Taman Bunga is a vast collection of flowers

CIPANAS, West Java (JP): It was 8:15 a.m on a public holiday. The flower park had not opened for the day, but some visitors had already arrived. They parked their cars and waited for the clock to strike 9 a.m., when the gate would open.

They walked around the parking area, which was adorned with neat flower beds. Some posed for pictures among the flowers, while some took a rest and relaxed after the long drive to the park.

Welcome to Taman Bunga Nusantara, the Nusantara Flower Park, located in Kawung Luwuk village in Cipanas, West Java, about 90 kilometers south of the capital.

Home to nearly 1,000 flora species, the park is usually crowded at weekends and on holidays, when the gate sometimes opens 30 minutes early due to demands from impatient early birds.

The park's general manager, Russel Autrey, said the number of visitors had increased rapidly since President Soeharto officially opened the park on Sept. 10, 1995.

"We're still relatively unknown," Autrey said, "but the number of visitors has continuously grown."

In the first year, the park attracted about 250,000 people. Managed by Bunga Nusantara Foundation, the park expects about 400,000 visitors in the second year.

Most visitors come from Jakarta and Bandung, he said. Expatriates and foreign tourists make up only 5 percent of the visitors.

"The foreign visitors are mostly older Dutch tourists on bus tours," Autrey said.

The main entrance of the park resembles the setting of a country club. Upon entering through the main gate, one immediately sees a colorful display of butterfly-shaped Australian plant arrangements. The display is the latest addition to the park.

Next to that is the elaborate kipas (fan) display.

"The kipas display is the most expensive and largest display in the park. Its plants need to be changed once every two months, costing us about Rp 4 million," said Autrey.

He and his wife Kim have been working at the park since its opening.

The 23-hectare park, which is 750 meters above sea level, is divided into 10 smaller parts with different themes.

The closest garden to the gate is the Rose Garden. It features over 100 rose varieties from America and Australia which have won top awards in national rose contests in the two countries. The roses are named after famous people, such as Dolly Parton, Bing Crosby and JFK. There are also the Disco rose, Temptations rose and other roses with unique names.

Another part of the park is the Water Garden, where a newly built amphitheater is located.

"The stage has yet to be used. We plan to stage live music every Sunday," Autrey said.

The stage is located in the middle of a large pond, inhabited by eight pairs of swans. There are two pairs of European white swans, two pairs of Asian black necked swans and four pairs of Australian black swans.

The park has an international theme. The French Garden has geometric designs and low hedges of the 17th century; the American Garden not only has typical American country garden plants like roses and shrubs, but also many wild plants to replicate the country's woodland meadows; the Japanese Garden reflects the peacefulness of meditation, silence and simplicity of the traditional Japanese garden.

Other parts of the park include the Mediterranean Garden with about 200 types of cactuses and trees native to arid Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy.

The Balinese Garden was landscaped by Balinese artists using local, African and Australian plants. Statues of Hindu gods such as Vishnu and Shiva, and Dewi Sri stand at the gate and in the small pond inside the garden.

Other special features are the Palm Garden, with nearly 100 species from around the world, and the Bougainvillea Garden which houses over 100 species of bougainvillea imported from tropical countries such as the Philippines and South America.

Facilities

Visitors with children can take their little ones to play in the seven-hectare Alam Imajinasi amusement park. And those wanting to avoid the scorching sun can relax in the park's nursery or the Dutch Greenhouse. Visitors can also view the colorful spread of the park from the 28-meter viewing tower.

Autrey said the number of species in the park had increased greatly from the 300 species it had when it first opened.

With an investment of US$6.7 million, the park needs about Rp 120 million a month for operational costs, including its payroll for 200 employees, he said. The park breaks even with the revenue generated from entrance fees.

"Our income varies depending on the season. During school holidays or Idul Fitri, we can earn about Rp 200 million a month. In slow months we usually earn about Rp 100 million," he said.

Entrance per person is Rp 5,000.

About 90 percent of the plants are imported, mostly from Australia and the United States. The remaining 10 percent are native Indonesian plants, Autrey said.

The park has about 40 species in its nursery which it recently imported from Australia.

"Australian plants are the most adaptable compared to plants from other continents," he said.

Other plants such as palms come from African countries, he said.

The parks' sister company, PT Bina Usaha Flora which is located 200 meters away, supplies it with seeds imported from America, Australia and other continents.

Some of the more exotic plants are imported directly from abroad. (yan/das)