Singapore is home to more than 1,700ha of parks and open spaces and more than 3,300ha of nature reserves, making up about 7 per cent of the country's land area.

But where are the secret gardens and which are the evergreens that have remained popular through the ages? Tan Hui Yee checks out our green lungs.

SECRET GARDENS

Ann Siang Hill Park

Where: Ann Siang Hill. Enter also via Amoy Street, next to Siang Cho Keong temple.

What's there: This charming pocket park, completed in 2004, is wedged behind two rows of shophouses and the Urban Redevelopment Authority building.

If you enter the 0.3-ha park from Club Street, a winding path will take you up to a timber deck with a bird's eye view of the undulating landscape.

At mid-day, office workers gather to unwind with a smoke or gossip over packed lunches within its shady nooks.

Map-toting tourists drop by regularly to admire the way the heliconia are planted right up against a wall.

When I was there on Tuesday, I met a strolling street magician from India who asked me for my name and date of birth, pronounced me 'lucky' this year, made me tear up a piece of paper, then made the sheet whole again. Cost of the entertainment: $5.

Only grouse, the winding staircases can be a bit trying for those with weak knees.

Siglap Linear Park

Where: Starts at Swan Lake Avenue and carries on to Marine Parade Road. Enter via Carmen Street, Figaro Street or Upper East Coast Road.

What's there: This strip park runs more than 1km through the private housing area in Siglap and sits atop a covered outlet drain. It was completed in 2002.

Those who walk the entire length of the 2-ha park have to cross three streets. At some points, it appears to be nothing more than a glorified cycling path.

But it pays to linger in the section between Figaro Street and Upper East Coast Road, where the denser vegetation gives quiet respite from the bustle around.

The back porches of private homes, which run parallel to the park, provide an interesting backdrop to the greenery. There are also park benches and a foot reflexology path.

In the evenings, the park sees a regular stream of joggers and dog-walkers and is a peaceful shortcut for residents heading home from work.

Villa Verde Park

Where: Off Choa Chu Kang North 5

What's there: At first glance, it seems like a typical neighbourhood park with a pavilion and children's playground at one end and a fitness corner at the other.

But linking both ends is a 300m-long brick path wedged between a row of terrace houses along Verde View and a wide canal.

Those taking a rest on the benches are shielded from the sun by the trees on either side and treated to a scenic view of the thick vegetation across the canal. KTM trains from Malaysia routinely rumble along tracks that lie across the water.

Completed in 2002, this 0.9-ha park is well used by joggers as well as elderly folk enjoying their stroll.

Tavistock Avenue Park

Where: Tavistock Avenue, Serangoon Gardens area

What's there: This picturesque 2-ha park punches above its weight with something for everyone - there is a trellised seating area, bonsai display, bamboo growth section, pavilion, even a tiny skating rink.

It was spruced up in 2003 as part of the Serangoon Gardens estate upgrading programme.

Thick hedges shield its users from the traffic trundling down Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3. Some of the houses in the area have back doors that open directly onto the park compound, giving it a homely atmosphere.

In the mornings, you often find residents brisk walking there or playing with their dogs.

THE FORGOTTEN PLACES

Jurong Hill Park

Where: Jurong Hill Park, Jurong Hill off Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim

What's there: This 15ha park, which sits on a 60m hill, is the oldest in Jurong. It was completed by industrial landlord JTC Corporation in 1970 as a social and recreational facility for residents in the burgeoning industrial area.

The park is home to a three-storey spiral lookout tower offering panoramic views of Jurong, a Japanese and Indonesian restaurant, and a Garden of Fame with trees planted by visiting dignitaries.

The first tree there was planted by Princess Alexandra of the United Kingdom in 1969, during the 150th anniversary celebrations of the founding of Singapore. Other visiting VIPs include former US vice-president Spiro Agnew, former Luxembourg prime minister Gaston Thorn and former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

These days, the ageing park sees few visitors, save for the odd snoozing taxi driver and patrons of the Hill Top Japanese Restaurant.

While foreign bigwigs visiting Jurong in the 1970s and 1980s were usually taken to the park for an impressive overview, they are now more likely to be escorted to the one-north, the new research hub in Buona Vista, and Jurong Island, where the petrochemical sector is located.

But JTC plans to give Jurong Hill Park a facelift and integrate it with the nearby industrial area of Tanjong Kling. No further details are available at the moment.

Japanese and Chinese Gardens

Where: In Jurong Lake, off Yuan Ching Road

What's there: These twin gardens surrounded by a man-made lake were the pride of Jurong when they were completed in the 1970s.

The 14ha Chinese Garden, styled after the Song dynasty gardens, is best-known for its seven-storey pagoda which is modelled on the Ling Ku Temple Pagoda in Nanjing, China.

Arched bridges, Chinese courtyards, tranquil pavilions as well as a bonsai garden provide a pleasant and traditional environment for a quiet stroll.

The 13ha Japanese Garden, designed according to Japanese gardens in the Middle Ages, offers stone paths, a winding stream and stone lanterns.

Created to provide more recreation venues for residents and workers in Jurong, the gardens are more popular with tourists than locals these days.

The attraction was criticised for being 'outdated' and 'expensive' just before its $4.50 entrance fee was scrapped in 2001. Last year, about 500,000 people visited it.

In the evenings, when most of the tourists are gone, it languishes except for the odd jogger, foreign worker or necking couple.

This situation could change from April once upgrading work in the Jurong Lake area is completed.

New jogging and cycling tracks, fitness and picnic areas, a jetty and a waterfront promenade could draw more people to the two islets in the middle of the lake.

Botanic Gardens

Where: Cluny Park Road, Cluny Road

What's there: This is the mother of all Singapore parks. Established in 1859 by an Agri-Horticultural Society whose main objective was to set up a pleasure park, it was handed over to the Government for management in 1874.

Staff from the gardens played a key role in the greening of Singapore streets. They have also created more than 400 orchid hybrids.

Over the years, the 52ha garden has added attractions like the Evolution Garden, which showcases the evolution of plant life on Earth over 4,600 million years. Its gazebo, bandstand, orchid garden, lakes and water-ringed symphony stage also helped draw more than three million visitors last year.

The gardens is also home to the giant Tembusu tree which is featured on $5 notes.

Depending on what time you visit the park, sightings include exotic dog paraders, tree-huggers, brides and grooms posing for wedding photos or that lone office worker having lunch.

East Coast Park

Where: Along East Coast Parkway

What's there: This beach park dwarfs all other parks in Singapore at 185ha. It also draws the highest number of visitors - more than seven million - a year.

And no wonder. Along its sprawling 20km beachfront, you can find a hawker centre, bowling alleys, a golf driving range, seafood restaurants, pubs, sea sport centres, bird sanctuaries, bicycle and inline skate rental stations and barbecue pits.

Built about 30 years ago on reclaimed land, the park is still a trendy meeting spot for the young and old. In fact, there are plans for a $160 million upgrade to add more carparks and a garden bridge, among other attractions.

This is where toned teens stroll in chic beachwear as shirtless inline skaters zip past them. Families pitch tents at the beach and bond over barbecued chicken wings. At the array of seaside restaurants, Singaporeans gorge on chilli crab.

This is also where President S R Nathan takes his daily 4km stroll.

It is a park that never sleeps.