“So what animals do they have?” L asked as we headed in the direction of what was easily the republic’s largest plant centre. I suppose the name ‘World Farm’ is kind of a misnomer.
WF isn’t stocked with farm animals; its sprawling acres boast an impressive catalogue of flowering plants, foliage, ferns, culinary and medicinal herbs, carnivorous plants, bog and aquatic plants, climbers, fruit trees and more.
What caught our eye first were two big pots of giant citrus. We couldn’t tell what it was exactly as the fruit didn’t really look like a lemon, orange or pomelo. It was intriguing, but I was more fascinated by a couple of other plants.
First, the pretty fan-shaped Lobelia Blue; a totally unfamiliar plant which reminds me of the Scaevola Aemula but looked more resilient and much easier to handle. Definitely a plant worth checking out.
Then there were the small bio-domes housing juvenile nepenthes Lady Luck with their rosy red pitchers. Ingenius. This may just be the thing to have in an office – before the plant outgrows its dome anyway.
These two were lovely, but I was on the lookout for a Petrea; not the more common P. Volubilis but what is supposedly a better variant. Apparently, the racemes of this Petrea are more impressive and its true flowers bigger and a more vivid purple.
Not having much success locating the Petrea, I gave up and approached a helpful and professional WF personnel who pointed me in the right direction and even gave me a ride in a buggy. Many thanks, Mr G! I’d never have found it on my own.
And how is this Petrea different from the P. Volubilis; could it be the Petrea Racemosa? The leaves have the same sandpapery texture of the P. Volubilis but appear to be bigger and have more pointed ends. Unfortunately the plants were not in bloom so I can’t say anything about the inflorescence.
Back at the main section of WF, my companions were adding media and other gardening paraphernalia to their purchases; sand, compost, clay beads, stakes …
We must have spent close to two hours at WF but could not cover everything. With so much to look at, one should be prepared to allocate half a day … and be prepared with a stuffed wallet and lots of car boot space as well!
Point to note: World Farm is also known as Hua Hng.
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