District governance: Blossoms brighten the city landscape

Spring is in full bloom, offering people a captivating floral experience across the city. During the spring flowering season, 60 pink trumpet trees burst into bloom in Sha Tin Park. The sea of beautiful flowers attracts residents and photographers alike to stop and take pictures.

Floral hotspot: The sea of beautiful flowers in Sha Tin Park attracts residents and tourists alike to stop and take pictures. Image source: www.news.gov.hk

Floral oasis

To beautify the cityscape, the Task Force on District Governance has co-ordinated various departments to implement thematic planting projects across Hong Kong. These include thematically planting a single type of tree or shrub in selected locations to create a visual impact.

The improvement project in Sha Tin Park was completed earlier this year, with pink trumpet trees as the main feature. It has since become a photo-taking hotspot in the district.

Capturing memories: The pink trumpet trees provide a romantic backdrop for wedding photos. Image source: www.news.gov.hk

One local resident had seen the project on social media and was inspired to visit in person.

“It is actually beautiful and stunning, and caught my eye.”

The pink trumpet trees also create the perfect romantic backdrop and are popular among couples for taking their wedding photos.

Eco harmony: Leisure & Cultural Services Department Sha Tin District Leisure Services Office Manager (Sha Tin Park) Sherry Lau notes that the pink trumpet tree suits Hong Kong’s climate, attracts insects for pollination and supports biodiversity. Image source: www.news.gov.hk

Careful selection

Leisure & Cultural Services Department Sha Tin District Leisure Services Office Manager (Sha Tin Park) Sherry Lau noted that the department had enhanced the beautification works in Sha Tin Park to improve its overall landscape.

“When selecting the plants, we followed the principle of ‘Right plant, Right place’, considering its suitability to the environment, visual appeal and harmony with the surroundings, as well as maintenance needs and resilience.”

She explained that the pink trumpet tree suits Hong Kong’s climate, attracts insects for pollination and supports biodiversity. Together with the surrounding greenery, it adds colour and seasonal interest to the park.

Synergistic effect: Shing Fung Road Park has not only increased green space and beautified the waterfront landscape, but also attracts residents and visitors for leisure and recreation. Image source: www.news.gov.hk

Citywide enhancement

Besides Sha Tin Park, various beautification projects in different districts have been completed. These include planting 40 rosy trumpet trees along Lung Hop Street in Wan Chai, as well as flowering plants along Lung Wo Road and near Golden Bauhinia Square to enhance the area’s appearance.

The projects also cover Shing Fung Road Park in Kai Tak where rosy trumpet trees, pink trumpet trees and Indian almonds provide year-round seasonal interest. Along the greenway, sweet gums turn red in autumn, creating a stunning autumnal vibe.

Careful curation: Civil Engineering & Development Department East Development Office Senior Engineer Jason Wong says that as Shing Fung Road Park is located by the waterfront, the trees chosen must be wind-resistant and salt-tolerant. Image source: www.news.gov.hk

Civil Engineering & Development Department East Development Office Senior Engineer Jason Wong said: “Since Shing Fung Road Park is located by the waterfront, we chose trees that are both wind-resistant and salt-tolerant."

Infusing joy

Mr Wong emphasised that Shing Fung Road Park not only provides quality public space but also creates synergy with the adjacent Kai Tak Sports Park. In terms of improving environmental quality, Shing Fung Road Park has not only increased green space and beautified the waterfront landscape, but also attracts residents and visitors for leisure and recreation.

Urban beautification: During the spring flowering season, 60 pink trumpet trees burst into bloom in Sha Tin Park. Image source: www.news.gov.hk

The park can also host various events, promote cultural exchanges, and offer visitors an opportunity to experience Hong Kong's local culture. Altogether, it enhances quality of life, a sense of happiness and sense of fulfilment, he added.

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.”

/// A close-up view shows the interior of the blooming corpse flower, or Amorphophallus titanum, known as "Pangy," at the Talcott Greenhouse on the campus of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)

Michael Breton takes a closer look at the blooming corpse flower known as, "Pangy," at the Talcott Greenhouse on the campus in South Hadley, Mass., Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)

Students take a selfie with the blooming corpse flower known as "Pangy" at the Talcott Greenhouse on the campus of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)

Tom Clark, greenhouse director and curator of Mount Holyoke College's botanic garden, waters plants nearby the blooming corpse flower known as "Pangy" at the Talcott Greenhouse on the campus in South Hadley, Mass., Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)

Caroline Murray, a senior at Mount Holyoke College, leans in to smell the blooming corpse flower known as "Pangy" at the Talcott Greenhouse on the campus in South Hadley, Mass., Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)