Mong Kok Flower Market is Bustling with Residents Buying Flowers for the Celebration of both the Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day

2026-02-11 17:54 Last Updated At：18:07

Since both the Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day are getting closer, the festive atmosphere prevails in the city. The Mong Kok Flower Market has turned into a sea of flowers. Many residents have begun to buy New Year flowers and decorate their homes. Moreover, some also came to pick a bouquet to give to their loved ones. Even on weekdays, the flower market remained bustling with people.

On the site, residents tended to purchase orchids, winter jasmine, etc., implying auspicious fortune. Some residents even spent over HKD $1,000 in buying flowers, hoping to achieve good luck at the start of the year by putting beautiful flowers at home. Some florists have launched new varieties of orchids, saying that this year's stock is more plentiful, and the buyers have increased since two weeks ago.

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Photo by Bastille Post

Mrs. Chan, Photo by Bastille Post

Mrs. Chiong and her son, Photo by Bastille Post

Another Mrs. Chan, Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Cherry, Photo by Bastille Post

Mr. Wong, Photo by Bastille Post

Ms. Lee, Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

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Photo by Bastille Post

Mrs. Chan, Photo by Bastille Post

Mrs. Chiong and her son, Photo by Bastille Post

Another Mrs. Chan, Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Cherry, Photo by Bastille Post

Mr. Wong, Photo by Bastille Post

Ms. Lee, Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Mrs. Chan said it's not too early to buy flowers for the time being, "I would buy New Year flowers almost at this period every year, since the flower market would be crowded after a few days." She spent HKD $1,090 to buy pussy willow, winter jasmine, etc., believing that the price of flowers depends on what variety they are and what country they come from. "I won't care about price when buying flowers. The most important thing is that they can let my home become more beautiful."

Mrs. Chiong and her son came to buy New Year flowers together. They spent over a thousand HKD merely on buying orchids. "If we come to the flower market earlier to choose, the goods will be more beautiful." Ms. Chiong said she would also buy some other flowers. "I expect to buy a money tree and lucky bamboo." In her eyes, the price of the flowers is similar to the previous one, with no obvious increase.

Another Mrs. Chan bought flowers worth more than a thousand HKD. "It doesn't matter how much you spend. If the flowers can match my decoration requirements, I would buy without hesitation. To avoid too many people on the site, I decided to visit the flower market earlier." She thought the atmosphere of the flower market was great this year, with cheaper flower prices. "It's cheaper than in previous years, about 20% cheaper."

Some florists have launched wide new varieties of orchids. Anna, a person in charge of a flower stall, said that she couldn't predict the sales for the time being, though she has stocked up with plenty of flowers this year. "The entire flower market is filled with flowers on every corner. I couldn't count how many there were in total." Anna also said that the orchid sales for this year are okay. About two weeks ago, multiple buyers came to her stall to buy orchids since they could be kept at home for a long time. "Most of the residents would buy orchids at the end of the year to create a festive atmosphere at home. Their prices haven't changed much. As for the ones with the price around HKD $200-400, they have become hot among buyers. Asked whether the consumption boom of Hong Kong residents in Shenzhen would have an impact on her stall, Anna said the impact was not significant. "Because the flowers are heavy and difficult to move up and down, and there are also controls on the border crossing of orchids, there is no impact."

Since Valentine's Day falls on Saturday this year, with the approach of the Chinese New Year, there were not many stalls primarily selling Valentine's Day bouquets. Cherry, a flower stall owner, pointed out that the sales of Valentine's Day flowers in the stall were cut in half at least. "Since that day falls on Saturday, many companies are on holiday, the orders from offices are two-thirds less, but the delivery service to home or to the celebration locations on the evening of February 13 is still in demand."

Cherry also said that she would stock up on orchids a month before the Chinese New Year, and flowers from all over the world ten days before the New Year, such as the winter jasmine and coral berry from the Taiwan region, cherry blossoms from Japan, etc. Among her flowers, the Japanese cherry blossoms have been bought by many people in recent years because they look more special and attractive. She added that since the road would be closed from the 7th to the 17th of this month, she needed to accept the fact that some decrease in sales would happen. "The traffic would be controlled outside the flower market, which meant I couldn't stock up on plenty of flowers in the following days. Besides, the number of my stall‘s staff is limited, but we will try our best to sell the flowers out."

Mr. Wong took advantage of his free time to buy flowers for his girlfriend. The bouquet he bought was HKD $580. "The price is not cheap, but it is acceptable." He noticed that there were fewer flowers for Valentine's Day this year. "Maybe since the festival is close to the Chinese New Year." he said.

As for Ms. Lee, she bought peonies this year since she didn't like dark-colored flowers. She favored peonies because they are light-colored and can be kept at home for a period of time. She didn't especially buy the Valentine's Day flowers. "In my eyes, every day can be Valentine's Day." She thought the Valentine's Day flowers weren't few at the flower market this year. "But the flower types that can be chosen are limited since Valentine's Day and the Chinese New Year are close to each other." She pointed out, "Maybe some lovers can try to buy some daffodils as the Valentine's Day flower to take an innovative attempt."

