On the way from Lhokseumawe City to Takengon, Central Aceh (Indonesia), there are many flower sellers on the side of the road. We often stopped to buy several types of flowers.
Once upon a time, we stopped at Bintang Permata Village, Permata District, Bener Meriah Regency. This district is a fraction of Central Aceh Regency. The temperature in several places in Bener Meriah is colder than Central Aceh, which is around 18 – 22 degrees Celsius.
A flower seller named Ayu, offers various types of flowers. The mother of one child started selling flowers since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2019, until now. "When the pandemic hit, many people started taking care of flowers as a hobby," said Ayu, who lives behind her flower garden.
Unfortunately, these various types of flowers apparently do not come from Bener Meriah or Takengon. The flowers with various types, shapes and colors were imported from Brastagi, North Sumatra Province, where the climate is the same as Bener Meriah. In fact, Bener Meriah residents should also be able to cultivate flowers like that because the weather is the same.
For buyers from warmer climates such as Bireuen and Lhokseumawe, be careful buying flowers in Bener Meriah. Some buyers said they were disappointed because the flowers died. It turns out that these flowers cannot live in hot climates.[]
Warna-warni Aneka Rupa Bunga di Pinggir Jalan
Dalam perjalanan dari Kota Lhokseumawe menuju Takengon, Aceh Tengah (Indonesia), terdapat banyak penjual bunga di tepi jalan. Kami sering singgah untuk membeli beberapa jenis bunga.
Sekali waktu, kami singgah di Desa Bintang Permata Kecamatan Permata, Kabupaten Bener Meriah. Ini kabupaten pecahan dari Kabupaten Aceh Tengah. Suhunya di beberapa tempat di Bener Meriah, lebih dingin dibandingkan dengan Aceh Tengah yang berkisah 18 – 22 derajat Celcius.
Seorang penjual bunga bernama Ayu, menawarkan berbagai jenis bunga. Ibu satu anak itu mulai menjual bunga sejak pandemi Covid-19 mengganas pada 2019 silam, sampai sekarang. “Ketika pandemi melanda, banyak orang yang memulai hobi merawat bunga,” ujar Ayu yang menetap di belakang kebun bunga miliknya.
Sayangnya, beragam jenis bunga tersebut ternyata bukan berasal dari Bener Meriah atau Takengon. Bunga-bunga dengan aneka jenis, bentuk, dan warna itu didatangkan dari Brastagi, Provinsi Sumatera Utara, yang hawanya sama dengan Bener Meriah. Padahal, warga Bener Meriah harusnya juga bisa membudidayakan bunga seperti itu karena cuacanya sama.
Bagi pembeli dari daerah yang berhawa lebih hangat seperti Bireuen dan Lhokseumawe, hati-hati membeli bunga di Bener Meriah. Beberapa pembeli mengaku kecewa karena bunganya mati. Ternyata bunga tersebut tidak bisa hidup di daerah berhawa panas.[]
