Submitted by janetaipeng@gmail.com:

Shenzhen Wholesale Plant & Pot Market

Several people have requested a cross-border coach trip to Shenzhen’s Wholesale Market for Plant & Gardening Accessories (including pots). Block April 19 for this excursion. Apart from festival time, this market is usually very quiet and pleasant to explore.
I plan to send out full details of costs and registration procedures etc after my return from Sri Lanka on March 24. In the meantime, check that your visa is in order and start saving up your walking around money.

Plant Workshops

A few places are still available in the next two plant workshops with Ah Choi. Drop me an e-mail if you would like to sign up.
The charge is $100 per head per session.

April 14 Flowering Gingers

May 5 Hoyas

Ah Choi has agreed to a full slate of topics for the rest of the year; once dates are all 100% confirmed, I will let you know what is in store.

Outside the Gates of the Magic Kingdom

Keep in mind that in early May, Dr Kong Lam, Manager, Horticulture, Hong Kong Disneyland, will lead us around the beautiful and rarely visited landscaped areas outside the gates of the Magic Kingdom. I’ll let you know the date as soon as it is confirmed.

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

Plant Workshops

Flowering Gingers and Hoyas are among our most beautiful yet rarely cultivated plants. In his next two workshops Ah Choi will share his knowledge about both families. The charge for each workshop is HK$100 per person.

April 14 will be devoted to the many flowering gingers that are relatively easy to cultivate in our gardens or in pots.

May 5 will be your chance to learn how to grow some of the Hoyas that thrive in Hong Kong conditions.

As usual the workshops will be conducted in Ah Choi’s home in Fanling (only five minutes’ walk from the railway station). Workshops will start at 1.30 and last for about 90 minutes. For those so inclined there will be a no-host dim sum lunch beforehand very close to Ah Choi’s home. More details of arrangements and venue closer to the date.

Only a few places remain in each workshop, so please sign up asap to avoid disappointment.

Shenzhen Wholesale Plant & Pot Market, April 19

Registration is now open for what is sure to be a popular cross-border coach excursion on April 19. Check your visa and sign up asap. Cost: HK$350 per head (includes round-trip transport and lunch).

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

Sign up today for our Cross-Border nursery trawl:

Shenzhen Nursery Trawl, April 19

Annuals and perennials, bedding plants of all kinds, dainty shrubs and massive trees. Pots and more pots of all shapes, sizes and materials. Garden accessories, fountains, filters and everything for your water feature. Cut flowers at giveaway prices.

All these and much more await us at the Shenzhen wholesale plant market when we go for our cross-border trawl on April 19. This market is vast: it includes numerous large and small shops and stalls as well as many plant nurseries, each with its own specialty.

Most potted plants in soil can be brought into Hong Kong without a problem EXCEPT cacti, orchids, ferns and a few others on the international list of endangered species. Cut orchids pose no problem. But whatever you buy, be prepared to carry all your purchases through two lots of immigration and customs on the return trip!

Charge for the day is HK$350, including round-trip coach transport and lunch. We start from Pier 4 at 9am and aim to return before 5pm. Additional pick-up/drop-off at University Station. Check that your travel document is in order and e-mail Janetaipeng@gmail.com to reserve your place. All are welcome!

If you have queries, please e-mail or phone me at any reasonable hour (2982 0330).

Stop press!

Our guided tour of the Disney landscaping outside the gates of the Magic Kingdom is set for the morning of May 3. This is free of charge, but numbers are limited, so please sign up now to avoid disappointment.

Outside the Gates of the Magic Kingdom

Disney theme parks are justly renowned for their lavish landscaping. On the morning of May 3 one of the senior horticulturalists at Disneyland Hong Kong will conduct a tour around some of the little known landscaped areas outside the gates of the Magic Kingdom.

This tour is free of charge, but numbers are limited, so please sign up early to avoid disappointment. A “no-host” lunch will follow the tour for those interested.

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

Don't you need a china visa???

Yes for the Shenzhen tour.

I should get a visa, as I haven't been up there in years.

Fortunately, to go bungy jumping in Macau, I won't need one.

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

I'd love to join all the gardening workshops mentioned here, and learn more about the local plants and how to create a beautiful garden. I have a rooftop garden, but if the truth be told, it's full of 'pretty weeds' LOL

And cultivating the 'ginger flowers' etc is something i am very interested in.

However, as someone that lives with a whole heap of cats and my dog... I'm always trying to find out which plants are 'compatible' with my pets. Don't want to introduce something that is 'toxic' for them, should they decide to have the odd 'chew' (which they do!)

Can anyone guide me/point me in the right direction to find out which plants are poison basically for animals?

Final call from Jane:

Shenzhen Nursery Trawl, April 19

"Annuals and perennials, bedding plants of all kinds, dainty shrubs and massive trees. Pots and more pots of all shapes, sizes and materials. Garden accessories, fountains, filters and everything for your water feature. Cut flowers at giveaway prices.

All these and much more await us at the Shenzhen wholesale plant market when we go for our cross-border trawl on April 19. This market is vast: it includes numerous large and small shops and stalls as well as many plant nurseries, each with its own specialty.

Most potted plants in soil can be brought into Hong Kong without a problem EXCEPT cacti, orchids, ferns and a few others on the international list of endangered species. Cut orchids pose no problem. But whatever you buy, be prepared to carry all your purchases through two lots of immigration and customs on the return trip!

Lunch will be at one of Shenzhen’s many outstanding Cantonese restaurants. If time allows we will make a quick stop at B&Q before crossing the border and returning to Hong Kong.

Charge for the day is HK$350, including round-trip coach transport (plenty of space for your finds) and lunch. We start from Pier 4 at 9am and aim to return before 5pm. Additional pick-up/drop-off at University Station. Check that your travel document is in order and e-mail Janetaipeng@gmail.com to reserve your place. All are welcome!

If you have queries, please e-mail or phone me at any reasonable hour (2982 0330)."

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

Gorgeous Gesneriaceae

Pretty flowers and velvety leaves make members of this family highly desirable. Given a little know-how, some will bloom year-round although others require cosseting through the cooler weather. Sign up asap for what is sure to be a popular session with Ah Choi on July 28 when he will share his knowledge of these gorgeous indoor and outdoor plants.

Place: Fanling
Cost: HK$100 per person
Contact: janetaipeng@gmail.com for further information and to sign up.

Numbers are limited and your place will be confirmed on receipt of payment.

Looking further ahead
Water plants will be the workshop topic on August 11.

South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, May 15
Let me know if you are interested in a visit to the South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou on May 15.

Magic Kingdom landscaping guided tour, May 3
A few places are still available for our free guided tour of the superbly landscaped areas outside the gates of HK Disneyland. Sign up asap.

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

LG - whatever happened with this Shenzhen tour? did it go ahead? No report? I would certainly be interested in any future trips

No Shenzhen report as I haven't joined any of these gardening tours myself in a long time myself, especially as I don't have a garden anymore since our move out of the expanding "concrete jungle" of Sha Po Village. Living surrounded by so much lush greenery and trees and more frequent hiking-biking through Lamma's forests, gardening has become less important in my life.

You can ask janetaipeng@gmail.com for any details and photos of the Shenzhen trip as she's not just a great tour guide but also a very talented photographer.

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

Thanks LG...