Spectacular floral showcase
There’s much to look forward to at Malaysia’s largest flower and garden festival, writes Elaine Yim
IT’S finally here! For nine days, from today to Sept 2, head to the Anjung Floria Event Centre in Precinct 4, Putrajaya for a spectacular showcase of blooms. Floria 2018 celebrates its 10th anniversary with the theme 10 Wonders of Floria whereby all the eight themed flowers of yesteryear, namely the hibiscus, orchid, heliconia, rose, bougainvillea, begonia, lily and chrysanthemum will be highlighted among the 400,000 plants and flowers that will also be exhibited.
This event involves experts from the horticulture, floriculture, landscape architecture, landscape design and related industries. For home gardeners and gardening enthusiasts who are looking forward to visiting Floria 2018, here’s a checklist: While the show gardens provide the latest ideas on landscape designs and garden concepts, the garden bazaar may be the most interesting place for home gardeners. This is where you can find lots of choices on plants such as orchids, adeniums, exotic gingers, variegated foliage plants, herbs, spices and grafted fruit tree saplings.
Many plants which are not readily available at your local nursery can be found here. Specialist growers and vendors from various states around the country congregate in this central location, bringing along their best products. The prices may be slightly higher at flower shows but you save time, energy and petrol costs.
Look out for promotions on orchid keikis, ademiums, cacti and succulents, terarriam sets, potting soils and all sorts of organic or inorganic fertilisers and plant boosters. You may get lucky and get them at marked down prices.
Don’t buy endemic plants such as jungle orchids with tell-tale mosses growing on their roots and leaves. You can’t grow them at home as these plants cannot survive outside of their natural habitat. By dampening demand, you can help save our indigenous plants from extinction.
You might be put off by the idea of the huge crowd or perhaps be intimidated by the thought of sky-high prices. Actually, there are some really good bargains to be had. This should be the last venue to visit. Unless the vendor agrees to look after your purchases, you don’t want to be carrying your heavy stuff while visiting the outdoor theme gardens, which are spread over a large area. You can negotiate with the sellers for discounts on bulk purchases. Get their help to carry heavy items to your car.