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Exploring Tianwei, Taiwan’s horticulture hub (one of the best places to buy plants)

On a recent trip to Taiwan, my friend from HOKAS took me to Tianwei Township (田尾) in Changhua County, an area well known for its horticultural industry and gardens. Taiwan ranks as one of the top exporters of flowers globally, and Tianwei has the reputation of being the “land of flowers”. The area is more than just a mecca for flowers, but also plant and tree nurseries, and is one of the best places to buy plants in Taiwan.

Our first stop was Tenway Garden, where we stopped for a healthy lunch and stroll before continuing our garden nusery hopping adventure. From there, we visited Green Life Garden, Miki Orchid and Heli Garden. There are so many other places to visit but this is all we could accommodate in a day.

Before we headed out to explore, I had the opportunity to visit the HOKAS 園藝工具factory and see where all their tools are made. They began as garden tool manufacturers for other brands, including internationally known ones, before eventually creating their own line for horticulture and floriculture professionals, as well as home gardeners.

I was delighted to see their entire range on display as only a limited range is available in Singapore. While I was here, I purchased a pair of snips, floral scissors, and dragon fruit pruning shears. Their pole pruners are impressive but are not available in Singapore as of yet. I wanted to get it but was not prepared to lug it back with me 😀

HOKAS taiwan

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natural dyes of asia
Country

Natural Dyes of Asia Retreat with Autumn Brown

If you’re looking for a natural retreat in Asia where you get to work with plant materials and dye fabrics, check out the Natural Dyes of Asia Retreat with Autumn Brown.

During my 6 day 5 night stay in July 2025, I learned so much about dyeing fabrics, from creating the dyes from fresh plant material harvested from the farm as well as store-bought, dried ones, preparing fabrics, to dyeing it and aftercare to ensure colour retention for as long as possible. In the process, we also created a dye atlas to take home for reference.

Natural Dyes of Asia Autumn Brown
Natural Dyes of Asia Indonesia
Sukasantai Farmstay organic farm Asia

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City, Country

How to grow luffa from seed

Whether you wish to grow luffa to eat or to use as a loofah sponge, the great news is that luffa is an easy plant to grow. Personally I found it quite effortless to care for and I get a crop going every year so that I have enough sponges to last me for a while. In this blog post, I will teach you how to grow luffa from seed.

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City, Country

How to grow winter melons

Are you curious about how to grow winter melons? Last year I discovered how easy it is to grow them, I harvested more than 50 winter melons from one plant, weighing at least 6.2kg on average, or 310kg. While I experiencedd this success in the tropics, winter melon fares well in subtropical and temperate countries when grown during the hot summer months.

Winter melons, also known as wax gourds or ash gourds, come in several varieties, some have smooth dark skin, some are light green and are hairy; they can grow as heavy as 30kg. Once harvested, they can store for 6 months or more in a cool, dry place.

Read on to find out more about how you can grow them at home.

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