Newsletter No. 2

Information in this section can only  be accessed with CWEM password . CUHK Newsletter maintenance of a stock of 2,000 potted plants ready for use at any time. Supplying the necessary amounts and varieties of flowers and plants for special occasions is another. At the recent commencement exercise, for example, they had over 3,000 pots of colourful flowers prepared and distributed throughout the central campus. To meet the large and ever-present demand for flowers, the Gardening Section has established a nursery. It is located behind the Chung Chi College student hostels and occupies a total area of 20,000 square feet. It consists of a greenhouse and five flower beds of different sizes. Seven staff members manage this area; their work involves sowing, watering, fertilizing, weeding, grafting, and transplanting plants. They are also responsible for transportingflowersabout to blossom to various buildings for display, as well as for supplying new potted plants and removing old ones regularly. Flowers are now in full bloom The Gardening Section imports most of its seeds from abroad and distributes the potted plants and flowers on a seasonal basis. Between spring and summer, they decorate the campus with asters, begonias, geraniums, marigolds, zinnias, petunias, and sunflowers. In autumn and winter, they make certain we have plenty of poinsettas, calendulas, dahlias, chrysanthemums and salvias. Generally, says Mr. Yau, the kind and quantity of flowers in autumn and winter are more numerous than those in spring and summer. This is mainly because the most suitable times for sowing seeds are March-April and September-November. Given that it takes three to four months for a seed to turn into a flowering plant, the periods when we can expect to see the most flowers are June-July and December-March. While flowers do appear in June and July, summer heat is generally not conducive to sustained life for most plants. The team are now investigating new methods of combating various seasonal and environmental constraints so that the campus can be filled with flowers year-round. They are working with new species and experimenting with new sowing periods. Mr. Yau's own choice In all likelihood, most of us on the campus have a favourite spot according to our individual tastes and preferences for flowers and trees. What about Mr. Yau, who is familiar with each and every patch of green on the campus? He says that he prefers the Chung Chi campus, mainly because of its natural endowment of vital resources like water and good soil. Personalia 8