History of flower market

Since the 1970s this road has been the centre of Hong Kong's wholesale flower industry, with more then 50 plant shops clustered close together the road was given the official name of "花墟道" meaning flower market road.

Originally a place where shopkeepers came to purchase stock for their flower shops the Flower Market Road became a tourist attraction in it's own right, and a destination for local flower enthusiasts in the 1990s.

More focused on cut-flowers in the beginning during the late 1990 as the yearly Hong Kong Flower Show and Victoria Park Chinese New Year Fair became increasingly popular the prominence of Flower Market Road vendors increased.  As they showed their goods at these public events the public in Hong Kong became more aware of the potential to have their own plants, and hence trips to the Flower Market Road boomed.

As people became more aware of the benefits of growing their own plants, the sale of potted plants and things that go with them like seeds and fertilizer have grown.

Due to the small living space that most Hong Kong people have, living in flats in high rise apartment blocks, only the richest have access to gardens. But everybody can keep a potted plant and Flower Market Road has catered to peoples desire to have something in their own hands growing perhaps on a window-sill.

This was increased in the 2000's by the development of affordable orchid hybrids which became extremely popular in Hong Kong, previously having been too technical and too expensive for most people to afford. As China based greenhouses started to produce these delicate blooms in massive quantities  they became available to all, and it was via Flower Market Road shops that most of the same into the hands of the public.

Unlike nearby markets the Flower Market Road has always been shop fonts, rather than market stalls, and hence it has never suffered the pressure to be relocated or rebuilt that has changed the character of Bird Market and other street markets.

Today the street is busy at all times of the year with both dedicated customers, and curious on-lookers.