards and we took part in Gardener’s Cup in 2010. It has been an enjoyable, happy, fun experience journey and we will continue to grow stronger. Interview was done by Azza & Jia Hui from the Community in Bloom (CIB) program of the National Parks Board (NParks). Launched in 2005 by NParks, the CIB program aims to foster a gardening culture among the people in Singapore.