6 stories of street flower sellers: as long as there are still people selling flowers, life won't be too bad

Many girls dream of opening a flower shop, but agonize over the shop's location, rent and supply. Whenever this happens, Siyue jokes,go be a street flower seller, walking the streets and alleys selling flowers, simple and happy~

When she was little, the profession Siyue envied most was that of a flower seller, parading down the street holding a big bunch of fresh flowers, passersby couldn't help but look twice, and their mood would improve.

Later Siyue discovered that different countries have different cultures, and these "give birth" to different kinds of flower sellers,they all have their own secret tricks, some set up stalls, some row boats, and some ride bicycles...The only limit is your imagination, there's nothing they can't do!

Beside the road

 Xiangjiang Music Festival

Zhong Lifeng 

00:00/04:46

{Peony Girl Vol.878 }

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Street flower sellers

Siyue doesn't remember where she saw a series of photographs, but the impression was very deep.

The photographer looked down at the road, a bicycle loaded with fresh flowers slowly passing by, like a garden flowing along the road.

Only later did she learn that this is a street flower seller in Thailand, setting out every morning, riding a bicycle to peddle flowers.

What a surge of envy Siyue felt then, she wished she could drop her work and go become a street flower seller right away, haha~

In fact, the profession of flower seller has a very long history; long before flower shops appeared, there were already flower-selling enthusiasts on the streets. What's more interesting is that flower sellers in different countries have different ways of selling flowers, guaranteed to open your eyes.

/UK/

The flower girl who sang ballads

The lovely tale of the flower girl

originated in Britain a hundred years ago.

In the Victorian era,

lavender swept the whole country,

and girls selling lavender

with flower baskets on their arms could be seen everywhere on the streets.

As they walked the streets and alleys crying their wares,

they would softly sing songs they had made up themselves,

using their beautiful voices to attract people.

Gradually,

everyone learned these little tunes,

and the classic nursery rhyme "Lavender Blue" was even born.

The flower girl was also an image that often appeared in oil paintings

During the Great Depression,

unemployed vagrants roamed the streets.

Flower sellers kept to quiet corners,

using a few bunches of fresh flowers

to warm the hearts of the disheartened.

An old granny selling flowers on a London street

A middle-aged man sorting the tulips in his hands

Today's street flower sellers in Britain

are no longer, as in days gone by,

the muses held in the hands of painters and writers.

But in the foggy capital under grey skies,

being able to hold a bunch of red roses in your hands

always warms the heart,

doesn't it?

/France/

An old granny at the weekend market

In a lazy little town in southern France,

choose a warm, sunny Sunday

and goto the weekend marketfor a stroll,

and you'll find many interesting little things.

Fresh vegetables and fruit,

handmade bread and jam,

and flowers still wet with dew.

The fresh flowers bloom passionately,

and the fragrance rushing at you makes you dizzy with happiness.

The market prices are also much friendlier than those at flower shops,

how could a flower-loving girl not be tempted?

Those selling flowers at stalls in the market

are mostly old grannies,

unwilling to stay home watching TV every day,

they come out to sell some flowers and chat with customers,

make a few new friends,

and it's still a happy day.

Some grannies already have hair entirely white,

sitting in front of their stall under an umbrella,

guarding their own little garden,

smiling at every passerby.

The French are romantic to the bone,

with a particular fondness for flowers,

and buy a few stems every time they pass by,

to give to a loved one or a friend.

This has become a habit of daily life,

as natural as eating and drinking.

/Vietnam/

A mobile garden on a bicycle

If you've been to Vietnam,

you'll surely be surprised by the flower vendors seen everywhere.

Even though most people's lives are not well-off,

it doesn't affect the Vietnamese love of fresh flowers at all.

In the morning vegetable market,

besides the usual supply of vegetables and fruit,

they also sell fresh flowers on the side,

picked by the vegetable farmers themselves,

at very friendly prices.

Another group of vendors sells flowers in an even more unusual way.

Riding a bicycle loaded with fresh flowers,

weaving through the streets and alleys of Hanoi,

like a flowing sea of flowers.

Passing bustling streets,

passing lonely, deserted alleys,

passing old people drinking tea and reading newspapers,

passing children playing and frolicking.

This bicycle giving off fragrance,

is like fireworks darting through the darkness,

lighting up the grey city,

making every passerby smile knowingly.

/Thailand/

A flower market floating on the river

If you want to experience the most authentic Thai flavour,

you must go to Bangkok'sfloating market。

On the canals overgrown with tropical plants,

people pole boats loaded with goods,

passing each other closely on the narrow waterways.

The boats are loaded with freshly caught seafood,

plump fish, shrimp and crab for you to choose from.

