Ghana's Second Lady Promotes Flowers And Gardening At Maiden Flower And Garden Show

Ghana's Second Lady, Mrs. Matilda Amissah-Arthur, who was the Guest Of Honour on Friday opened a 3-day Ghana Garden and Flower Show (GGFS) at the Afua Sutherland Children's Park in Accra, with a clarion call on Ghanaians to take advantage of the commercial opportunities associated with flowers and gardens.

She said Ghana is blessed with a huge variety of plant species and with a climate in which can have gardens and flowers flourishing the whole year around.

'By taking advantage of their God given conditions in which we have been placed, we can improve the quality of our lives as we make our surroundings so beautiful in addition to growing plants to feed ourselves,' she noted.

She, however decried, the manner at which this industry has been taken for granted, advocating for a strong revival of the sector.

'We also know the medicinal value of plants and we see how in our traditions the knowledge about this is passed on from generation to generation. Some of our medical practitioners recognize the value of learning about these traditions and making them relevant aspects of their professional work.

Unfortunately, we tend to take for granted the value that is close to us and the wealth within our surroundings and thus make our lives poorer by not taking advantage of these endowments.

We rather often give more value to what is found in other environments. We often import what we can even grow better in our environment. I sincerely hope that events like this garden and flower show can make us all conscious not only of the beauty and natural wealth we have around us but of the enormous commercial potential, which we have barely begun to harness. There is a lot of scope for developing flower exports from Ghana and I believe a few people have been quietly showing the way,' the second lady bemoaned.

Ghana Garden and Flower Show (GGFS) is aimed at promoting a flower and gardening movement in Ghana to deepen the culture of gardening.

The show will also help to highlight critical benefits of gardens and flowers with regard to foreign income generation, job creation, clean and healthy lifestyles, beautification of the country's public spaces and homes and the promotion of environmental awareness among Ghanaians

The event is on the theme 'Sustainable Gardening in Ghana'.

The event is being attended by policy makers and government officials, academia in the agriculture sector, business community, florists and horticulturists botanists, home owners, estate developers, garden and flower lovers among others.

Exhibitors at the show include pot makers, sculptors, garden furniture and ornament producers and suppliers, Landscape designers, Architects and hospitality managers, Homeowners, garden enthusiasts and hobbyists. Also participating are Gardening tools producers and suppliers, subsistence gardening operators, and organic backyard gardeners.

Ghana's Second Lady, Mrs. Matilda Amissah-Arthur, Flanked By Dignitaries During The Opening Ceremony