Spring colors

(Baonghean) - Every year, as the days before Tet approaches, the suburban flower villages are bustling with spring. These days, everywhere in the flower fields, one can see the urgent atmosphere of pruning, fertilizing, and keeping the flowers warm in time for Tet. Flowers have created a peaceful beauty for the landscape of the suburban villages...

Trung My hamlet, Hung Dong commune (Vinh city) has nearly 100 households growing flowers. This year, due to unfavorable weather, more than 5 hectares of flowers are being cared for by growers so that they can bloom in time for Tet. Visiting the flower village of Trung My hamlet - Hung Dong when people are pruning, watering and keeping the flowers warm, walking through the small alleys on the roads connecting the hamlets, everywhere you can see the vast green of chrysanthemums, lilies, gladiolus, and dahlias that are budding. There are also bright yellow chrysanthemums waiting for the last full moon day of the year, creating a brilliant scene for a rural area.

Ms. Tran Thi Ha takes care of the Tet flower garden.

At Mr. Tran Van Lien's household, the peach blossoms have started to bud, the ornamental garden is being pruned by him to shape the trees, and the chrysanthemum gardens are budding in spring, waiting for the opportunity to bloom. As one of the typical examples of growing flowers and ornamental plants with high economic efficiency and contributing to the construction of the local flower growing village, this year's Tet flower crop, his family planted thousands of peach blossoms, more than 200 island fig trees and many other types of flowers and ornamental plants. At this time, his family, along with other flower growers in the commune, are focusing on fertilizing, adjusting the light and temperature for the flowers to bloom at the right time. He said: "To cope with the cold and rainy weather, we have to keep the flowers warm by hanging more light bulbs, with the chrysanthemum gardens, we have to put up light-catching tarps and actively water the plants to keep them moist."

For decades, people in Trung Thuan hamlet, Trung My, Hung Dong commune have lived on growing flowers. Flowers and ornamental plants here are not only used for Tet, but also on weekly and monthly days, serving the landscape of public works such as the landscape around the Square, on the sidewalks, and city streets. Ms. Tran Thi Ha dug up the budding chrysanthemums, packed them in boxes, and said: “In addition to 700m2 of specialized cultivation for Tet, we also set aside more than 100m2 of chrysanthemums to serve the Square. We have calculated that right before Tet, the flowers on the sidewalk pots will bloom and show off their colors. At that time, people and tourists will see the colors of spring on the colorful chrysanthemum tea.”

Like the flower growers in Hung Dong commune, the flower growers in Kim Phuc, Kim Chi and Kim My craft villages in Nghi An commune are also urgently taking care of the plants to "join" the Tet market. Nghi An commune has 5 hectares of flower growing area with nearly 1 million flower plants, mainly chrysanthemums, gladiolus, lilies, and pansies, each household grows an average of 5,000 plants. These days, many people have come to the garden to order ornamental plants. Although it is not as busy as in previous years, according to the estimates of flower growers who have been here for decades, by Tet, those specializing in ornamental plants will earn more than 50 million VND in profit. Visiting the ornamental plant garden of Mr. Tran Van Hue's family, we saw many different types of plants that were skillfully and beautifully shaped and bent. Mr. Hue is like an artisan carefully bending each branch and leaf. He said that to serve the Tet market this year, from the beginning of the year, he and his two children had to travel to collect ornamental plants in all districts in and outside the province. With the flower market, customers may not need to spend much time choosing, but with ornamental plants, players like to go to many places to find unique types. Mr. Hue's ornamental garden is very diverse and unique with longevity peach trees, plum trees, guava trees, guava trees, Buddha bamboo trees, Indian laurel trees, banyan trees, banyan trees, and la han pine trees, many of which are worth up to 150 million VND...

Since early December, bonsai enthusiasts have come to Mr. Hue's garden to choose and place orders in advance. In addition to growing bonsai, Mr. Hue also grows flowers on an area of ​​nearly 1 hectare. According to Mr. Hue, this Tet holiday, his family is estimated to earn from 100 to 150 million VND from growing flowers and bonsai. Next to Mr. Hue's house, Mr. Nguyen Van Tu's family has also boldly invested in growing many different types of flowers. According to Mr. Tu, chrysanthemums, gladiolus and lilies are the types of flowers that are "favored" by people during Tet because the flowers last long and are bright in color. At this time, his family takes turns watering, spraying fungicides and pesticides on the flowers, ensuring that the flowers grow properly, bloom evenly and beautifully on time. He said: "Since the beginning of the month, many customers have ordered mung trees for 15 to 20 million VND, but I have to wait until close to Tet to sell them. According to experience, when Tet is just around the corner, many people will not hesitate to spend money on flowers."

Flower growing not only beautifies the landscape but also brings considerable profits to flower growers in craft villages on the outskirts of the city. During each Tet season, many households earn tens of millions of dong. This is a labor-intensive crop, so the investment capital is low, only a few million to buy seeds and fertilizers. In addition, farmers only need to master the techniques and follow the weather process correctly to reap high profits.

The process of growing and fertilizing flowers is strictly followed by the flower growers here. When the land is broken, people start to add fertilizer, which is composted from manure with straw, peanut shells and lime to quickly decompose and be environmentally friendly. The amount of manure is utilized from livestock or purchased from neighboring areas, transported and gathered in a corner of the garden. Many households also compost with chemicals such as riletRa3, Raconic, mainly to quickly decompose the fertilizer and fertilize the soil for high nutrition. When sowing seeds, the most important thing is that the soil must be loose, not exposed to rain, but must have the necessary moisture. Therefore, flower growers must try to watch the time to sow seeds. When the plant has grown green about a hand span above the ground, this is the time to fertilize the plant so that it reaches the right height and produces flowers of the right size. Florists also pay close attention to preserving the environment. Packaging, chemical bottles, fertilizers, etc. used to care for flowers and plants are all carefully collected and treated, not thrown away indiscriminately in the fields.

Currently, flower gardens in the city's suburbs are spreading a green color. The owners of flower and ornamental garden are actively taking care of and handling techniques to have flowers blooming at the right time, in time to serve the flower and ornamental plant market, contributing to beautifying the landscape, adding spring colors to the city while ensuring economic conditions for a warmer and more prosperous Tet.

Article and photos:Thanh Nga