Hong Kong flower seller opens his farm to the public as lilies finally bloom in warmer weather
Winter cold snap meant Leung Yat-shun could not sell his crop at the Lunar New Year market
Flower lovers flocked to lily fields in Yuen Long over the weekend as a local farmer opened his fields to the public after his crops failed to hit the Lunar New Year market because of the unusually cold weather.
It came as the city saw a cooler February than usual after an intense winter monsoon during the early part of the month, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.
Three weeks after the festival, the farmer’s plants finally began to blossom and he opened his fields for free visits and hoped to sell some of the crops.
“Why not open my place so that all people in Hong Kong can appreciate the beautiful flowers?” said Leung Yat-shun, farmer at Shun Sum Yuen in Shun Tin. “Not many people can afford flying overseas to see flowers. But you can actually view flowers by taking a bus [to somewhere] in Hong Kong.”
Cold snap drives up cost of flowers at Hong Kong Lunar New Year fair
Leung, who is in his 60s and started growing flowers four decades ago, said the colourful and beautifully bloomed French lilies were commonly used as raw material for perfume.
He planned to sell the flowers during the Lunar New Year season last month, but the cold weather delayed the blossom and he had to cancel his plans.