Taipei is hosting an international flora exhibition!

As someone who loves plants and has a daughter studying horticulture, I'm excited by the prospect of the November expo. But, as I look around, I can't help but feel some regrets. The balconies that tower over Taipei's streets are largely devoid of flowers, and the window boxes that hang over its byways hold, at best, just one or two sickly looking plants. More often, they store umbrellas and miscellaneous junk. Even in June, when flowers should be everywhere, you'll look long and hard before finding a Taipei street that so much as hints that spring has arrived. Do Taipei residents simply lack the flower bug?

Is it that Taipei's citizens fear they lack a green thumb and worry that they'll kill their plants? A friend who's lived in the US for a few years says her yard there weighs on her. She describers her neighbors' gardens as green pillows, punctuated with roses, larkspurs, balloon flowers, irises, columbines, and poinsettias.... Their flowers bloom year round, while she fakes her way through with bulbous plants like tulips.

"They've been growing plants since they were kids," she sighs. Here in Taipei, property is expensive and growing on balconies, which are typically narrow, poorly ventilated, and underexposed to the sun, can be difficult. Plus, people here lead busy lives. It's easy to forget to water your plants for a couple days, and when you do, they die. That leads to frustration, which mounts until people give up.

But there are actually quite a number of plants that can perch happily on a balcony, including the virtually unkillable Dieffenbachia, Dracaena, peace lilies, Aglaonema, Cuban oregano, and Bougainvillea, all of which tolerate both wet and dry conditions and are resistant to disease. Blooming Dracaena will fill a home with a wonderful fragrance and Cuban oregano can be juiced to make a healthful drink. Moreover, all of the plants will grow to fill a large pot within a few years, and provide a source of cuttings to give to friends, not only giving you a sense of accomplishment, but also bettering your relationships.

On the other hand, I don't know of any primary or middle schools offering horticulture classes, and there aren't any plant hospitals in the city. Plant nurseries are also rare, and even fewer have owners interested in spending time teaching their customers how to grow plants. Gardening is no less rewarding than raising pets, and takes a great deal less time and money. Why then are there so many pet shops and so few plant nurseries?

I sometimes wonder if government-sponsored gardening competitions-with categories for the first-floor, rooftop, balcony, and interior gardens-might increase public participation in gardening. If we assigned horticulture students to particular districts to serve as "doctors" and give out plants, wouldn't people become more interested in gardening and more confident of their skills? If every highrise not only kept a courtyard garden, but also got residents to "green" their balconies, wouldn't gardening "take root?"

This month's cover story examines Taiwan's flower export industry, looking at its economics and its implications for tourism, but I hope we as a society can give some thought to the cultural aspects as well. Just as Taiwan's tech industry depends upon a large number of local early adopters to maintain its global position, our flower industry needs stronger roots in Taiwan, where it must find a way to engage all of us.

One final note: when interviewed for our article, Tseng Ming-jin, secretary-general of the Chinese Development Association of Oncidium Production and Marketing, complained that mainland China's 23% tariffs on imported flowers were preventing Taiwanese growers from making any money in the market. It has since been revealed that Oncidium orchids are one of the 18 agricultural products on the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement's "early harvest" list. As promising as that is, Tseng says that Oncidium tariffs remain heavy. He explains that while inclusion on the list will exempt exporters from the 10% import tariff, they will still be subject to 13% value-added tax. But he argues that the huge mainland market has enormous potential nonetheless. Naturally, that market will offer even greater opportunities if moth orchids, Taiwan's top flowers for export, make their way onto the list in the future.