Step inside Beer’s newly decorated home in Landmark, a development of luxury townhouses just off Ramindra Road, and you’re greeted by a melange of Tibetan brown leather, brass sculptures, Chinese antiques and Russian dolls.

 

 

Alongside a collection of Chinese ornaments is a vertical garden filled with lipstick vine, which is provided with plenty of natural light thanks to a skylight in the roof.

 

“Living in the middle of a big city, it’s inevitable you will lack a connection with nature,” said Beer. “I spend so little time outdoors.”

 

 

But the plants require specific conditions, and Beer admitted that maintaining the garden hasn’t always been easy. “It was like tuning an instrument. I’ve tried various plant species to find those that are strong enough to survive the severe heat and humidity. I now have an automatic plumbing system to water the garden, and UV spots for the plants on the lower shelf where they get too little sunlight. I also have artificial plants in the area in front of the air compressor.”

 

His garden makes excellent use of various species of fern, mainly dryopteris filix-mas, as well as ornamental plants like Spanish moss, podocarpus and Austrian Rose Apple. “Normally, this kind of space is not suitable for indoors,” he says. “It’s delicate and requires a lot of work to pull off in your house.”