By Jane Ram:

Master Choi Chinese Roses and Other Edible Flowers: Workshop March 29

Chinese roses flourish in Hong Kong if you know how to care for them. These are native plants and given a little know-how they can thrive in containers wherever you want them -- on rooftops, patios, balconies or a windowsill. If you take basic precautions regarding fertilisers and pesticides, your roses will look beautiful and also taste fantastic. These and other edible flowers give so much pleasure to the eyes and the palate that it is worth learning to grow them successfully. Master gardener Li Wan Choi has been growing plants all his life and he is very generous about sharing his knowledge and experience, not to mention cuttings with anyone who is eager to learn. He is a born teacher as well as gardener and his workshops are an inspiration to beginners and experienced gardeners alike.

Location: All our workshops take place on Saturday afternoons in Fanling. The location is only a few minutes walk from Fanling Station, perfectly placed for pre-workshop dimsum for those so inclined. Free parking is available by prior arrangement.

Timing: approximately 1.30-3.0pm. (Dimsum at 12 noon)
Charge: $100 per person per workshop
Places are limited. Early sign-up is advisable to avoid disappointment.
March 29: Chinese Roses and other edible flowers
April 26: Summer Vegetables

Sketch Trek with artist/teacher Roz Keep: new series starts with a two-hour outdoor session on March 5 collecting sketches, photos and notes etc to form the raw material for two 3-hour indoor “studio” sessions on March 12 and 19, working on a finished piece of art using various media. (see attachment for details)

New event: April 12 (Saturday)

A guided walk through two centuries of Wanchai landscaping.

Landscape architect Gavin Coates introduces us to unexpected facets of Wanchai’s fascinating past, present and future.
For more details of all these events and registration, contact: janetaipeng@gmail.com

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Master Choi Herb Cultivation Workshop February 15

Fresh herbs whenever you want them! Given a little know-how they can thrive in containers on rooftops, patios, balconies or a windowsill. Many also do well indoors. Master gardener Li Wan Choi has been growing plants all his life and he is very generous about sharing his knowledge and experience, not to mention cuttings with anyone who is eager to learn. He is a born teacher as well as gardener and his workshops are an inspiration to beginners and experienced gardeners alike.

Location: All our workshops take place on Saturday afternoons in Fanling. The location is only a few minutes walk from Fanling Station, perfectly placed for pre-workshop dimsum for those so inclined. Free parking is available by prior arrangement.

Timing: approximately 1.30-3.0pm. (Dimsum at 12 noon)
Charge: $100 per person per workshop
Places are limited. Early sign-up is advisable to avoid disappointment.

Feb 15: Herbs
March 29: Chinese Roses and other edible flowers
April 26: Summer Vegetables

For more details and registration, contact: janetaipeng@gmail.com

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April 19: Lamma Gardens

Gorgeous and varied gardens are among the best kept secrets on Lamma Island where many residents have the space and the interest to cultivate edible and decorative plants. Our tour on Easter Saturday (April 19) will introduce some of the island’s most interesting gardens. As a bonus we will be accompanied by a professional landscape photographer who will give invaluable guidance on successfully capturing plants and gardens with any sort of camera.

This is the season when Hippeastrum and Amaryllis blooms catch the eye in many parts of Hong Kong. One Lamma resident has been successfully hybridising these plants and raising them from seed for many years. He will introduce us to the fascinating art of lily propagation -- surprisingly easy despite their exotic appearance.

Instead of Easter eggs, feast on feisty home-cooked vegetarian fare.

Time: 9.30 depart from Pier 4 in Central.

Charge for the day, including lunch and drinks, HK$200 per head.

April 26: Learn about Summer Vegetables and Summer Pests at Master Choi’s Fanling workshop.

The afternoon continues with a guided tour of Hong Kong’s largest and most productive roof garden in nearby Fanling Industrial Estate. See for yourself the amazing results obtained by applying Proton Alignment Technology to plants. We will also visit IPC’s indoor mushroom farm raising highly-prized Brazilian Pearl Mushrooms. Round off the day in the IPC Foodlab restaurant where you can enjoy produce from the roof used in preparation of the delicious and modestly priced modern-European cuisine.

Workshop charge: $100 per person.

IPC tour and meal (excluding beverages) $150.

Places for all these events are limited, please register early:
contact: janetaipeng@gmail.com.

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Update from Jane about Easter Saturday's tour, Apr 19, 2014, featuring many Lamma photographers, touring some of the nicest local gardens.

If you live on Lamma, meet you at 10am at the YSW ferry, welcoming the off-island members of this (almost) unique, one-time tour!

