Resort’s garden transforms into a goldmine for its kitchen

Green fingers: Su (right) tending to her herbs while reporters have a look around the garden.

KOTA KINABALU: A rejuvenated tranquil garden at a resort near here now plays a pivotal role in contributing to a significant percentage of the kitchen’s food and beverage raw materials.

Additionally, it has resulted in substantial cost savings for the resort, amounting to thousands of ringgit each year, as they are now able to harvest their own herbs, ferns, and even stingless (kelulut) bee honey from this garden.

Much credit for this transformation goes to the resort’s in-house landscape specialist, Su Mon Fong, 36, who started working for Shangri-La Tanjung Aru here last June.

“This three-decade old garden had some ferns here and there, but it was not enough to actually provide sustainable supply for the kitchen,” said the Beaufort lass.

The arborist used her knowledge of plants to revive those which were salvageable, and planted new species along the way.

Su has other team members helping out, and keeps an eye out for pests while taking into account weather conditions, nutrient requirements, and other factors that ensure the herbs and flowers not only grow, but flourish.

“We choose the right spot for different types of herbs,” she added.

“They have different requirements, especially the kind of soil and amount of sunlight, so we must be sure and careful.”

No chemicals or pesticides are used here.

Instead, the gardeners cut away leaves that start to show signs of disease or pest damage, and use enzymes as supplements if mere pruning is insufficient.

Compost made of fruit peel and egg shells are used to fertilise the plants, Su said.

Currently, this herb garden has over 40 species of plants comprising lemongrass, ginger flower, pandan leaves, mint leaves, ulam, thyme, rosemary, dill, roselle, basil, Chinese lantern and so on, she added.

There are also flowers which are used as garnish or decorations, while the plants there attract butterflies of various species.

“We are able to produce an average of 30kg of herbs and flowers per month for our own use,” Su said, adding that kelulut honey is also produced in small amounts.

The garden is part of the many sustainable initiatives practised by the resort, which subsequently saw it receive the Asean Green Hotel Standard award from the Asean Tourism Forum 2024 in Vientiane, Laos.