September 23, 2022
Happy Market Friday Shoppers!
I came across a flower stand while walking around the market today, and it reminded me of our pre-CNY shopping at the Prince Edward flower market last January. So I decided to share it here because I know 
Let's have a virtual tour to Prince Edward Flower Market
The Flower Market at Prince Edward is probably Hong Kong's largest flower market. It is the busiest street, especially on special occasions like Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, and other occasions. It is the most convenient for me, as it is just located in the next city. Going there can be done on a train, or a minibus, or I can even just walk when not in a rush.
If you decide to walk, you would come across St. Theresa church, where you could offer a small prayer before going to the market, located just a few more blocks from the church.
This flower market is the most visited place during CNY or Chinese New Year and my boss, and I always shop for flowers here. Bustling as usual as I got there, shoppers were swarming around. Despite the social distancing covid protocol, they seemed not to care about it as they were just busy shopping.
A few streets of Prince Edward are lined with different shops selling wide variety of flowers, from the cheapest kind to the most expensive ones, small plants to big ones, potted plants, bouquets, succulents, and bonsai trees.
This was the place I was amazed by the number of kinds of flowers I have never seen in my entire life. Probably because I have never been to a flower market in my country.
It seemed that all kinds of outdoor and indoor plants are found here. Some even look like artificial flowers, but sure they are real, just like the one below. I am unfamiliar with its name so I searched for it online.
Google says it is Azalea in white and pink shade. A flowering shrub that usually blooms in Spring and can be found in Asia and other parts of Europe and North America. Source
Here are other azalea shrubs. Well, it was winter when I saw these so I am not sure if it's really azalea flowers since there are many similar plants to this flower. But Google says it is. In Chinese, this flower symbolizes thoughtfulness and womanhood.
The Chinese love the colors red, yellow, pink, and anything that symbolizes good luck, money, and fortune. So most flowers sold here and usually bought by the Chinese are in those colors.
All flowers have symbolism that we aren't familiar with unless we search for it. And there are a lot of auspicious plants with Chinese symbolism.
This one below, for instance, is a white daffodil. I know the word daffodil but I only have seen it in real life in this market, lol. It is actually similar to jonquil so you might be confused between the two. This is in demand in CNY because it symbolizes good fortune for Chinese people.
These moth orchids are the ones I usually saw displayed in different houses, shops, and establishments, even here at home. This is probably the favorite flower of the Chinese. There are different colors of orchids with different symbolism as well depending on their color.
White symbolizes purity and elegance; pink symbolizes femininity and joy; yellow symbolizes friendship and new beginnings; purple symbolizes royalty and respect; and orange symbolizes boldness and enthusiasm. Source
The most in-demand colors are pink and purple. You can tell from the price of it in the photo below. This is more expensive during CNY. This pot of purple orchids below is almost a thousand HKD or equivalent to almost US$130.
Other auspicious plants include nipple fruit and the kumquat tree and you can see these plants all over the market every CNY.
Kumquat symbolizes prosperity, while nipple fruit symbolizes wealth and longevity.
Among all the flower displays, these were my favorites. Several bouquets in different shades of purple, one of my favorite colors. I'm not sure of the name though. Perhaps violet? The same as the color itself.
Some flowers were in hanging pots good to place by the windows at home.
And more kinds of hanging plants. I guess these are perfect to put on the veranda or balcony.
And more pretty flowers to choose from for your vases at home or even as a gift to a friend or loved ones.
On the other side of the road is this shop selling indoor plants.
There are pretty cactuses and succulents of different kinds.
This was the cutest and prettiest.
Apart from the flower market, there is also a street market for different merchandise and household materials, as well as a pet and fish market, different restaurants, and malls in Prince Edward. I might go to this place this weekend to visit the pet and merchandise markets.
As mentioned above, the house owner, my boss, likes buying moth orchids, and we currently have it at home placed next to the buddha.
And this was the kumquat bonsai tree we bought during the time we visited the market last January. And rather than throwing it away after the CNY, we decided to save it and take care of it until the next CNY. We're saving money in this way 😅. This serves as a lucky plant for Chinese people at home. And I hope, I'll be lucky too 😄.
That's all for today's #MarketFriday.
Advance happy weekend everyone.