Some florists said that since Valentine's Day is the 27th of the 12th lunar month, many citizens are expected to buy peonies, butterfly orchids, and other New Year flowers symbolizing love to their lovers to celebrate Valentine's Day and the Chinese New Year together.

Mount Holyoke’s corpse flower blooms again, drawing crowds to its ‘rotting flesh’ stench

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (AP) — One person entered the lush, green Victorian-era greenhouse and smelled rotting eggs. Another said the odor evoked the memory of dissecting a dead bird. A third compared it to a stinky diaper baking in the sun.

“I was expecting it to smell bad, but it smelled genuinely like rotting flesh,” said Nyx DelPrado, a first-year student at Mount Holyoke College who visited its Talcott Greenhouse this week to see the blooming of a corpse flower. “Its name is accurate,” DelPrado added with a laugh, nose wrinkled, adding that it reminded them of the scent of a dissection.

The corpse flower, or Amorphophallus titanum, is a rare tropical plant known for its foul odor. It's native to the rainforests of Sumatra and blooms infrequently and for only a brief window, releasing a pungent scent meant to mimic decaying flesh and attract pollinators such as flies and beetles. Nicknamed “Pangy,” the plant first bloomed at Mount Holyoke College in 2023, and its latest appearance has once again drawn crowds eager to witness — and smell — the fleeting spectacle.

What appears to be a single bloom is actually an enormous inflorescence, a cluster of many tiny flowers at the base of a tall central column called the spadix and surrounded by a deep purple, velvety spathe. Although the towering inflorescence withers after a few days, the same plant survives underground and can bloom again in future years.

Tom Clark, director and curator of the Mount Holyoke College Botanic Garden, said the plant’s infamous odor serves an important evolutionary purpose and has inspired a wide range of descriptions from visitors.

“A few people who have come in since have described the smell as being unbearable, tangy, like a trash can — it’s overwhelming,” Clark said. “But that odor is there for a purpose. It’s there to attract pollinators, flies in particular.”

The timing of corpse flower blooms is difficult to predict, often following years of dormancy. Over the past six weeks, Pangy grew rapidly, at times shooting up several inches a day before unfurling. The flower finally opened overnight Monday, and he and other staffers were met with its powerful scent as soon as they got to work the next day.

“Walking through the front door, we could smell it,” he said. “As we walked back to the greenhouse where it’s growing, the smell became stronger and stronger. It was just overwhelming — literally unbearable — to be back there with it. If you weren’t aware of this plant and walked into the greenhouse, you’d say, ‘What died in here?’”

“I didn’t know what the name meant. I thought it would smell like a corpse, but I don’t know what a corpse smells like,” said Mount Holyoke student Maheen Siddiqi, laughing after waiting in a growing line of people hoping to take a whiff of the flower. “And I smelled it and it smelled like really bad eggs or sulfur or something.”

Student Bryn Wickere said the smell was less overwhelming than anticipated. Still, Wickere described the towering bloom as “magnificent,” noting its deep color and velvety texture.

“I was actually expecting the smell to fill up the whole room, but it was more when you got up close and personal with her,” Wickere said.

Others found the smell more familiar than shocking.

“I would say it smells kind of like a compost pile, a little bit like a working farm,” said Caroline Murray, a Mount Holyoke senior. “I’m from Vermont, so I’m very used to the smell of the farm and manure.”

The spectacle drew visitors from near and far, including Michael Breton, who drove two hours and took a vacation day to see the bloom after tracking news alerts for years.

“If you see a news article, and it’s from two days ago, it’s gone, so you gotta run quick,” he said. He compared the scent to “a stinky diaper that’s been left out in the sun,” adding that despite the odor, the plant was “bright, beautiful and colorful. It’s a lovely plant.”

Clark said the bloom highlights the broader mission of the Talcott Greenhouse, which he called a “plant museum” that houses about 2,000 plant species — a small fraction of the estimated 350,000 to 400,000 plant species worldwide.

He called the event a “special opportunity" to impress upon visitors the diversity of the plant world, and some of the amazing adaptations species have to survive in their environment in unique ways.

By midday Tuesday, the odor had begun to dissipate as greenhouse vents were opened, offering visitors a less intense — though still memorable — experience. After the brief flowering period, the plant will gradually deteriorate and collapse. Because corpse flowers cannot pollinate themselves, seeds will only form if pollen from another titan arum is available.

For Namuuna Negi, a Mount Holyoke junior, the fleeting nature of the bloom added to the experience.

“The impermanence of it, I think. People like to be in on what’s happening,” Negi said. “If they hear something’s going to die soon, they want to go see it before that happens so they can talk about it later.”