Small home gardens are an emerging trend

Urban dwellers are returning to their roots and finding that it is also an effective way to cope with stress, Xu Lin reports.

For those in China who grow flowers at home, the boom in mobile internet allows them to gain easy access to green tips. And for them, the hobby can ease pressure and enrich their lives.

Ren Meiyue, 28, an architect from Shanghai, has 50 small pots of succulents on her balcony. She buys the plants from brick-and-mortar stores or online.

Speaking about how she balances her job and her love for plants, she says: "I enjoy the process of looking after my succulents. When I'm busy at work, I focus on them once a month, and when I have more spare time, I'll tend to them more frequently.

"Also, besides study and work, people need hobbies to relax. Some people watch TV soaps or play video games, but for me, my way to relax is to plant succulents, which suits my personality. It's like having a short break from my busy schedule."

Ren has loved flowers since she was a child.

Even while pursuing her postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom, she grew tulips, roses, potatoes and tomatoes in a small garden.

"It's convenient for me to plant succulents, which only need a little water and lots of sunshine. And compared with taking care of flowers, looking after them is less time-consuming as you barely have to add fertilizer or trim them," she says.

"It takes time to master the skills and accumulate experience. In the beginning, it often happens that the succulents die of overwatering."

For Deng Qiuping, 56, from Qianjiang city, Hubei province, planting succulents is a hobby that she has developed only in the last two years.

While many of her age play mahjong to kill time in the city, she prefers to grow succulents.

"Succulents are adorable. And as time passes they grow more beautiful. Whenever I talk about them or watch them, I forget all my worries," says Deng, who gains knowledge about the succulents from friends, plant sellers, online posts and short videos.

As for how she copes in the winter, she says that since the city has no central heating, she covers the balcony with plastic sheeting to prevent the succulents from dying.

If it rains heavily during the muggy summer months, she moves all the pots into her living room and uses an electric fan to prevent the roots from rotting in the water.

Deng, who often inspects her succulents by holding them up close, says she's surprised by their life force.

"Never give up on them even if there is only a small stem. I picked up a few dying ones abandoned by other people and planted them, and they survived."

Deng is also a member of WeChat groups for succulent lovers, where the participants exchange tips with each other.

Deng likes to post photographs of her succulents in the group and on her WeChat Moments.

She also teaches her friends how to plant succulents and helps them solve their problems.

These exchanges have helped strengthen her friendship with her fellow hobbyists, and they often visit succulent shops together.

As for Li Yuzhen, 25, he thinks his love for flowers is due to a "gene" passed on from his parents, as his elder brother also loves flowers.

The family live in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and they plant flowers and vegetables and keep goldfish on their balcony.

"When I'm doing things I like, such as planting flowers, I feel like I have a meaningful life, and it helps put my mind at rest. It also helps me deal with work and life pressures," says Li, who works at a finance company.

He adds that the soil reminds him of his hometown in rural Xuzhou, Jiangsu province. He cherishes his childhood memories of helping his mother to plant flowers in their yard.

"Although life was hard then, my mother took good care of these flowers and they symbolized a kind of hope for her."

Now, he is trying to make his own bonsai arrangement, which consists of miniature plants, stones, soil and figurines.

"It's my private world. And I imagine a story when I see the landscape of the bonsai. For instance, a miniature plant seems like a forest to me," he says.

Xu Qiong, 38, is glad that her 3-year-old daughter offers to help with sowing seeds and watering plants.

"Managing flowers well gives you a sense of achievement. So, when I'm unhappy because my son or daughter are being mischievous, I calm down when I see my flowers," says Xu, a stay-at-home mother from Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

Sometimes she also draws her flowers using pencils and paints, and arranges the flowers in a vase.

When Xu wakes up in the morning, she first goes to see her flowers, and feels glad that a new day has started.

Every weekend, she and her husband work in the yard fertilizing the plants or removing the weeds, which she says brings them happiness.

Like most residents in Guangzhou, the family go to a local flower market during Spring Festival to purchase potted flowers like lilies - both as an auspicious sign and as decorations for the home.

Speaking about this green trend, Beijing-based botanist Shi Jun says: "Growing plants makes humans feel connected with nature. When people manage plants, they are also cultivating their minds. You need to be familiar with their characteristics.

"We have evolved over millions of years, but it's only a short time since we started living in concrete houses. So, in our subconscious minds, we want an environment similar to that in primitive times, such as green forests and fresh air."

Contact the writer at xulin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/04/2019 page6)