Succulent Peach Blossom Spring (Part 2): The peach and plum trees do not speak, yet a path forms beneath them

Foreword

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Thanks to the author [Taoli] for theoriginal submissionsharing

Edited and compiled by: Encyclopedia Jun

Location: Songming County, Kunming City, Yunnan Province

Liang Liang

 Kong

Feng Timo 

00:00/05:35

Listening to music while reading makes it feel even better

Continuing from last night's "The peach and plum trees do not speak, yet a path forms beneath them, Succulent Peach Blossom Spring (Part 1)" let us continue.

Everything in this world is an encounter. Living is not about pleasing the world, but about pleasing yourself with your own way of life.

The gentleman is unmatched in the world, and on the path, the person is like jade. Time is quiet and good, to speak with you; the fine waters flow through the years, to be with you; when all prosperity has fallen away, to grow old with you.

This is the only road leading from the urban area up the mountain. We who never used to climb mountains now have to go back and forth many times every day, yet we never tire of it. Within the clouds and mist of that mountain lies our Succulent Peach Blossom Spring.

Watching the sunrise from the mountaintop, accompanied by the crisp songs of birds, in the fresh air, feeling refreshed in body and mind.

After the basic furnishings of the greenhouse were completed, we set about tidying the backyard. The peach grove that looked so open actually had very low usable value. After a rain, weeds grew in profusion.

At the edge of the peach grove, we pulled out the wild grass, cleared a patch of vegetable garden, and planted suitable seedlings.

Every day there are fresh melons and vegetables, plus wild vegetables with rice soup, but we get hungry as soon as it gets dark.

The back mountain is a typical karst landscape. The two fathers carefully cleared the rocks, channeled in flowing water, and made an artificial waterfall.

The bamboo grove is not large in area, yet every summer and autumn the bamboo shoots are quite abundant. This year we raised free-range native chickens in it, the kind with feathered feet, that eat insects, and can fly. Whenever we go to feed them and collect eggs, the big chickens and little chickens knowingly line up behind us.

We scattered flower seeds on the barren back mountain, and flowers bloom continuously through all four seasons.

The small reservoir was converted into two fish ponds, achieving ecological fish farming through natural water circulation.

The little wooden bridge hand-built by Dad. I cannot help but marvel: I have an all-capable father-in-law and an omnipotent father. More important than this is their tolerance, understanding, and unconditional support for me.

Rising at dawn to clear the weeds, returning with the moon carrying the hoe, sparing no toil, at the time I thought it was all ordinary.

You guessed right, this is another broken old thing. I talked until my lips were worn out, and finally persuaded my father-in-law to reinforce and remodel it a bit.

Enclosed with a bamboo fence, a simple open-air growing area was built.

These were all previously kept by myself on the rooftop. Coming to this place that gathers the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, they should grow even better!

The weathered stone dug from deep in the mountains dozens of kilometers away is the best ground-planting substrate, rich in minerals, controlling water yet easy for rooting. Looking at it this way, digging the ground, shoveling soil, pulling weeds, planting vegetables, without a hat or gloves, no wonder my hands are rough and I look haggard, thinking about it is enough to make one dizzy.

The Kalanchoe daigremontiana transplanted to the backyard still could not escape its fate of dying. This yellowing and withering symptom is actually a disease, and it needs treatment! But we had to finish the ground planting before the rainy season, so we did not get around to it. Now only a few remain to carry on the line, which is also lucky enough.

The Kalanchoe daigremontiana moved house again. The small seedlings accumulated before and the old stems of Pachyphytum oviferum were placed here for shaping. This heart shape became the most photographed spot.

In less than half a year, this mini garden was dug up again. The reason was simply that we wanted a flowing water feature, but the elder did not understand clearly and made me a pond with a rockery, and the water could not flow either.

Such a big Aeonium urbicum, rarely seen, right! This patch of ground relies on it to hold the scene.

Looking from another angle, it is not bad either. Later, when it is more refined, it can be made into a Chinese Zen style.

After the weeds in the peach grove were carefully cleared, my cousin came to help us plow the field.

After a week of heavy rain, the lawn began to take shape. We pulled weeds again, leveled it again, and it became what it is now.

Hanging white gauze under the eaves, pulling up a screen, watching an open-air movie under the stars, apart from being a bit cold, everything else is pretty good.

In Yunnan there is no distinction of four seasons, only the difference between the dry season and the rainy season. On the mountain, we pay especially close attention to the weather. Once the rainy season comes, heavy rain carries mud down from the mountain, which is quite spectacular. The newly built greenhouse had many flaws when first used, for example, when it poured outside, a waterfall hung inside, so the main reason the greenhouse could not grow succulents was actually this.

At the slightest disagreement, up to the roof to tear off tiles.

Repairing the greenhouse is not something that can be done in a day or two. Taking advantage of the gaps when it was not raining, we had to learn all eighteen kinds of martial arts, literally forcing ourselves into tough men.

After the Autumn Equinox, we expanded the area of the open-air growing zone. During that time, I wished I could move all the succulents out to enjoy a sunbath.

