Horticulturalist among 13 to get SkillsFuture Fellowships

Awards given in recognition of their dedication to skills mastery and development

- Sharon Salim Business Correspondent

Mr John Tan's affinity with plants began with a bougainvillea that he owned 30 years ago. It was growing well until it started to wilt. He started researching and reached out to nursery practitioners to find out how to revive it.

He later learnt that the plant was root-bound. According to the National Parks Board website, this can happen when the roots hit the sides of the pot and start escaping through the drainage holes.

"All I needed to do was remove the root that was growing out of the hole in the pot. After clearing the choked pot, the plant started growing leaves and flower again," Mr Tan said.

It was during this time when his army mate, who was managing a nursery, planted the idea of him pursuing a career in horticulture. Mr Tan was coincidentally on a six-month sabbatical after selling his engineering company.

"I took his advice and bought a second-hand truck and hired one worker," said Mr Tan, who wanted to do landscape maintenance.

He has never looked back since.

Today, Mr Tan is the principal design director and horticulturist at Esmond Landscape and Horticultural, a company he started in 2000 after earning two diplomas in horticulture and landscape design.

While there was a period when he was admittedly too focused on the finances, a turning point came in 2008 when Mr Tan found a renewed meaning in creating family-centric landscape designs for homes.

"I wanted my designs to be able to get the family together... How does the garden become an extension of the living room?"