露台種植實驗 每天都有新發現｜Farming on the office balcony – a growing documentation
園境設計師Carmen:「任何植物也好，開始種吧﹗
城巿生活壓力大，香港人要抖抖氣，習慣到鬧巿之中的大小公園，又或者在周末到郊野公園行行山。不過，持續一年有多的疫症，都打亂了不少香港人的生活習慣，要維持身體上或精神上的健康，也要轉換一些方式。本地一個關注香港人心理健康的組織「Mind HK」指出，在綠色的戶外空間享受時光，或把大自然帶入日常生活，可為身心健康帶來正面影響，包括改善心情、減輕壓力或憤怒感覺，甚至有助解決精神健康問題，而這些在漫長的疫情之中，對我們更為重要。
在「不正常」的時期，世界各地很多人嘗試以各種方法，尋回「正常」的生活步伐。在上環上班的 Carmen，上月開始在辦公室外開始了種植的日常。在狹窄的小露台，如何可以種出她的新鮮食材，可以說是一場實驗，也是一個「學習和靜心」的過程，她會因植物生長而高興，同時因此變成辦公室裏的種植專家。
小小的露台之上，看著青瓜、絲瓜、秋葵、青椒、豆角等每日成長，作為園境建築師的Carmen，說觀賞性的植物與農作物，在種植方法上有不少分別，於是她自己也在過程中邊學邊實驗，哪種蔬菜、在怎樣的種植環境、用哪種和多少肥料，每一環都是學問。幸而現在的網上資料拈手可得，令學習更容易，而且她選擇的農作物，也是相對適合在城巿環境中種植。
因為對種植愈來愈好奇，Carmen重新發現了平日沒有留意到的種植小店，其中原來有不少就在辦公室附近，專售種植工具和材料，其中一間店舖，屹立這裏至少70年多，早在二戰之前已開店。這種老店與一般種植店舖不同，例如它們售賣的種子，有些是祖傳的獨門品種，由多年前耕種時培育出優質品種後，一直傳承至今天。
結果，因為開始微小的種植，Carmen在區內認識了不同店舖和喜愛種植的街坊，形成一個種植小網絡。他們會毫不吝嗇地分享種植心得，讓Carmen在遇到難題時，給予不少可貴的意見，同時讓她更勇敢嘗試種植更多新品種。「任何植物也好，開始種吧﹗」短短兩個月，Carmen的種植生活，每天都有新發現。就如這天，她又高興地分享剛在露台拍的最新照片：在陽光之下、盆栽之間，有一隻不起眼的青蛙，正在等待會飛的昆蟲作為牠的午餐。
如果說，在城市狹縫中生長的野草，為沉寂的街道帶來了生氣；那麼，吉人們在周而復始的生活狹縫中，悉心照料的果籽瓜苗，正是為疫情下鬱悶的社區帶來活力的開端。
相片來源：Carmen Kwok
地點 : 香港
Farming on the office balcony – A Growing Documentation
“Just grow something,” said Carmen, a landscape designer.
Taking a stroll in public gardens or going on a hike in nature parks are quintessential recreational activities for Hongkongers. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the prolonged Covid-19 lockdowns had unavoidably impacted urban residents’ mental and physical well-being. According to Mind HK, a mental health charity in Hong Kong, activities such as exercising outdoors or recreational gardening activities could bring about health benefits such as maintaining good physical health, improving our moods, and reduce feelings of anxiety and helplessness during a pandemic that at time feels never-ending.
Like many others seeking a sense of normalcy from the social restrictions imposed during the “new-normal”, Carmen, a local landscape designer started planting in early May this year at her office’s balcony. What began as an experiment and challenge to grow her own food within the limited confines of the office balcony has become, in her own words, a “learning and meditative exercise”. The process of tending to her plants and celebrating their steady growth have turned her into the in-house expert on which plants would grow best during these sweltering summer months.
Judging by the pots of cucumber, sponge gourd, okra, pepper, and bean flourishing by the slither of daylight catching the office balcony, one can’t help but to assume Carmen must have green fingers or at least, have learnt the secrets to becoming a gardener from her years of landscape design training. Surprisingly, she revealed that she has been learning on the fly, as she pointed out differences in the growing of ornamental and agricultural plants, and how she had to pick up new knowledge by methodical experiments with different farming conditions and fertilisers needed for the optimal growth of different vegetables. Daunting as that might seem, she ensured us the process was definitely not as difficult, as resources are readily available online, and the plants species she selected were generally resilient and suited for growing in the urban environment.
Carmen’s curiosity also led her to discover adjacent shops which specialised in gardening supplies and equipment. What struck her the most was how these shops had been around for ages in Sheung Wan, with one founded even before World War II, all the while being nondescript and unnoticed. Befitting of the veritable vintage of such long-standing establishments, many carried exclusive heirloom seeds treasured and sought after by gardeners for the high-quality plants and fruits they yield. Their popularity perhaps explained why such niche shops could astoundingly thrive in a downtown area despite Hong Kong’s well-known real estate pressures.
Carmen would had been oblivious of the local network of gardening supplies shops in her neighbourhood and the wider virtual community of recreational gardeners, who are willing to share their knowledge and planting tips, had she not gotten over the hump to attempt something new. “Just grow something, anything!” Carmen motivates others to join her as she shared yet another set of images of her growing plants. This time, featuring the curious cameo of a guardian frog peeking out between the pots, looking for flies, mosquitos, and other pests unfortunate enough to cross its path on the narrow sliver of space on the office balcony.
And just as the wildflowers blossoming from the cracks and crevices of the concrete paving bring life to our mundane city; the persistent effort from our fellow GUTS:MANs to grow something, literally and figuratively, out of every opportunity they get from their routine day-to-day life, might just be what we need to get through this pandemic.
Photo source: Carmen Kwok
Location: Hong Kong
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