Floral Entertainment

A pair of floral giraffes welcoming visitors to the flower show

The Hong Kong Flower Show 2014 started yesterday and YTSL and I checked it out this afternoon in Victoria Park.

A pretty flower dress for Lady Gaga?

I have never been and the last few years I missed it for one reason or another. We had overcast skies and a sprinkling of rain but that didn't deter us and the thousands of other people.

The Hong Kong Flower Show lures photographers of all kinds -- from the ones taking pictures from their smartphones to amateurs who lug around their camera equipment including tripods.

Parents usually like to get their kids dressed up as well to use it as an opportunity for a nice photo. But that entails patiently waiting your turn to take the portrait in front of interesting displays...

At the entrance from Causeway Bay there were some happy-looking giraffes made from flowers to greet the crowds, while on the Tin Hau side it was an aquatic display with colourful fish moving their fins and eyes. There was even a yellow oyster with a giant pearl and a purple starfish.

This starfish waved to people...

There was a display from the Highways Department that showed cars and the MTR driving on top of boxes of potted plants. Ocean Park had sculptures of fish swimming around flowers, and even Qing Dao, which is hosting a horticultural show, had a maiden with a long floral dress with these giant green peas making faces.

The event also allows local hobbyists show off their green thumbs, though the association displays weren't very appealing. Nevertheless there was a section for competitions where residents could enter their flower arrangements or potted plants for judging.

Some of these were impressive, particularly the group of fans made of peacock feathers topped with colourful flowers, arrangements using lotus flowers, and peonies.

A plethora of beautiful orchids to buy at the fair

And what's a floral show without flowers to buy? It almost seemed like deja-vu back to before Chinese New Year when there were stalls selling lots and lots of orchids. Many of them were gorgeous in colour and reasonably priced too, with the cheapest ones at HK$20 because practically all the flowers had bloomed, to the more expensive ones at HK$100.

Off to the side was a play area for kids called Happy Wonderland... but it might have turned muddy thanks to the light rain. And nearby were some stalls for snacks like egg waffles, curry fish balls, sweet tofu and popcorn. There were even some mangoes from Thailand for sale, but at HK$50 each was too expensive to buy even one though they looked perfect and smelled sweet.

A display of peacock feather fans with flowers

YTSL told me this year's display wasn't as nice as last year, but for a HK$14 admission fee I couldn't complain. There were many things to see and of course photograph!

Hong Kong Flower Show 2014

Victoria Park
March 7-13, 2014

www.lcsd.gov.hk