Just in time for spring, the Hong Kong Flower Show is back in Victoria Park this year! This year’s Flower Show took the theme of “Bliss in Bloom,” featuring Hydrangeas as the theme flower. These beautiful and vivid flowers represent gratitude and reunion, complimenting the bright mood of spring that this year’s Flower Show embodies. With hydrangeas and various flowers in full bloom, the Flower Show blesses visitors with the happiness that nature brings.
Hosted by the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the show invites all flower lovers across Hong Kong. Although the Hong Kong Flower Show has been taking place annually since 2015, this was the first Hong Kong Flower Show that opened offline in 2020 due to COVID-19. In light of this, many visitors have been flocking to this long-awaited show. The show stars various flower assortments, displays, recreational activities, and more, catering to visitors of all ages to participate and enjoy.
Jason Chi, a retired businessman, said
I just came to take photos of my grandson and flowers. I didn’t know this was to be “green,” but my grandson and I are enjoying the flowers and activities!
Not only does the Flower Show exhibit displays that are inspired by different nations’ cultures, but it also displays floral art demonstrations from exhibitors from different countries (China, Oman, Japan, Korea, and more).
The event itself aims to promote horticulture and raise awareness of greening. Horticulture is the practice of garden cultivation and management, blessing an urban environment like Hong Kong with agriculture and nature. As horticulture encourages practices like gardening, this impacts the environment positively and reduces our carbon footprint. Especially in a city like Hong Kong, this can contribute to cleaner air and bolster the environment for animals and insects.
Accordingly, the Hong Kong Flower Show offers various “green” activities and extensive measures and guidelines for all stakeholders to enhance environmental performance. These measures generally focus on waste reduction, including guidelines regarding the general reduction and recycling of resources. To reinforce these measures, there were multiple waste and recycling sites available to everyone at the show. Furthermore, there were wilted flower and wood collection points to deal with “natural” waste separately. Measures also highlighted the importance of keeping track of waste. Whilst this action doesn’t reduce or prevent waste, monitoring what is used and wasted holds people accountable. The significance of accountability in efforts to reduce waste maintains an environmentally conscious mindset in those involved throughout the event.
Hong Kong has made efforts in becoming a more sustainable place over the past few years. The Environmental Protection Department has released many initiatives, including the Waste Blueprint for Hong Kong 2035 and Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050. Here, the prime motive is working towards a circular economy – one that shares and reuses materials and items to reduce waste and increase efficiency. Following this, the Hong Kong Flower Show integrates these goals with the beauty of nature to encourage visitors to practice living a “greener” lifestyle.
The presentation below exhibits some key attractions at this year’s Hong Kong Flower Show.
Some displays in the show were not just aesthetic but actively promoted sustainability too. The display, “A Happy Playground,” uses recycled materials like plastic bottles and used tires. Decorated with flowers and trees, the recycled materials act as receptacles for rainwater to water the garden and conserve water. This type of minimalist playground that produces a low carbon footprint may be what we need in the future, building green principles subconsciously since childhood.
To promote horticulture (gardening) in an urban city like Hong Kong, various activities were hosted. Activities like floral art demonstrations, guides in growing plants, and horticultural talks took place. Exhibit competitions and photo competitions were also held, creatively raising awareness of the beauty and importance of nature.
“I did notice the recycling bins here and there, and there were a lot of QR codes that were linked to websites about reducing waste. I also participated in an activity where I got to make art using flowers, which I thought would be a nice way to reuse the flowers I’d been wanting to buy,” said Sarah Li, a clothing shop owner who came to visit the Flower Show. “I didn’t know what to do with the flower other than display it in a bottle until they died.”
This year’s Hong Kong Flower Show is scheduled to end this Sunday. As big and eventful as the show is, visitors may have questions about the aftermath– where are all the flowers and remnants of the show to go after it’s over?
After the show, the LCSD will hold a “Green Recycling Day,” where all reusable materials will be collected. This includes replantable flowers and plants, which will be available to the public to make use of. Those that are deemed unfit to reuse will be delivered to the Environmental Protection Department’s Animal Waste Composting Plant in Ngau Tam Mei. Here, composting helps transfer useful nutrients from organic waste to soil. Thus, organic waste can be used to support the horticulture industry once again. As it did with transforming debris into useful energy, events like this can continue to operate sustainably to build a greener Hong Kong in the future.
Feature image: Jimin Lee