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The Hong Kong Flower Show 2007, organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, will be held at Victoria Park from tomorrow (March 16) to March 25, from 9am to 9pm.
More than 350,000 flowers will transform Victoria Park into a colourful wonderland at the Hong Kong Flower Show. The show's theme flower is the Geraniums with the theme of "Spring Blossoms for Celebration".
The event has attracted 185 organisations from 20 countries showcasing exotic flowers, landscape and floral art displays. These organisations are from 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.
In celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the department is presenting a spectacular floral display on the theme of "Happy Reunion". It is made up of more than 30,000 stems of flowers in three sections. The top is a revolving globe of blooming glory consisting of more than 5,000 stems of kalanchoes, impatiens, cigar flowers and irises. It is surrounded by water jets that form a diaphanous ring in the second tier. Both the water and the globe are in constant motion to suggest perpetual energy. At the bottom is a rotunda of geraniums, the theme flower of this year's Flower Show, which is made up of more than 20,000 stems of 60 plus species. The entire display - a striking visual of rotundity in concentric circles – is rich in meaning in Chinese culture, synonymous with "perfect happiness".
On display at the Special Exhibits corner is the Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis). Known as "a living fossil", it is one of the world'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 200 km 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 bee, butterfly, etc created from some 50,000 colourful plants; the scented plants display 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.
More than 60,000 stems of Geranium of more than 90 species are on display at the showground. The Geranium, an excellent ornamental plant, is cherished by flower lovers for its rich variety of colours and long flowering period. It blooms gorgeously in a profusion of colours with exuberant verdant foliage, with flower clusters like balls made of silk strips. The flowers contain five petals and come in a rainbow of colours. Single or double florets in clusters will be produced when the plants are blooming. The inflorescence is in terminal umbels bearing a few to a dozen small flowers.
Geraniums have a long flowering period that runs from November to April and they are normally in full bloom in March and April.
Geraniums (Pelargonium hortorum) 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 as ornamental plants.
A series of fringe activities complement the 10-day flower show for the enjoyment of visitors. They include music and dance performances, tree work demonstrations, floral art demonstrations, plant care workshops, horticultural talks and fun games.
Admission tickets will be sold at the entrance to the showground at Victoria Park throughout the show period. They are also available until March 25 at the department'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/Thursday, March 15, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:36
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