Blooming success!

Thousands of people flocked to the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre (BIECC) over the weekend to soak up the atmosphere at the ninth Bahrain International Garden Show (BIGS) which continues to grow from strength to strength.

The four-day event held under the banner of ‘Investing in Agriculture’ proved to be a blooming success, with more than 120 exhibitors showcasing their flowers, vegetables, furniture and gardens, in displays supported by art corners, cafes and even a Viva business centre.

Many visited to sample local farmers produce as well as to pick up a few gardening tips from the experts, whilst others enjoyed the colourful displays.

Bahraini farmer Ebrahim Somali grows vegetables at his farm in Saar and came to support his fellow Bahrainis who work the land.

The 60-year-old said: “I love the show and visit every year – I’m a green guy!

“It’s fascinating to find out that some of the vegetables were grown without soil – that just seems crazy to me. I needed to pick up a few tips!”

And he was in luck. Zeeba Al Ameer was seen throughout the four days voluntarily giving advice to anyone who asked for it. As an agriculture and gardening consultant, a lecturer and trainer, as well as the first female Bahraini agriculture engineer, it came as no surprise that she had one of the busiest and most popular stands at the show.

Her ‘Grow Your Own’ display was an awareness raising initiative to educate and promote horticulture and gardening in Bahrain, yet she also sold produce she had grown in her own home such as watermelons, pumpkin, lettuce, radish and a variety of plants.

Mrs Al Ameer, 56, from Jid Ali, said: “Everything on show was grown in my home by me and a few friends. It was sold at very low prices ranging from 200fils to BD1. The main thing is that I am teaching and encouraging people to plant … it is an art form.

“I set up an area at the show dedicated to educating people about gardening through short practical workshops ... I am more than happy to answer all their questions.

“A lot of young people come to me and want to learn about gardening or how to tackle certain problems and I am always here to help. I have even put my time, effort and money into the show to promote gardening, I really believe it is important, especially for our environment. It is my passion to help further educate Bahrainis about agriculture.”

Mrs Al Ameer first went to university in Cairo with the intention of undertaking a Bachelor’s degree in medicine. However, the thought of studying for seven years didn’t appeal to her and she decided to change her major to agriculture.

She has become an expert in the field ever since and has starred on many local television channels focusing on different themes in gardening. She hopes to educate the younger generations about agriculture and had even taken on young volunteers, some still in school and university, to help her during BIGS.

Bahraini Amina Abbas, 26, was one of the many who had visited Mrs Al Ameer’s stand asking for advice on how to look after her vegetables, which she had just started to grow.

“Everyone at ‘Grow Your Own’ was very helpful, even the volunteers seemed to know what they were talking about,” she said. “I needed to know if what I was doing all these weeks with my plants was right. I wasn’t very sure how to tend to them but Zeeba guided me on what to do, especially with Bahrain’s climate.”

Another popular stand was Fouzia Hamza’s Glasshouse Terrariums. As the first of its kind in the kingdom, Mrs Hamza explained how it’s the ‘new’ idea of having a garden in a bottle that attracted a number of visitors to her display.

The Indian mother-of-two from Riffa, said: “This is very new for Bahrain. I have been gardening for as long as I remember but I have only been working on terrariums for two-and-a-half years.

“Terrariums are the perfect gift and also a great way to decorate homes. They look beautiful placed on tables and sometimes they can even be made into glass tables.

“I’ve had so many customers and have been so thrilled with the response we have been getting. Our Facebook page reached over 1,000 ‘likes’ since we started exhibiting at the garden show.

“The process to make these terrariums is very simple … all you need is a glass container, stone, charcoal, a screen layer and soil. The difficulty is in getting the right quantity of water in the soil because once the water is in, there is no way you can take it out.

“The best thing about it is it wouldn’t need to be watered regularly at all. Once it sets, you only need to spray a little water on it once a month and it will still look beautiful.”

Mrs Hamza taught herself how to make terrariums after her husband, Anish Verghese, gave her a book on the subject about six years ago. She started by decorating her home with them and then they decided to open a shop, Glasshouse Terrariums, in Riffa, seven months ago. The prices range from BD1 to BD150.

“On average it takes at least 15 to 20 days for the small gardens to grow and set,” she said. “So it does take time to make these. That’s the main reason I keep my kids Sami, 10, and Arsh, 7, away … they’re too young and might destroy them.”

Satish Kumar had been eyeing the terrariums while his children were taking part in art workshops. Mr Kumar, from Hoora, said: “The terrariums are beautiful. I have been planning on making a garden terrace on my balcony. I’m definitely going to be visiting the store when my plan is complete to add a few terrariums around. They are like little jungles.

“I’ve picked up many ideas for the garden from many of the stands including using recycled materials. This is my first time here and I have been living in Bahrain for six years. I didn’t expect to get so many ideas in one go. I came here mainly for my children Shamprethi, eight, and Pradeeba, five, to have fun and play with other kids. But, while they were at an art workshop I had a good look around.”

The children’s play area was particularly popular and an artist’s workshop corner, a dancing fountain and colourful plants on display attracted an audience too. Dates, perfumes and Arabic coffee were also on offer.

Hejair Garden & Landscaping proved to be a hit with the young too. Ramson Britto, sales representative, explained they have the most ‘unusual’ and colourful plants on offer, with the most popular, the ‘painted cactus’, being snapped up for BD1.500.

“The little children love our colourful cacti. It’s brought straight from China and is painted with bright neon colours. It is unusual because it grows with the colour of the paint,” he said. “The parents go for the Cycus plant which is BD3. It looks like a small palm tree and it lasts for years. It’s great because it has a slow growth and doesn’t need to be watered regularly.”

Journalist Nayla Barakat travelled from Riffa with her family to visit the BIGS. Her five-year-old daughter Danya enjoyed playing on the swings and described her first experience at the garden show as ‘fun’.

Nayla, from Riffa, said: “The garden show is fantastic. I brought my daughter here with me today to experience a sense of nature.

“I want her to learn about the environment and the show has everything from A to Z.

“I want her to touch, feel and smell the plants and learn about them from the time they are planted to the final product. It’s a very important experience for a young child and we both have had an excellent time.”