Gardens in the sky make beautiful oases
Fresh hope Hong Kong gardens in the sky
Gardens in the sky edible delights
The peppery tang of an edible nasturtium flower is an unexpected delight when plucked directly from the stem and consumed whole on a misty winter morning in one of the city’s gardens in the sky.
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What is even more surprising, however, is its location: this lush garden of fresh vegetables and herbs grows on the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings, One Island East, sixty-eight storeys above ground – a eco-farm enterprise and one of the Hong Kong gardens in the sky.
Fifty large planters contain crops ranging from just-sprouting seedlings to cabbage ready for harvest, along with a fragrant profusion of spearmint, rosemary, lemongrass, parsley and chocolate mint – named for its brown stem.
Hong Kong’s rooftop farms
Hong Kong’s rooftop farms provide delicious, fresh produce to local communities and restaurants, and engage city dwellers who yearn for a connection with nature.
Some are available for visits or participation by the public; others are hidden, inaccessible and designed to make the most of unused roof space. Still, others help young people understand where their food comes from and how it relates to the community.
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Michelle Hong co-founded Rooftop Republic Urban Farming in 2015. She explains the organisation’s decision to focus on farms in the city: “Our mission is to reconnect people to what they eat.
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Because Hong Kong depends on imports, many kids think vegetables just come from supermarkets. Food is more than a commodity; it has a story.”
Urban farmers
According to urban farmers, Hong Kong’s climate can support a wide variety of produce. September to February is when eighty per cent of vegetables grow.
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These include tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and beetroot. The summer season, from February to August, is the right time for leafy vegetables, cucumbers, bitter melons, hairy gourds, eggplants and capsicums, although typhoons can pose a risk.
Herbs grow year round
Herbs grow throughout the year: popular crops include mint, parsley, rosemary, sweet Italian basil and chilli peppers, as well as shiso, best known for its uses in Japanese cuisine.
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A rooftop farm is often launched as part of a company’s corporate strategy. Nan Fung Group considers the gardens at its flagship building in Kai Tak integral to its core values and community outreach plan; for Swire Properties, its urban farming programme, The Loop, is part of its vision to be the leading sustainable development performer in its industry globally.
Company run gardens in the sky
Julie Wong of Hysan Development says of the company’s farms, “Our aim is to give urban people in Hong Kong a sense of meaning and sustainability.” Meanwhile, restaurants like Treehouse, which focuses on sustainable food, look to rooftop farms to fulfil their need for local produce.
Due to the necessities of building design, many properties in Hong Kong end up with grey zones on their rooftops – spaces adjacent to building maintenance services which cannot be developed for commercial use.
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According to Alfred Tse, founder of eco-farm enterprise Mindfield, these grey zones can be ideal spaces to establish a rooftop garden, especially when incorporated into the original building design.
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Mindfield partnered with Nan Fung Group to create the farming programme at the new Airside facility in Kai Tak, a mixed-use commercial development.
Huge rooftop gardens in the sky
The building houses a total planting area of 6,000 square feet, including a large rooftop and a public farm on the second floor. It was designed with planters in mind, including concrete, boundaries, waterproof surfaces and soil.
The vegetable beds thrive on nutrient-rich compost created at the Hong Kong government’s O-Park1 facility.
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This eco-friendly compost cleverly upcycles food scraps like soybean waste, brewer’s waste, Chinese herbal tea leftovers and even used coffee grounds.
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Hong Kong’s highest rooftop garden is located at One Island East, a Swire property in Taikoo, at the top of a staircase leading upwards from the sixty-seventh floor.
There, Rooftop Republic grows crops from seed and transplants seedlings in large, plastic planters, including four kinds of tomatoes, potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage and Chinese chives.
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Since 2021, employees from Swire tenants have helped cultivate these crops during the winter and a range of fresh greens in summer.
Tower in Central
Farms are hidden on commercial building roofs around Hong Kong. Rooftop Republic established its first large rooftop farm with JLL on the roof of the Bank of America Tower in Central, and there is even a 3,500-square-foot farm on top of the composting tunnel at the government O-Park1 facility.
Credit Hysan Development Company Limited
Farms can be found at several buildings in Taikoo Place, Pacific Place in Admiralty and South Island Place.
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Meanwhile, Sun Hung Kai has urban farms at thirty-seven of its managed properties. Although not all of them are accessible to the public, these farms are used to engage with tenants or guests.
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Partnership is essential to prepare grey zones before establishing a farm. For example, in 2017, Swire Properties conducted extensive research and feasibility studies, considering factors such as the site condition, the amount of sunlight, the operation model and the support required from technical and building management teams.
