Elderly flower girl turn artist puts on a show at Victoria Park

94-year-old local artist, Fapopo, who will not disclose her real name, put on a display of her own with her floral design on furniture and canvases at this year’s Hong Kong Flower Show.

Fapopo is her pseudonym for the public. She has been planting, drawing, and arranging flowers for over 50 years. It started when she sold flowers at Mong Kok Flower Market in her twenties and that deepened her passion for floral painting.

“I was poor and had no money to buy canvases at first, so I just used unwanted furniture to draw,” she said.

“I really appreciate Fapopo’s passion and I am glad that I got to know her story at this year’s Flower Show,” said Ada Tam, a 60-year-old retiree. “Her fascinating journey in pursuing her dream is also very much in line with this year’s theme.”

“Ablaze with Glory,” is the theme of this year’s Hong Kong Flower Show, organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD).

The Cosmos, a flower that symbolises resilience and strength, is this year’s chosen flower. Some 40,000 varieties of it are on display in an array of colours including yellow, pink and white.

A total of 238 organisations participate in this year’s event, including 157 from Hong Kong and 81 from 11 countries.

Raymond Ng, a 77-year-old photographer, said the Cosmos is now growing well as early spring brings ample but not intense sunshine. Its brightness brings vitality to Hong Kong.

Eileen Lau, a retiree in her sixties, said the Cosmos is appealing and colourful, which can represent the vibrancy as the theme of the show.

“But I also worry if the Cosmos would wither easily because it looked so fragile and thin,” Lau said.

“I actually do not have much feeling about the chosen flowers as I care more about the beauty of the flowers rather than the assortment,” said Ronald Yeung, a 50-year-old photographer.

“I do feel the beauty of the Cosmos, and believe its diverse colours can bring vitality to visitors,” said Wong Hang-sheung, 48, who has studied flowers before.

“But the organisers could create more large-scale displays that use the Cosmos to highlight this year's theme, instead of simply showcasing the flower alongside the footpath,” she said.

“In fact, a lot of flowers withered on the first day of the event, reflecting some inadequacies of the organisers,” said Choi Kwun-ming, a 57-year-old retiree who visits the Flower Show every year.

“The florists of the LCSD should have a better understanding of the flowers’ habits and the staff have to step up their supervision to discourage visitors from touching the flowers inappropriately,” he added.

“We expect to attract about 650,000 visitors over the show, which is similar to previous years,” said Tai Yuen-kwan, chairperson of the Hong Kong Flower Show Committee.

The Hong Kong Flower Show will be held from Mar. 14 to 23. The admission fee is HK$14, while concessionary tickets for the elderly, minors, students and disabled people are HK$7.