"On arrival in Yungshuewan, follow everyone else off the boat and wait just outside the ferry gates where professional photographer Andy Maluche will be waiting, along with Lamma-based participants Andrea Thain and Maggie Twiston Davies. Andy will show you interesting photo angles and suggest ways to take pictures of plants and gardens as you proceed up Taipeng Hill to the Lamma Community Garden, a co-operative project run by local residents, including Geoff Smith who has a great show of Hippeastrums in full bloom this week. He has been hybridising and raising these lilies from seed for many years and will describe how this can be done at home. Geoff also raises many orchids and he will introduce you to an interesting area of scrub land where a number of fruit trees flourish.

Maggie Twiston Davies’s garden is the next stop before lunch, which will be at my house.

Following lunch for those with the time, interest and stamina to proceed, a post-prandial garden stroll is suggested.

Ferries back to Central leave Yungshuewan Pier every half hour so it is very simple to return to the city whenever you wish.

If you miss the 9.30 ferry, please contact Andy: 9414 7850; or Andrea 6605 4030.

In case your plans change, please phone me: 2982 0330.

Be sure to bring sun hat, sunscreen, comfortable shoes etc and a bottle of water as it promises to be a hot day. However, the ferry can be extremely cold, so you might be glad of an extra layer of clothing.

I look forward to seeing you on Saturday. Please phone at any reasonable hour if you have any queries."

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From janetaipeng@gmail.com:

Sign up today for Ah Choi’s Container Gardening Workshops

Autumn is nearly here and it’s time to start sowing herb and vegetable seeds, and also refreshing some of your decorative plants.
These workshops take place in the northern New Territories, close to Fanling Railway Station. Early registration and payment is advised as these events are very popular and numbers are limited. For further details, and to sign up, contact: janetaipeng@gmail.com.

October 4: Learn the secrets of successful cultivation and propagation of Begonias. Ah Choi has a superb collection of these gorgeous foliage plants and he is always very generous with his know-how and also with cuttings for you to grow at home.

November 15: Herbs -- Ah Choi will show us how to grow healthy and fragrant herbs ready for eating any time. And those interested can also visit Hong Kong’s most productive roof garden nearby.

December 13: Vegetables -- this session will take place at Ah Choi’s farm (near Sekkong) where he grows a wide range of vegetables in the ground and in containers.

Coming soon….
Watch your Inbox for details of the following:

Visits to some of Hong Kong’s most productive rooftop vegetable & herb gardens.
New Sketch Trek sessions with Roz Forestal Keep.
Explore overlooked corners of Hong Kong with landscape architect, professional cartoonist and raconteur, Gavin Coates.

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Exciting new programme of Saturday afternoon hands-on workshops in an ideal and comfortable Central location.

Grow your own potted salads, potatoes and citrus. Have fun, eat, learn and take-home a generous starter pot plus know-how for success.

Sign up today and save on our exciting new programme of hands-on workshops. Learn from two of Hong Kong’s most versatile and experienced gardeners -- Li Wen Choi (Ah Choi) & Angus Chan -- in an ideally located, comfortable Central venue, the private VIP space above FRESCA at 54A Hollywood Road (see website: Frescahk.com) for directions.

Time: 1.30pm Gardeners’ Get-together. Socialise with fellow gardeners, chat with our experts and share the triumphs and tribulations of local gardening. Order lunch from the delicious and inexpensive array of substantial salads and snacks. See website: Frescahk.com
2.30-4.30: Hands-on workshop.

Programme:
November 28: Create your own mini-salad garden. Hands-on demonstration of how to sow, transplant and care for lettuce and herbs to make an attractive window-sill or balcony source of healthy flavours. As a bonus: Angus will demonstrate the easy shortcut to creating your own mini-patch of spring onions. Take home a ready-planted pot of mesclun and herbs to get you started.

December 12: Grow your own potatoes in a compact container. Learn how to care for your take home mini-potato patch in a pot.

January 23: Pre-Chinese New Year, FREE plants. Learn the expert way to salvage discarded citrus trees after the holidays and have them blooming and bearing fruit in time for Chinese New Year 2017.

February 20: exotic salads, unusual leaves and edible flowers that you can grow for fun. Crystalline Iceplant (Mesembryanthemum cristallinum in Latin or Ficoide Glaciale in French) looks as though it is covered in ice crystals. Its attractive flowers make it a favourite in any setting. As companion plants try baby spinach and nasturtium, which will be included in your take-home pot at the end of the afternoon.

Cost: HK$600 if you sign up and pay for all four sessions in advance. $200 for individual sessions.

Contact: Janeram@netfront.net or phone at any reasonable hour: 2982 0330 for registration and more information. Advance sign up and pre-payment is essential as space is limited.

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

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