A 68-year-old man spent 10 years transforming an abandoned forest farm, and the stunning garden amazed foreign magazines

When Shaoyao was little, she was full of longing for gardens, because many romantic fairy tales take place in gardens, so I dreamed every day of being a flower fairy.

Later, after spending a long time with flowers and plants, I understood that maintaining a garden takes a great deal of effort, and it is not the work of a single day.

When we grow up and drift further and further from our garden dreams, there is an elderly Chinese man who spent 10 years of hard work turning a piece of abandoned forest farm into a stunning European-style garden, leaving foreign magazines full of admiration...

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{Miss Shaoyao Vol.846 }

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Three Trees Manor

When manor is mentioned, this kind of image appears in the mind:European nobles in splendid clothes moving through old castles, vast lawns, a fountain pool in the center, and flowers crowding both sides of the paths.

In the hit British drama "Downton Abbey,"

the tangled love and hate between families

take place in an ancient and solemn manor.

Image source: stills from "Downton Abbey"

In the film "Atonement," besides the heroine's stunning green dress,

there are also many hazy and dreamlike manor shots,

with the male and female leads running on the grass and falling in love in front of the fountain pool.

Image source: stills from "Atonement"

Especially that flourishing garden,

when people walk through it, they are surrounded by flowers and plants from head to toe,

as if they have stepped into a fairy-tale world.

Image source: stills from "Atonement"

Such a romantic manor seems to exist only abroad, only among the nobility, but in fact the vast majority of people do not knowthat in Ma'anshan, Anhui, China, there is a European-style garden comparable to a film set: Three Trees Manor.

The largest lifestyle magazine in the United States, "Better Homes & Gardens," gave this manor the "Best Visual Award" and commented on it this way:

This garden hidden in a bamboo forest is broad, grand, and full of European style; even in the West, such a garden would leave people amazed.

What kind of manor is it that makes foreign experts praise it one after another?

Heading east from Ma'anshan city and driving several kilometers along the winding road, you enter a mountainous area filled with green.

Within dozens of kilometers in every direction are dense primeval forests, among which lies a lush bamboo grove. Do not underestimate this bamboo grove; push open a small iron gate, and behind it is a world of hidden wonders.

The first thing that meets the eye is a winding paved path,

with ancient Greek-style sculptures standing guard on both sides,

weathered stone steps leading deep into a sea of flowers,

and sunflowers showing warm smiles to welcome visitors.

The first surprise is three-dimensional:

a Chinese rose corridor,

where freely growing flowers form a huge "flower wall,"

and the rich fragrance intoxicates people.

Walking up along the path, the view suddenly opens up,

and before your eyes is a flat, broad, carefully maintainedornamental lawn,

surrounded by flowers at varying heights,

full of a wild, natural style,

spreading from beside your feet all the way above your head.

Although your eyes are dazzled by the riot of flowers,

the most eye-catching thing in the whole place is stillthe roses.

The clustering pink blooms are like clouds and mist,

and their vigorous vitality is astonishing.

A gentle breeze blows over,

and delicate petals fall one after another,

covering the stone path underfoot,

and at that moment you understand the true meaning of "a shower of falling petals."

Not far from the lawn is another big star of the manor:

two carefully tendedbougainvilleas.

A fiery, passionate tree full of blossoms

sets the whole courtyard ablaze.

If you come in April or May, you can also see a patch of

corn poppies,

gently swaying their delicate waists in the breeze,

charming in every way yet still lovely.

The pointed European-style church stands tall,

yet the flowers by the wall do not fear its authority,

adding a breath of French romance to the church.

Climbing the steps, you arrive at the koi pond and waterfall area,

Unlike the romance and luxury of a European-style manor,

this place is full of an ancient, quiet Zen feel,

and amid the screening flowers and plants, a waterfall flows down along the mountain.

Murmuring water gathers in the pond,

where many koi sway their fiery red bodies,

moving through the summer lotus leaves.

Continue upward, and you will discover the origin of the manor's name:

three ancient holly trees are arranged in a triangular "pin" shape,

with thick trunks, tangled roots, and spreading branches and leaves,

possessing the momentum of three trees forming a forest.

At night, mist spreads all around,

and the three ancient trees gain an air of immortality,

like a mysterious magnetic field.

On the last level, the manor gives space back to nature,

letting the wild, luxuriant bamboo grove grow freely,

shooting straight into the sky in the morning mist and creating a quiet atmosphere

that calls to mind scenes from the film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

Beside the bamboo grove is a crystal-clear swimming pool.

Enjoying the quiet remoteness of the bamboo grove

while swimming freely

is the best way to cool off in the scorching summer.

The manor is not only a paradise for flowers and plants, but also a utopia for rare animals. The comfortable climate and environment here attract many animals to settle down.

On the lawn, twopeacocksstride proudly,

looking so relaxed that it seems they are the true owners here,

and if you are lucky you can even see a peacock fanning its tail,

competing in beauty with the fresh flowers.

East of the lawn is a swan pond,

where two ⟧97⟧black swansBlack swanswim in the water,

like aloof princesses.

