A small garden house that rivals fairyland, she spent a full 16 years building it

28th

?

ForewordQian Yan

Love succulents, love life (WeChat ID: duorou91) Reply "community" and 200K succulent friends to show off together!

Reply in the backend "beautiful succulents", "summer care, watering, leaf propagation, soil mixing, pest removal, black rot" to view related care knowledge.

Reply with succulent names like "White Peony, Ruby, Laura" to view the latest succulent illustrated guide.

Welcome everyone to share the original to your Moments~ Welcome everyone to share the original to your Moments~ If you need to reprint or submit, please contact Huizhang on WeChatduorouzw01。

Zhang Xiaoping's whole family are "flower fanatics" - grandpa, maternal grandmother, mother, all love growing flowers and love flowers as if their lives depended on them; without flowers, life would be impossible!

So, this hobby may be inherited in their family~

Zhang Xiaoping's grandfather Zhang Hengchun

came from one of China's four great traditional Chinese medicine families

Their family had always done business in Jiangnan

Her maternal grandfather's family was in Western medicine

and was very famous in Nanjing

They all loved flowers and plants

Zhang Xiaoping's mother

even more so because of her love for flowers and plants

directly studied botany

Zhang Xiaoping also loves flowers and plants

and loved staying outdoors since childhood

But when it was her turn to attend university

for various reasons, she had no chance to study horticulture

In 1972, she was sent down to the countryside

To others, this experience might have been unbearably bitter

yet it became a period she enjoyed very much

At that time, she went to the fields to work every day

planting wheat, planting sweet potatoes, planting corn

fiddling with soil and seeds every day

yet she was incredibly happy

Just like now, when she stays in her own garden every day

not wearing dresses but work clothes, wearing gloves

hoeing weeds, pruning branches and leaves, thinning branches and leaves

alone pulling, hoeing, digging

so busy she forgets herself, yet never tiring of it

Zhang Xiaoping's garden is called Monet's Garden

She did not ask anyone else to help with the design of the entire garden

all the sketches and plant arrangements were completed by herself

And all her horticultural knowledge

was first inspired in Germany

In 2012, Zhang Xiaoping went to Germany with her husband

During the six years she lived there

she was deeply attracted by the local environment

and even more influenced by the local people's philosophy of life

No matter what the local people's family housing was like

they would always keep a small courtyard as a garden

"I am passionate about flowers

When I was in Germany, the dream of having a private garden

was awakened once again"

Visiting gardens, sitting in on horticulture classes, working part-time at a botany institute

Zhang Xiaoping's dream was not just talk

but something she kept in her heart

waiting until conditions allowed to let it take root and sprout

In 2002, she returned to China to work as a chemistry teacher

spent half a lifetime's savings with her husband

to find a house in Hefei, Anhui

Regardless of whether the house was good or bad

but a 400 sq m courtyard

was already enough for her to like it

Her husband saw that she liked this courtyard, so he settled on it

Before the house was even renovated

she began designing the garden

Now 16 years have passed

This place has long been full of blooming flowers and brimming with vitality

so beautiful it is like fairyland in a fairy tale

The garden is divided into two large sections, north and south

The north garden is an independent rose garden

In the middle is a large lawn

leaving a place to rest while enjoying the beautiful scenery

Following the wall of the north garden from north to south

a total of seventy meters long

was transformed by Zhang Xiaoping into

a mixed border commonly seen in English gardens

On the surface it looks very simple

but in fact there are four layers in total

The top layer is trees, which can provide appropriate shade

The middle layer is shrubs

Below are perennial flowers

After the plants in the mixed border are carefully arranged

they can bloom with different flowers every year

Walking along the wall, you reach the south garden

The south garden is connected with the living room windows

In winter, you can walk directly from the living room into the sunroom

Breakfast and afternoon tea are both eaten here

While enjoying the view, basking in the sun, and eating delicious food

stretching your body, extremely pleasant

Because she loves flowers

Zhang Xiaoping's garden has a great variety of flowers

Even in the coldest winter, there are flowers blooming

In winter there are wintersweet, red plum, green plum

After the plum blossoms finish blooming, there are magnolia, spiraea,

cornus, French perfume, camellia

In winter, Zhang Xiaoping also does handicrafts

weaving rattan, weaving various flower vessels large and small

Putting flower pots into these woven rattan flower vessels

is like putting clothes on the flowers

She also knits scarves and blankets herself

So that when taking a nap in the garden in spring

she can cover herself with a warm wool blanket

warm and cozy

In spring, the perennial flowers also begin

Large patches of ice chrysanthemum, February orchid

By April and May, various roses and Chinese roses bloom abundantly

After people's eyes have been confined for a winter

at this time, looking at the various colors that suddenly become abundant

they feel immense enjoyment

In summer there are lilies, agapanthus, hydrangea

After the hydrangeas finish blooming, there are large areas of blackberry lily, blue plumbago

white plumbago, coneflower, bee balm

In between there will also be irises

In summer, the scenery in the garden is still maintained

Mainly watering, and not doing too much labor

and already it is clusters upon clusters of brilliant colors

That scene of blooming flowers makes people feel joy in their hearts as soon as they see it

In autumn the garden has all kinds of fruits

The persimmon trees and pomegranate trees have all borne fruit

There are also figs and apples.

Zhang Xiaoping's spouse likes eating persimmons.

After they had their own garden,

they planted one in each of the three spots in the garden, front, middle and back,

a persimmon tree in each spot.

They couldn't eat all the persimmons the trees produced.

As a result, flocks of small birds were drawn in to enjoy them.

There are also fig trees, which bear a lot of fruit every year too.

Autumn is also the busiest season.

On the one hand, you have to clean up the garden

and clear away all the dead branches and fallen leaves left after summer.

At the same time, you also have to prepare for the coming year.

You have to sow seeds and plant bulbs properly.

Prepare compost, prepare for pruning.

At this time Zhang Xiaoping has to

think ahead about what kind of scene she wants next spring.

Then the seeds are sown, and after several months of nurturing,

by spring the garden will look the way you want it to.

Zhang Xiaoping feels that growing flowers is actually like life.

Whatever kind of seeds you sow,

that is what kind of flowers will bloom.

However much hard work you put into this piece of land,

these flowers will all repay you.

Growing flowers follows the rhythm of the four seasons,

and people's lives

also follow your attitude toward life.

The more seriously you treat life,

the more beautiful life becomes.