Tips from the top

Every gardener (and non-gardeners too, for that matter) will surely find inspiration somewhere within the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG). An improvised container, a sturdy planter full of colour, a wall or tree trunk colonised by orchids and bromeliads or a square-foot plot filled with healthy green herbs and vegetables can set the imagination soaring.

About 20 minutes by bus from the nearest railway station (Tai Po Market), KFBG is wonderfully accessible. This dramatic, 148-hectare hillside site has been beautifully landscaped over the past 55 years to make it a garden for enjoyment as well as for learning. It soars in steep terraces from 122 metres above sea level at the entrance to more than 600 metres at the summit of Kwun Yam Shan, one of the foothills of Tai Mo Shan. Over the past 40 years, I have visited the place many times and find it like re-visiting old friends and making new friends in the process.

In late August I made a useful new friend, the benign Ganesh, the elephant god who sits in a secluded nook a few metres from the Sunshine Café. Next time I must look for Ganesh’s colleagues, Nandi (the bull) and Varaha (the boar), but meanwhile, I am relying on him to help with my own modest-scale gardening. Lord of Success, destroyer of evils and obstacles, who could be more appropriate as a gardener’s presiding deity? The lower areas of KFBG were ablaze with “Summer Torch” bromeliads on tree trunks, in the ground and anywhere that provided a foothold. After Typhoon Vicente take your pick of fallen branches to create a comparable show, and select a spot with good filtered light. Your branch can be freestanding if it is the right shape (you can anchor it in a cement base) or suspend it from a wall or fence in a suitable place. Just remember that as the plant flourishes it will become heavier, so it will need a sturdy support.

Wrap some pre-soaked sphagnum moss around the bottom of the bromeliad, tie the bundle to the new prop and leave nature to do the rest. Keep the plant’s central reservoir topped up with water and in time “pups” will sprout and put out their own roots to cling to the bark of their own accord.

• There will be a group visit to KFBG on December 5 to explore the entire farm.

Special attractions of the itinerary include introductions to compost making and bee-keeping. • The festive season is closer than you think. Sign up for a late October workshop and learn to create living table centrepieces and other arrangements as gifts and decorations. • Following the pictures of spectacular gingers in August, Tom Wood, curator of the ginger garden in the South China Botanical Garden, will give an illustrated talk on November 21 about this fascinating family and his role in raising

Guangzhou’s collection to a world-class attraction. The venue is the Hong Kong

Visual Arts Centre, 7A Kennedy Road, Central.

For details and reservations for any of these events, please contact Jane Ram at janetaipeng@gmail.com.

This is one of the most frequently asked questions and there is no simple answer. Maybe your seeds dried out before they could germinate. Next time, try a thin top layer of fine vermiculite: this holds the moisture without too much risk of rot and if the vermiculite stirs when you blow gently on it, then you know that the pot needs water.

Maybe you are too impatient: if the seed packet does not indicate an approximate germination time, look online. Commercial seeds are usually treated to ensure they will start germinating as soon as they are sown. Wait perhaps an extra couple of weeks – parsley, for instance, is popularly believed to go “three times to the devil and back” before it will sprout. But, as I know all too well, stale seeds will never germinate. Start all over again with fresh seed from a reliable source.

This is your last chance to plant freesia bulbs in pots or in the ground for spring fragrance. They should be pointed end upwards, covered by about 5cm of potting mix. And they need full sun.

To ensure a good show of colour, move poinsettias and Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera) to a place where they will receive 12 hours of darkness every night. If you have bright light sources nearby, improvise covers (be sure to uncover them each morning) and give Sai Kung 190x120_ad.pdf 1 24/09/2012 3:57 PMthem a weekly dose of high-potassium fertiliser. Jane Ram is a professional writer with a passion for plants. She has been gardening in Hong Kong for over 30 years and is still learning. Please email Janetaipeng@gmail.com with comments and queries, and to be kept informed of occasional workshops and excursions for gardeners.

Tiny Footprints is Visiting Sai Kung!

Toys Books

and

Back to School Goodies!

Huge Summer Swimwear

and Clothing Clearance!