Kodak Agfa Presents : Egypt’s Spring Flowers Show 2021

Happy Belated Sham El-Nassim to all Egyptian Chronicles

Last  Monday we celebrated Egypt’s oldest feast that we inherited from the ancient Egyptians themselves.

We celebrated Shamu or the Season of the Harvest.

A partition in Egypt's Spring Flowers show 

On this occasion, Kodak Agfa proudly presents a collection of photos from Egypt’s Spring Flowers Shows 2021.

Yes, Egypt held its oldest exhibit in its modern time once again in March 2021 after it was suspended in 2020 due to coronavirus.

Organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture, this year’s show was launched in its 87th edition from 13 March to 13 April right before Ramadan.

Ramadan lanterns were there in an innovative way 

The Ministry hoped that it would attract at least one million visitors in order to compensate for last year’s losses.

The exhibitors hoped for that too whether big landscaping companies or small exhibitors and nurseries.

A lady representing a company specialized in cacti participating in the show

From what I saw actually the turnout was high especially I went in the middle of the week.

Again a cross-segment of the Egyptian society was there yet mostly from the Middle class who were looking for nice scenery and spring breeze for a cheap ticket.

Customers buying and choosing plants and flowers in the show

There were signs that there are restrictive social distancing and mask rules but they were only signs.

Inside Egypt's Spring Flowers show 

Aside from myself, I have not seen too many people wearing masks then and if they did, they were mostly women and girls.

A girl wearing a mask inside a partition of a company selling cacti

You can see it in the photos.

People did not care much for the masks as it is an open space despite the number of people there.

The Spring Flowers show was held at the beautiful and old Orman Botanical Garden in Giza as usual.

Inside Egypt's Spring Flowers show held at Orman botanical garden 

Orman Garden is one of the oldest gardens in the Middle East including over 200 non-indigenous types of plants alone.

You can those plants and trees everywhere as they are not hidden.

One of the old and unique trees in Orman Botanical Garden in Giza 

This tree caught my attention since 2019.

This tree looks very unique

I really wish I can visit the famous botanical garden at a time different from the Show because I want to see how it looks like without all those landscape booths.

As an old visitor to the famous public garden only during the face, I can’t imagine how it looks without all those colourful plants and flowers.

Inside the Spring Flowers Show 2021

Needless to say, Orman botanical garden has been one of the very few remaining public botanical gardens with old trees all over the Great Cairo province. 

Moving to the show this year, there were nearly 600 types of plants, trees and flowers in this year’s show aside from landscaping supplies.

Flower pots in a partition inside Egypt's Flowers Fair 2021

There were nearly 238 local and foreign landscaping companies and flowers nurseries.

A landscape company's partition in the show 

Different ministries participated too like the Agriculture ministry and the Ministry of education and its flower nurseries.

Inside the Ministry of education's partition for flower nurseries inside the show

The prices of the plants started as low as LE 5 and jumped to LE 10,000.

Prices of small pots of cacti go from LE 15 up to LE 65 

According to news reports, the most expensive flower in the show was called “San Sebastian”. I have not seen it nor I know if this is its true name in English. 

But I know that I have seen for the first time the cabbage flowers.

Cabbage flower 

There were mango trees sold this year too.

I could not take a photo of the mango trees and I do not remember why but I took a photo of plastic plants, I saw them this time.

Artificial plants from flowers and trees

I saw a partition for selling coloured tropical fish from Thailand for aquarium and I bought three small golden fishes that died, unfortunately.

Coloured fish for sale 

I learned that keeping fish is harder than any pet as it seems and it is more demanding as you need to clean this small fishbowl for nearly 24 hours.

Spoiler alert: The poor fishes have passed away.

That cactus type was also new for me.

Odd-looking cacti 

Cacti got types and shapes you can imagine finding in other planets for real.

Inside a partition for a company specialized in selling cacti only 

Cacti are still a top favourite for buyers especially young people in the show because some of its types do not need space and it survives in harsh condition.

I do not know the name of this tree but it looked amazing.

Beautiful odd-looking flowers

Its flower is very beautiful and it looks out of this world.

Wonder what its name is !? 

If you know the name of the tree or the flower, please kindly share it in the comment.

I will be very thankful.

I like this reddish plant too.

Wonder what its name too ?! 

Of course, it won’t be the Spring Flowers Show without different kinds of daisies.

Daisies here and Daisies there

Especially the purple and white daisies.

It turned out that the purple daisies are called African daisies too. Here is a traditional white daisy.

White traditional daisy 

Bees were there, it was a feast for them.

A bee in a flower 

I mean they are an important customer to the show.

That one month is playing a role in the ecosystem in the area and I do not know if the people realize this important fact or not.

The other customers and regulars of the fair from humans were back too whether couples looking for plants or flowers to add to their gardens or balconies.

A couple looking for something to add 

Or just a mother and her daughter looking for a nice flowers pot.

Choosing a nice pot of flowers

You got also the Selfie customers who come to take selfie shots and have photo sessions for free in the show and sometimes they are attempted to buy a pot or a two. 

Strike a pose 

This year I met a new category: Selfie moms who let their kids take photos or let their kids wait till they took the photo.

Through the heart of the flower 

Those two cutie pies were eating chips till their moms finish their photo session.

I felt they were bored a bit 

The selfie customers are growing in number considering the fact that they are mostly university students and the Orman botanical garden is right besides Cairo University. 

Getting ready for a pose

So students came from the university for some quality time and selfies.

Breaking the rules ;)

I really admired those cool kids who took photos giving no damn for the no photography scene on that artificial waterfall.

One visit to the Flowers show, you will feel how Egyptians miss plants, flowers and the colour green in their life.

In one of the partitions inside the show 

Egyptians seem to be having fewer green areas and trees in their streets every year, I believe we need more than one Spring Flowers show in different governorates.

Inside one of the partitions in the Flowers show

In fact, why not holding at the same time flower shows across the governorates and hold contests for the best partition, landscaping and show !?

Inside a partition inside the Flowers show

In the past two years, there has been this campaign to take off and remove trees including very old trees from some streets “allegedly to make the streets wider” and even from some gardens across the country when the ministry of environment launches a campaign called “Be ready for the green”.

A blossoming tree

We need more gardens than more than wider streets right now. Cairo and Giza are in desperate need of more than one botanical garden like Al-Orman.

Anyhow, happy belated Sham El-Nassim and Spring Day. Here is the rest of the album on Flickr.