There are also fresh vegetables and fruit,

especially the large green mangoes, cheap and sweet.

But the most eye-catching thing at the floating market is still the fresh flowers.

Swaying wooden boats filled with flowers of every colour,

drifting far away with the river,

actually create a romantic atmosphere.

Here you must be quick-eyed and quick-handed,

spot exactly what you want to buy,

In the instant of passing each other by,

seize the chance to buy, buy, buy.

Buy a few stems of fresh flowers, weigh out a few mangoes,

eat while enjoying the scenery along the way,

what could be more delightful~

/India/

Garlands full of joy and sorrow

India is also a land of flowers.

In the Indian musical films I often watched as a child,

everyone singing and dancing wore a garland.

Flower sellers often sit by the roadside early in the morning.

These flowers are not only decorations,

but also raw materials for making spices and food.

Women use steel needles or bamboo skewers to thread a thin string,

stringing one fresh flower after another,

making them into garlands.

If an Indian girl is about to marry,

or a family holds a celebration,

garlands are used as decorations.

According to traditional customs,

most Indian women stay at home to care for their husbands and children,

but many families struggle even to have enough food and clothing,

so the women have no choice but to go out and sell fresh flowers,

using the meager income to supplement the household.

But most of them are very strong and very optimistic.

Whether they are locals or tourists,

they greet everyone with a warm smile.

Perhaps the days spent in the company of flowers

gave them the courage

to face life's hardships head-on.

India's most spectacular flower market is in Kolkata,

where thousands of people sell fresh flowers along the banks of the Maryik River,

and the sea of flowers almost drowns the crowd.

Selling flowers is no longer exclusively women's work;

men also put on garments of fresh flowers,

and are especially eye-catching.

Photographer Ken Hermann

took a series of portraits of them,

and even won the World Focus Photography Grand Prize for it.

/China/

The girl selling magnolia flowers at the subway entrance

Having talked about flower sellers in so many countries, the flower seller we most often see in daily life is probably the child who stops you on Valentine's Day to sell you roses.

In April, remember, the flower sellers of many years ago seemed freer. Old people would put the fresh flowers they had picked into bamboo baskets and stroll slowly through the streets and alleys, peddling them to the people of the city.

The writer Lin Qingxuan wrote this passage: "While strolling through the Tonghua market, a breath of fresh air suddenly flew out from the crowded throng, lifting one's spirits at once. I discovered an old flower seller peddling wild ginger lilies picked from the mountains, each bunch with five stems, a bunch for 10 yuan. I bought ten bunches of wild ginger lilies, and thinking of this lovable old man, a kind of sweet memory buried itself deep in my heart."

Later, this profession gradually disappeared.With no flower sellers in sight along the streets, it seemed that much romance and surprise were lost.

Image from Sina blogger @Little-Dot

Until one day, when April came out of the subway entrance after work, she met a girl of fourteen or fifteen, plainly dressed, who said to me timidly,"Miss, buy a string of magnolia flowers!"This flower, commonly known among the people as "magnolia," is actually called white magnolia, also known as huangjue magnolia.

In the cloth bag, the magnolia flowers were carefully tied, three or five stems strung together. The rich fragrance rushed into my nose, and my weary heart suddenly felt much lighter.

I immediately bought a string of magnolia flowers, and the little girl helped me tie it onto my bag. On the way home, the fragrance of the magnolia stayed with me the whole time, and my mood all evening was as light as a little bird.

Image from Sina blogger @Little-Dot

Flowers truly have a magical power that can heal people's hearts. The famous writer Shen Congwen was denounced and struggled against countless times, and was even sent down to Xianning, Hubei, to do heavy labor.

Yet he remained very optimistic, and wrote to his cousin, the painter Huang Yongyu, saying:"The lotus flowers here are so lovely, if only you would come..."

A single simple sentence somehow let the fragrance of lotus flowers drift out of those days of suffering, which is truly moving.

This city is like a massive machine,

running endlessly every day,

with every trade and profession busy creating value.

The executives sitting in cafes

casually discuss business worth millions.

By comparison,

the flower sellers wandering at street corners and along the roadsides

seem insignificant, and are even looked down upon.

But a city with human warmth

must never lack the presence of flower sellers.

They are not great enough to change the world,

yet with the fresh flowers in their hands,

they createa little surprise, a little warmth,

lighting up this cold city.

Perhaps a bouquet a boy buys on a whim

wins some girl's heart.

Isn't that the most beautiful accident in the world?

What stories have you had with the flower sellers on the street? Tell April in the comments~

END

The images in this article are from Visual China and Instagram.