No wonder some people say succulents are healing cute plants. When a mini pot meets a mini succulent, what problem cannot be cured?

Of course, having enjoyed the benefits of the large temperature difference, we also had to endure a temperature drop twice as big as in the city. The succulents that were still beautiful and charming a few days ago ultimately could not withstand the cold wave, and after the first big temperature drop they fell one after another. Sedum clavatum, Sedum 'Luoqi', and Sedum 'Ningzhilian' were almost completely wiped out, and the Aeoniums were all crippled. These were all in the greenhouse, let me observe three seconds of silence for them!

For half a month I was sorting out the frostbitten and frost-crippled succulents, pouring out bucket after bucket of corpses, silently playing "Liang Liang" on loop in my heart, with no strength at all to calculate the losses.

After experiencing three big temperature drops, these tough succulents present an extreme beauty.

In April, all the flowers in the human world have faded, and the peach blossoms at the mountain temple just begin to bloom. Although our garden is right next to the local Fajie Temple Forest Park, and also counts as deep in the mountains, the peach blossoms, cherry blossoms, and pear blossoms bloom especially early. The tile-blue sky is so clear there is not a trace of impurity. A gentle breeze comes, petals drift down, let time be wasted just like this! Let the seas dry up and the rocks crumble, let the sky collapse and the earth split, this moment of tranquility belongs to me.

In March of this year, we carried out a planned renovation of the backyard. We increased the ground-planting area. We removed a row of flower racks and planted four themed mini landscapes.

The substrate for ground planting needs three layers, and drainage also needs to be considered, with both water retention and water control taken into account.

First, position the various large specimens. Aeonium urbicum and 'Haixiao' are very suitable for ground planting, and planting Aeoniums is also very spectacular, except that they are prone to black rot and root rot during the rainy season. 'Haibei' and Cotyledon papillaris both showed varying degrees of leaf drop during the rainy season. Making a ground-planted garden requires constantly paying attention to observing the suitability of the succulents, and adjusting and replanting in time.

The large spiny cactus balls were basically planted with sand, and they are growing well.

It needs to be specially explained that many people like to plant Echeveria secunda in the garden. Echeveria secunda, this traditional domestic succulent variety, can be grown with local soil, and one should try as much as possible to follow the native habits of each species.

Weeds are a small trouble in the garden, but also one of the pleasures of making a garden. When there are too many trivial matters, I go to the garden to pull weeds. The garden will give you the most direct reward, showing you a refreshing appearance, and at the same time exchanging it for inner peace.

In the morning, sunlight falls on the grass

We stand

Holding our own door leaves

The door is very low, but the sun is bright

The grass is forming its seeds

The wind is shaking its leaves

We stand, not speaking

And it is simply wonderful

With one thought a flower blooms, with one thought a flower falls. In this long and far-reaching human world, ultimately one must walk on by oneself. In everyone's heart, there are several hidden wounds unknown to others, waiting for time to restore them.

Behind the greenhouse was originally a patch of chive field. Chives are truly a magical species, dug up and they grow again, grown and dug again, endlessly. Because there is only half the sunlight, many small succulents are simply left to grow freely here.

Children from poor families take charge early, following us around all day long, scrambling to do work.

Many times, the exhaustion of life does not lie in how hard it itself is, but in the inner resistance to doing it. So when you do things as simply as a child, just doing things for the sake of doing them, instead you find it very interesting. All effort will be rewarded. If not at this time, then it will certainly be elsewhere!

We once stood side by side like two trees, experiencing things together. Roots connected underground, leaves meeting in the sky, perhaps that was already enough. What can be eternal? Not even the sun, moon, and stars, let alone fragile living things.

We wanted to place a ferry boat on the open ground. We searched many places but could not find a suitable one, so my father-in-law built one for me like stacking blocks.

Without the weathered feel of wind and rain, yet still returning fully loaded.

The small path leading from the greenhouse to the garden is lined all the way with the most widely popular Kalanchoe blossfeldiana. Given by Uncle Gao this summer, we planted them in every corner of the garden, and different varieties bloom and set each other off beautifully. After Kalanchoe blossfeldiana blooms, it must be pruned in time, otherwise it is very easy to wither and die.

The sunlight is just right, and what brushes the face is the faint delicate fragrance of Echeveria 'Ice Plum'. Everything is just right.

Too much rain, they all turned green, but they also grew a lot bigger. For open-air grown succulents, growing big and bursting the pot and developing color are hard to have at the same time.

Once the rainy season comes, as far as the eye can see, everything is green. These past few days have been much better, and they already have some color.

In the wild there are creeping grasses, heavy with dew. There is a beautiful person, graceful and clear. Every morning, taking a stroll around the garden and greeting them one by one is the most beautiful time of the day.

This is a comfortable nest for birds and squirrels. Of course, there are also no shortage of butterflies, spiders, and all kinds of caterpillars. It is not strange to see anything; this is how it should be in the mountains.

Do not hurry, the best will always appear in the most unexpected place.

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