re·claim (verb): to claim the return or restoration of, as a right, possession.

What is the most obvious gripe? Too much of the same colour scheme – GREEN! 

Case in point:

I was trying to think of the possible reasons for such an occurrence, but couldn’t gather my thoughts well. There must be very real and valid reasons, possibly ranging from nature of stories, laziness of photographer, close-mindedness of photographer, uncreativity (sic) of photographer (you see where this is going), and etc. Let me just take a break, like what Justin said, and come back with a fresher eye and more open mind.

Old Wang is one of the “residents” on the railway gardens at Clementi. He visits his own plot every morning and evening to tend to his plants. Back at home, he has a wife who does not join him in such activities. “Don’t go near to that plot,” he warned this photographer while pointing to another personal garden adjacent to his. “That owner is fierce and will chase you away with a shovel.” Old Wang used to be a teacher but retired a few years ago. He has been coming to this garden for the last three years. His wife is still working, and like her husband, is a teacher. Old as he may look, he carries buckets of water around almost effortlessly. Even as the photographer complains about the incessant mosquito bites, he candidly proclaims that mosquitoes not longer bite him. “They have got used to my flesh,” he said in Mandarin, the subject he used to teach.

“Come back anytime, friend,” Old Wang says to the photographer before he leaves. The photographer walks back to his car parked in a private housing estate 800m away, while Old Wang will take his regular feeder bus home.

This series of pictures is related to a previous post.

Botanical Pride: A small plot of land behind a residential block converted into a garden by retiree Mr Phua. One month ago, the town council built a small fence, which Mr Phua said help deter plant thieves. He himself plays his role as an obedient citizen by following the town council’s instructions to house the plants in pots and not plant them into the soil. While the land principally belonged to the state, Mr Phua and few other gardening-enthusiast residents have took landscaping responsibilities upon themselves, transforming it into a mini-sanctuary and personal leisure ground.