Alfred Tse of Mindfield says, “You need to plan ahead and see which plots can grow in different orientations of sunlight. You need space, drainage and waterproofing. You need an irrigation system, soil, soil remediation and composting.”
Julie Wong from Hysan agrees, “We included our farm at the design stage; it is built in, designed for sustainable buildings, and was the first in Hong Kong. We also designed an urban wetland in the same building.”
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While many rooftop gardens can only be accessed by building tenants, several of Hong Kong’s urban farms are open to the public and invite community engagement.
At Hysan Place in Causeway Bay, members who have signed up for Lee Garden Club, a loyalty app, can join farming workshops in an immensely popular program launched in 2013. The company’s farming partner, SEED, teaches people how to farm organically, with each session lasting several weeks.
SEED partnership
Participants have a one-square-metre planter and maintain the farm with SEED, attending once or more times each week. Julie Wong comments, “Some people even want to become professional farmers after they’ve learned the skills here.”
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Parents bring their kids, and they see the worms, they see the bugs, and they take the harvest for themselves.”
The Airside farm in Kai Tak recruits farming ambassadors through the Employee Retraining Board and opens its extensive second-floor garden for visits at any time. Schools and NGOs hold public classes there; to register, members of the public can sign up by joining the NF Touch loyalty app, with tours held every Sunday.
Metroplaza shopping mall, at 10,000 square feet, is Hong Kong’s largest urban farm and hosts programmes including guided tours to its urban farms, microgreens plantation experiences and green workshops.
Meanwhile, guests of Langham Place in Mongkok can visit the Love Play Farm, a small public herb garden on the fourth floor, just before they taste the flavours at dinner.
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Unlike commercial buildings focused on tenant engagement, several Hong Kong schools, including The Harbour School, ISF Academy, and Island School, are harnessing the power of rooftop gardens to enrich their curriculum.
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The Harbour School in Ap Lei Chau established its Learning Garden Committee in 2020, including faculty, staff, admin and parents. It began its first planting at a small rooftop garden in November 2021.
Rafi Cristobal, the school’s Director of Social Impact and Sustainability, says, “We plant vegetables, herbs and edible flowers – around twenty types of crops. The planters yield thirty-four kilograms of vegetables per season.
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As someone who did farming in the Philippines, I’m aware of the hard work needed. But with this programme, you can also see the joy of farming. We want the students to increase their awareness of sustainable living practices.”
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The rooftop farm’s impact extends beyond hands-on activities for students. Phase two takes this further, employing a cross-curricular approach integrating farming with literacy, science and even outreach programs. “We hold workshops for parents and the community, and we include the elderly in the neighbourhood,” continues Cristobal. “In 2023, elderly in the community were involved in planting and harvesting as well.”
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Depending on the growing cycle of each vegetable or herb, various crops can be harvested throughout the year and shared with the community.
The harvest from The Loop program at Swire Properties is donated to charities such as Feeding Hong Kong and FoodLink. Similarly, at the Airside public garden, crops such as cauliflower are harvested in the morning and distributed to local charity Food Angels to be included in their meals the same day.
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On the roof of Airside, two planters are owned by Maxim’s Group, and the crops go back to Kagura, a Hokkaido-style restaurant. Treehouse restaurant has also established a farm within the Airside location.
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With its crops growing directly above the restaurant, founder Christian Mongendre says, “We will ensure diners enjoy farm-to-fork meals made with the freshest ingredients and in organic soil.”
Meanwhile, domestic appliance company Miele uses its planter to grow crops such as Swiss chard and kale for their chef to use in the company’s green living workshop sessions at the Miele Experience Centre Kai Tak.
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At The Harbour School, the vegetables and herbs are part of the school’s Green Mondays programme. Younger students make recipes like pesto during cooking class, while older students learn how to manage a social enterprise, selling the vegetables to other students and teachers.
Urban farms can also be a place to experiment. Airside partnered with Outdoor Wildlife Learning Hong Kong to establish a tiny insect hotel at its farm and take a monthly survey of insects.
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The garden is also used to showcase companion planting, where two species that are beneficial to each other are planted together. For example, the scent of the herbs may distract insects and reduce the use of pesticides.
Alfred Tse advises would-be farmers to treat rooftop farms both as a demonstration and a message to the community. “Why do we need a farm in the heart of the city instead of more offices and restaurants? It’s about how we live in harmony with the community.
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It’s not just about the plants; ultimately, it’s about the people.”
Text Genevieve Hilton / Photos by Jan Lee or as credited
