100 lavender plants written into a love poem, a man who earns a living without losing his inner tenderness
April has been feeling very nostalgic lately, often thinking back to the books and TV dramas from childhood. A couple of days ago, she remembered the first idol drama in her memory, "Lavender" (accidentally revealing her age, wondering how many people have seen this one).
Later, she also watched the Qiong Yao drama "Dreams Link Again", and only then did she realize that the lavender fields of Provence are so beautiful. Back then, every girl planted a dream of a lavender estate in her heart, a dream also connected to love.
Some people dream, and some are responsible for turning dreams into reality. April knows a "pseudo-artsy youth" who wrote a love poem with 1 million lavender plants. Want to take a look with April?
Phi Harmonics
Intervals of Motion
Mary Beth Ackerley
00:00/01:27
{ Peony Girl Vol.813 }
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Purple sea, blue sky
The moment lavender is mentioned, love comes to mind. Perhaps it is related to the idol dramas watched in childhood, or perhaps it is the beautiful dream woven by those small blue-purple flowers, easy to make people fall into a romantic trap.
In fact, in European tradition, lavender and love are naturally connected. During the Elizabethan era, lavender held a status in people's hearts similar to that of roses today, and a large number of folk love legends and customs were also related to lavender.
Compared with the passionate boldness of roses, lavender, which also represents love, signifies a reserved love and a firm promise. No matter how many hardships are experienced on the path of love, in the end two people can still hold hands and grow old together. Therefore, lavender also became one of the preferred wedding flowers for Europeans.
In purple-toned bouquets,
lavender plays an important role.
The bride's bouquet, made into the groom's boutonniere.
Or use lavender to decorate a
distinctive wedding car.
In the summer sunlight, with lavender as the medium,
witness love lasting forever.
This season is exactly the flowering period of lavender. In the "pseudo-artsy youth's" lavender estate, there is already a romantic purple ocean. Accompanied by the summer wind, purple waves ripple and give off a rich fragrance. Close your eyes, and it feels as if you have crossed the ocean and arrived in Provence.
This artsy uncle is named Shen Xiaoming. He says,"A man must always have a career, must always earn money, but he must not forget the softest place deep in his heart."
So, a media professional of more than ten years transformed into a flower farmer and planted 1 million lavender plants in Taizhou, Jiangsu.
Lavender is native to the Mediterranean coast, Europe and the archipelagos of Oceania, and likes a dry living environment.But Taizhou is humid and rainy, with heavy sticky soil and poor drainage, so Shen Xiaoming's dream of a lavender estate began with great difficulty.
At first, he took a piece of land and trial-planted 10,000 lavender plants. But the Jiangnan land has much rain and sticky soil, and the sunshine duration is not long enough either. Various limitations of natural conditions caused this batch of lavender to all be buried in the spring of the second year.
Looking at the flower field where not a single plant survived, Shen Xiaoming's heart was just like this lavender, shattered before it could bloom. But he was not prepared to let it end there, and began searching everywhere for lavender cultivation techniques.
After many twists and turns, he found Teacher Zhao Lewei, who is engaged in lavender research in Xinjiang. The new variety cultivated by Teacher Zhao, "Jieyou No. 7", is very resistant to moisture, suitable for the southern climate, and has no major difference in appearance from the Provence varieties.
With the help of Teacher Zhao and professionals, one year later, the 1 million lavender plants Shen Xiaoming had planted bloomed, and the dreamed-of purple sea and blue sky finally appeared at Taizhou Xiangcao Bay.
When the flowers bloomed, Shen Xiaoming, who usually looked mature and steady, was as excited as a happy little bird and ran two laps around the estate. In Taizhou's more than 2,100 years of history, for the first time there was a sea of flowers like Provence.
At Taizhou Xiangcao Bay in early summer,
lavender has just put out small flowers,
spreading a layer of speckled light purple.
Accompanied by the sunlight of June and July,
the purple grows stronger and stronger.
Finally it becomes a captivating deep purple.
In order to ensure the estate has flowers in all four seasons,
more than 20,000 roses were also planted.
These 1 million lavender plants, 30,000 sq m of purple sea and blue sky, are the "love poem" written by Shen Xiaoming.
Because when he planted the first lavender plant, he had already thought it through. This lavender estate needed to shoulder a sweet mission: it would create romance for lovers in the world.
He has always believed that there are two most beautiful things in the world: a newlywed couple walking arm in arm onto the red carpet, and the cry of a newborn baby. One means the beginning of a new life, and the other means the beginning of a new life.
Therefore, Taizhou Xiangcao Bay not only has lavender. Beside the flower field there is also a proposal platform, backed by a 10,000 sq m lawn and a church where weddings can be held.
Running through the lavender field,
embracing in the blue sky and purple sea.
Holding each other's hands in the church,
making a promise to last a lifetime.
Let the grass and flower field together witness love reaching fulfillment.
The fragrance filling the air
is the scent of love.
From then on, every summer, as long as the lavender blooms, one can think of the beauty of once knowing and loving each other. This is also the happiness Shen Xiaoming wants to continue forever.
Completing the "beautiful" part of the estate is only a foundation. Shen Xiaoming knows that a lavender estate that everyone longs for still needs more leisure interaction, related products and even cultural experiences.
Beyond beauty, lavender also has rich connotations and medicinal value. As early as the ancient Roman era, lavender had permeated every aspect of life.
Drying clothes over lavender flowers,
the rich fragrance, under the rising heat of the sun, nourishes deeply inward,
and the belts and garments of men and women alike drift with the scent of lavender.
Bathing with lavender, adding fragrance is secondary,
and more importantly it soothes the nerves and relaxes the mood.
Later still, Europeans used lavender even more widely, extracting lavender essential oil for aromatherapy and massage, using dried flower buds to make lavender tea, and so on.
Beauty is the skeleton, but the exploration of the culture and applications behind lavender is the soul of the estate.
The herb museum in the estate is exactly such a place. The museum gathers specimens, products and various documents related to lavender, and also displays the essential oil extraction process for lavender and roses, along with related extended products.
From the opening of the first lavender plant at Xiangcao Bay to now, the "pseudo-artsy youth's" career has received much recognition, but he feels it is still far from enough.
In the future, there are still plans to build an ecological restaurant, a herb culture exhibition center and container hotels, and to provide more herb cultural creative handmade DIY, parent-child interaction, fresh flower tea, aromatherapy course training and other services.
He came to these hills and fields empty-handed and built an estate with his own hands. This is hard work, but at the same time, the sweetness and happiness harvested are also indescribable. Every drop of sweat shed in the flower field will bloom into a beautiful flower.
Just as Shen Xiaoming himself said,"With flowers and trees filling the space before the window, and fragrance along the path outside, perhaps one day, we will consume romance in the trivialities of life."
Romance is not merely entertainment,
it will become an attitude toward life,
taking root and sprouting on the path of life.
Now, Shen Xiaoming is looking for like-minded partners,
and wants to invite you to enjoy this purple romance together.
July 19, 2018 20:00
Shen Xiaoming's "Taizhou Xiangcao Bay"
is already on the lifestyle consumption investment platform
[Start Now]
with a crowdfunding project launched