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The Hong Kong Flower Show 2007 opened at Victoria Park today (March 16), with 185 organisations taking part and more than 350,000 flowers on display.
The show's theme flower is the Geranium with the theme of "Spring Blossoms for Celebration". The 10-day show, which runs until March 25, features more than 60,000 pots of the theme flower.
The flower show, organised each year by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, is a major event in promoting horticultural activities as it provides an opportunity for local people and horticulture lovers from around the world to appreciate the beauty of flowers and share their experience about growing flowers.
Officiating at today's opening ceremony were Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, Mrs Carrie Lam; Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mr Thomas Chow; Chairman of Panel on Home Affairs, Legislative Council, Choy So-yuk and Miss Hong Kong 2006 Aimee Chan.
Organisations from 20 countries - the Mainland, Australia, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Indonesia - are participating in this year's show.
In celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the department is presenting a spectacular floral display on the theme of "Happy Reunion", made up of more than 30,000 stems of flowers in top, middle and bottom sections.
On display at the Special Exhibits corner is the Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis). Known as "a living fossil", it is one of the worldˇ¦s oldest and rarest trees. The oldest known fossil dates back more than 90 million years to the age of the dinosaurs. It was discovered in 1994 by David Noble, a New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife officer in a rainforest gorge within the Wollemi National Park about 200km west of Sydney. With dark green foliage and spectacular bubbly bark, the Wollemi Pine is also first on display in the tropical area of the Northern Hemisphere.
A spectacular sea of flowers made up of more than 15,000 tulips, measuring 180 sq metres, adds colour and fragrance to the showground.
Other highlights are scented Geranium; a floral wall made up of 1,500 stems of flowers displaying East Asian Games emblem and the slogan; a spectacular display "Joyful World" by 500 students featuring 12 delightful sculptures of such things as the bee and butterfly, created from some 50,000 colourful plants; the "Scented Garden" by the Institute of Horticulture (Hong Kong); the spectacular displays by Shanghai Landscaping Administration Bureau, the Bureau of Urban Utilities and Landscaping of Guangzhou Municipality,and Shenzhen Municipal Agriculture, Forestry & Fishery Bureau.
The Geranium, an excellent ornamental plant, is cherished by flower lovers for its rich variety of colours and long flowering period running from November to April. It blooms gorgeously in a profusion of colours with exuberant verdant foliage, with flower clusters like balls made of silk strips.
Geraniums are members of the genus Pelargonium of the family Geraniaceae. They are herbaceous perennials indigenous to South Africa. There are some 230 species of geraniums worldwide which are widely cultivated throughout the world.
A series of fringe activities will complement the 10-day flower show for the enjoyment of visitors.
Tomorrow (March 17) from 2.30pm to 4pm, there will be tree work demonstration by experts from the United Kingdom including Stuart Witt, who won the "ISA United Kingdom and Ireland Tree Climbing Champion 2005". Apart from the floral art demonstrations by local presenters in the weekend, floral designer Mr Kristof De Waele of Belgium will also demonstrate floral arrangement on Sunday (March 18) from 11am to noon.
Other fringe activities include music and dance performances, plant care workshops, horticultural talks and fun games.
Admission tickets are available at the entrance to the showground at Victoria Park throughout the show period. They are also available until March 25 at LCSD's District Leisure Services Offices, and venues with Leisure Link services.
Admission for adults is $14. Children aged four to 14, students, senior citizens aged 60 or over and persons with a disability pay half price. Senior citizens and persons with a disability have free admission on weekdays and adults in a group of 30 or more admitted at the same time will pay half price on weekdays.
For enquiries, please call 2697 8030, fax 2691 7264 or visit the department website at www.lcsd.gov.hk
Ends/Friday, March 16, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:40
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