A mother born in the 1980s spent 1 year building a sky garden in Shanghai

cici

Dialogue Episode 7

cici is based in Shanghai and spent 1 year transforming an 80 sq m large terrace into a small garden for family and neighbors to relax and entertain.

"From nothing to something within a year, from anxiety to joy, the path of growing flowers is not easy."

——cici

(The current look of cici's rooftop garden)

(The current look of cici's rooftop garden)

(The current look of cici's rooftop garden)

When cici was little, she lived in a shikumen in Shanghai. Back then, every household had a drying platform.

From a young age, she followed the grandfather next door in growing flowers and raising fish.

Through constant exposure, she gradually learned a lot about growing flowers and fell in love with it.

As an adult, she had her own family and job, and every day was busy between taking care of the young master (cici's son) and work.

(The photo shows cici's son - the young master)

The childhood memories of growing flowers and raising fish only came back to her in her spare time. The turning point came in 2017...

That year, cici's family bought a top-floor duplex apartment with two 80 sq m terraces.

Looking at the empty terrace, she had the idea of building a small sky garden, which could fulfill her garden dream, let her family rest and entertain, and also let her son come into contact with flowers, birds, fish and insects from a young age, experiencing the childhood fun she had herself.

When they first moved in, the terrace was still a mess, piled with garbage, and the walls were covered in rust stains. The terrace belongs to a public space, so if it were to be renovated, the normal life of the neighbors downstairs had to be taken into consideration, and the exhaust vents and drainage holes of the entire building had to be avoided, so neither the ground nor the walls could be damaged.

After thinking it over, cici felt it would be better to go with a simple style, making use of the existing conditions without making major changes. Once she had it figured out, she got right to it, repainting the dirty old walls and laying anti-corrosion wooden flooring on the ground.

The main purpose of building the rooftop garden was to sit in the garden and chat with family in her spare time, and watch the stars while eating dinner at night, so the first things she added were tables, chairs and a sun umbrella.

To make eating dinner at night more convenient, she installed a row of solar sensor lights on the terrace wall. Once the lights come on at night, the atmosphere becomes romantic!

Considering that the terrace is fully open, once there are more flowers, quite a few birds would surely come to "steal a bite," so she installed several bird repellents on the terrace. The red bird repellents also added a touch of color to the terrace!

The young master likes sports, so she made a mini golf tee area for him on the terrace. The little man's grip on the club is very standard!

Apart from the windproof flower stands, which were purchased, all the wooden flower stands on the terrace were made by cici and her family together. With the whole family pitching in, even the boring handiwork became fun!

The young master helped a lot when making the flower stands too. cici's succulent stand was made by him. The serious young master is the most handsome!

Shanghai has many windy days. To prevent the strong wind from making a mess of the terrace, the flower stands were all made of heavy solid wood, which cost quite a lot of money.

During the period of building the rooftop garden, besides home and the office, the flower market became the place cici visited most often.

Moss rose, marguerite daisy, small daisies, coral cherry, Chinese rose, blue snowflake, camellia, azalea, gardenia, morning glory... gradually appeared in every corner of the terrace.

Taking care of nearly a hundred pots of flowers is no simple matter. Just watering them alone is a big project. Fortunately, the young master helps water them whenever he has time.

At first, cici only dared to let her son help with watering the flowers. Now, he has already learned to prune the flowers and has been promoted to a little gardener!

To let the young master experience the hardship of farmers, cici also set aside an area on the terrace for her son to personally try growing vegetables.

The small vegetable plot let the young master experience a farmer's hardship. When friends gathered for a meal, the young master proudly put the vegetables and fruits he had grown himself on the table.

Besides the construction, she also turned the glass sunroom at home into a small leisure flower room.

In her spare time, she likes to be here, drinking tea and zoning out, watching the sky and enjoying the flowers.

After the terrace flowers bloom, she cuts a few stems and puts them in a vase... The flower room instantly becomes much more artistic!

Whenever midsummer arrives, this place becomes a summer retreat for succulents.

After a year of renovation, the terrace now looks like a garden, with flowers blooming every day.

Whenever spring and early summer arrive, succulents take over the small table on the terrace. Having soaked up enough sun, each and every one of the succulents is plump.

cici says that she now feels like she is living a retired life ahead of schedule.

Although she has to busy herself with the flowers every day,

seeing the flowers bloom and the vegetables and fruits ripen fills her with joy.

The rooftop garden let cici realize her ideal garden dream,

and also gave her son the chance to come into close contact with nature, flowers and plants.

Who says life is only about the drudgery in front of you,

cici brought both poetry and distant places right before her eyes.

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