Many birds also build nests here,

and crisp birdsong fills every corner of the manor.

To make things convenient for flower lovers who come from afar,

the manor has also added a guesthouse and a coffee shop,

both equally full of the beauty of nature.

Image source: Three Trees Manor

This private manor that stunned the world was not created by a landscape designer, but bya 68-year-old man, Zhang Taipei, whom people affectionately call "Old Zhang."

Before building this garden, he had not studied any horticultural knowledge; with a love and longing for nature,purely out of passion, he spent ten years of effort and personally transformed the abandoned forest farm into a stunning garden.

Image source: "Better Homes & Gardens" magazine, photography: Huang Chongyang

Old Zhang's garden dream was planted when he was very young

His grandfather was the last heir of the century-old brand "Zhang Hengchun"

and liked to fiddle with flowers and plants in his spare time

His grandfather gave him a small plot of land

and let him plant some flowers, plants, and vegetables himself

He was fascinated by observing the process of plants sprouting and growing

and from then on fell in love with nature

Decades later, Old Zhang became a well-known entrepreneur,

with a busy life and great mental pressure.

But he still loved recording nature with his camera

Over more than 20 years

he drove over 600,000 kilometers across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

ventured deep into the heart of Tibet 14 times

visited the western Sichuan plateau 40 times

took 100,000 photos of magnificent scenery

and even held his own photography exhibitions

In 2002, Lao Zhang happened to learn

that a forest farm on the outskirts of Ma'anshan City was available for rent

He carefully surveyed this 8-mu patch of wasteland

and said, "When I first entered the garden, it was very desolate,

the garden had been untended for years,

overgrown with weeds, yellow leaves everywhere, utterly forlorn."

"But the whole yard was full of wild beauty,

rustic and weathered, natural and harmonious,

completely free of the artificial prettiness of those gardens bulldozed flat on level ground.

I fell in love with this place at first sight."

He was especially fond of the three ancient trees in the forest farm

The family sat under the shade of the trees

His mother exclaimed:These three trees are truly wonderful!

This is the origin of the estate's name, "Three Trees"

Lao Zhang made up his mind to turn this place into the garden of his dreams

But he had no professional horticultural knowledge

nor did he understand architecture or design

Faced with this 8-mu wasteland, what was he to do?

After much agonizing, he decided to cast aside all worries and frameworks

taking nature itself as inspiration, making changes as he built

He adhered to the principle of respecting nature

changes were merely guiding things along their natural course

This abandoned forest farm was built against the mountain

Using this as a foundation, Lao Zhang divided the space into five levels

the pathway, the main lawn, the koi pond and waterfall, the three ancient trees, the bamboo grove and the pool

A small building with a red roof and a European-style chapel sit within it

paired with classical sculptures and vintage tables and chairs

A rich classical European charm and a serene, leisurely Chinese style

the two complement each other beautifully

In order to keep the garden blooming like spring all year round

Lao Zhang planted more than 1,000 species of flowers and plants

deliberately staggering their blooming periods

so that each season of the year has a different charm

In order to help the tropical bougainvillea survive the cold winter

Lao Zhang went to great lengths to design a semi-movable greenhouse

When the weather turned cold, he would put a "cotton coat" on the bougainvillea

taking more care than he would with a newborn baby

The three ancient trees are characterized by their vigor and rustic simplicity

The stubborn Lao Zhang insisted on finding ancient bricks to match them

He found several green-brick houses in nearby villages

bought the old bricks and tiles for 400 yuan

spent two months polishing them smooth

only then did he lay them around the ancient trees

Image source: Three Trees Estate

Every plant and tree, every brick and tile in this garden

was planted, polished, and laid by Lao Zhang with painstaking effort

10 years, 3,650 days and nights

The stars turned, the seasons changed, the vegetation withered and flourished, wind and sun beat down

yet Lao Zhang's pure heart never wavered in the slightest

Image source: "Beautiful Home" magazine, photography: Huang Chongyang

Today, Lao Zhang lives a life everyone envies

He wakes to the sound of birds singing

takes a morning swim in the pool in the bamboo grove

In the morning, he drinks tea and reads in the garden

In the afternoon, he waters flowers, trims the lawn, feeds the fish and swans

There are two things he loves to do most

One is to spend two hours squatting on the grass

finding weeds one by one and pulling them out

The other is to play in the garden with his granddaughter

carefully introducing her to roses, peonies, magnolias...

planting a garden dream in the little girl's heart as well

Image source: "Beautiful Home" magazine, photography: Huang Chongyang

In others' eyes, 68-year-old Lao Zhang has achieved success in his career

and could easily enjoy a comfortable retirement at home

but he values the spiritual world beyond wealth even more

that is, the garden dream he has pursued all his life

So in his seventies

he devoted his wealth and heart and soul

giving back to nature, returning to the tranquility of the soul

This is truly a perfect life, the life he yearned for.

END

The images in this article are authorized by Three Trees Estate and "Beautiful Life" magazine