gardening A garden like Kadoorie’s Jane Ram is inspired by Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden. 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.
Gardening events • 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.
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