Flowers. I've probably never met anyone who doesn't love flowers. There is something certain about coming home to a beloved vase filled with crisp tulips, willow and eucalyptus. Flowers evoke emotions. Flowers make me happy. In market-dense Hong Kong, you'll find an entire street full of happiness at the flower market on Flower Market Road in Kowloon.
In the overcrowded Hong Kong, few are blessed with a garden and the small apartments very rarely have room for either balconies or gardens. But no matter how small an apartment you live in, there is always room for a beautiful potted plant or some cut flowers. Ask me. I had more orchids than plates in my first one. At the flower market in Hong Kong you are greeted by a sea of roses, orchids, lilies and gerberas. All at very affordable prices.
In Chinese culture, flowers have meanings and it is important to know the underlying message if you intend to give a flower. It is not only the number of flowers that matters, but also its color. We in Sweden may think that an orchid with small white flowers is both summery and clear, but white is often associated with sadness and burial in China. Maybe that's why most of the flowers in the flower market were either pink/red or yellow. Red is the color of happiness and yellow was the noble color of the emperor.
Never have I ever seen flowers so well taken care of as here. In a flower shop, a lady sat packing roses. Every single sheer little rose bud would be held together by a protective little net. Although the fingers worked nimbly, every single flower was treated as if they were gold leaf. Not a leaf was bent. Not a single bud fell apart. Cut flowers may be fleeting, but with love like this I almost dare to promise that the life of the rose will double.
One of the most common plants that can create feng shui and harmony in the home is Lucky bamboo. Lucky bamboo is not actually bamboo at all, but a dracaena. By shaping and arranging the dracaena, however, it is sold under the name Lucky Bamboo. The stems are placed in vases without soil, often braided and bent together into beautiful green works of art. One of the most common formations is a twisted dracaena. It is said that it takes up to a year to grow such a stem, by exposing the plant to sunlight from different directions and allowing time to take its course.
Giving an arrangement of Lucky Bamboo to loved ones is popular. Depending on the number of stems, the arrangement comes with a message. Two stalks mean love, three luck. If you get a Lucky Bamboo with nine stems, you will be lucky in life. You simply don't just give away a beautiful plant when you give someone a Lucky Bamboo, you also give a lot of happiness.
The flower market is open from early morning to evening, every day, all year round. Every morning, the flower shops pick out their bouquets and display them on the street. Some shops have so many flowers that it is almost impossible to pass. If you are here early in the morning, you will see when all deliveries arrive at the stores with new flowers. It's lively, loud and full of energy.
Surprisingly, there were plenty of cacti at the flower market. If Lucky Bamboo is a great way to increase your Feng Shui at home, cacti are the exact opposite. There is basically no good place to put a prickly cactus in your home according to Feng Shui, other than to stop bad energy from, for example, a window with a messy view. I'll probably have to think about it at home in the apartment. I have cacti in every room. Should I replace any of the cacti with a Lucky Bamboo instead? Would I be happier then?
In small, low pots, seemingly wind-swept miniature trees grow. I'm having a hard time deciding if it's a bonsai or a penjing, but since we're in Hong Kong, I'm guessing it's a penjing. Penjing are Chinese miniature trees, used in miniature gardens and meaning "potted landscape". Any tree can become a miniature tree, it is the care that creates the tree. And some steel wire.
I stop my impulse to buy myself a bunch of fragrant flowers. It's not very practical to run around sightseeing all day in Hong Kong with a bunch of flowers under your arm. I think I can always go back here later and enjoy it again. Because Hong Kong is not a place you only go to once. Hong Kong is a destination for life.
How do I get to the flower market?
The flower market in Mong kok is on Flower Market Road, right next door the bird market. The subway stations Prince Edward and Mong Kok East both are only a few minutes' walk from here.
Flower Market Mong Kok
Flower Market Road
Map
Do you want to read more about Hong Kong?
Feel free to look at mine Hong Kong Page!
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Ohhh… Fantastic! Penjing was a new concept to me, had only heard of bonsai before. As I understand it, penjings are a little more bushy, not as hard cut to shape as bonsais?
I had also never heard of penjing before I went to Hong Kong. Unfortunately, I can't claim to be an expert, but the ones I saw were often trees in barren rock landscapes in miniature with little porcelain figurines. It's probably true that they were a bit more wild than bonsais, almost looked a bit winded!
Oh so many beautiful flowers! I am becoming more and more convinced that I must go to Hong Kong as soon as possible! :-)
I really liked Hong Kong, although Singapore is always number one for me :) Sooo much amazing food and interesting places to visit! An easy city to spend many days in without getting bored - if you like the Asian chaos, that is :) :)
Yes, who doesn't love flowers. Such beautiful pictures, you kind of want to buy everything :)