Genesis - Potpourri

As the exam season kicks off, prepare for an injection of sweetly scented inspiration as Genesis, rather like a gardening-mad great aunt, waves a trowel under your nose and starts nattering about all things horticultural:


1.	At UST we're the kings and queens of the green scene! Did you know there are over 130 varieties of flower and plant on campus, 15 varieties of palm and 40 varieties of tree? Given the size and natural location of UST, Genesis boldly declares that this must be more plant species than are found on any other campus in Hong Kong!

2.	When there hasn't been any rain for a while, we use 170m of water a day to keep all our beautiful plants and trees alive - over a week that's probably enough water to fill the outdoor swimming pool. Don't worry though, we're so eco-friendly that most of this is actually rainwater collected by campus boreholes, not precious drinking water.

3.	If you're feeling hungry, why not look for a fruit tree? There are plenty to choose from, including pomelo (Citrus grandis) mango (Mangifera indica), and rose apple (Syzygium jambos). In India, the fruit of the rose apple is considered excellent for use as a brain tonic (not the seeds, they're inedible!) so what's the betting there are none left anywhere on campus within hours of this story being published?

4.	According to our Landscaping Officer, Mr Jack Chan, the sweetest smelling flower on campus is the white champac (Michellia alba). If you want to smell one of these, look no further than the coffee shop garden.

5.	After you've finished your coffee in the garden, remember to save the dregs. In the US, some Starbucks outlets give away coffee grounds to keen gardeners because they have a high carbon to nitrogen ratio and are really good for use in natural compost.

6.	Because we're committed greenies at UST, we have a policy that most fertilizer used on campus should be organic. The Estate Management Office is even testing organic compost made out of food waste gathered from the campus catering outlets! So keep eating... we use 3,000 kg of fertilizer a year - which is the weight of three fully-grown Sumatran rhinoceroses.

7.	The oldest tree on campus is a Ficus microcarpa found by phase two of the senior staff quarters. We won't tell you how old it is, suffice to say it was probably born around the same time as President Chu!

8.	With 8.9 acres of lawn and 32.1 acres of grassed slopes, it would take one gardener about 1,360 hours to cut all the grass on campus - that's the same amount of time required to fly from Hong Kong to Los Angeles and back... 48 times!

9.	One of the dangers of horticulture is vicious insects - on average our heroic gardeners are stung by bees two to three times a year!


10.	One of the rarest plants on campus is the Gold Stripe Agave (Agave angustifolia var. marginata) which is a succulent plant belonging to the Agave family. In the old days it was used to make rope and baskets, but now it's so rare that its location has to remain a secret!

	Related links:	-	Tips on indoor gardening
		-	Hong Kong Flora and Vegetation