How do you grow Angel Gabriel? Gardeners share their care tips

Garden: Angel Gabriel

Location: Shanghai

I have always longed for the days of Tao Yuanming picking chrysanthemums by the eastern hedge, gazing serenely at the southern mountains, but how could we, living in the city, see any mountains? Apart from row upon row of towering high-rises, even a rockery can only be found in a park. Fortunately, I gritted my teeth, stamped my feet, made a great determination and spent more money than others to buy a small apartment with a garden. From then on, most of my spare time outside work has been spent in it.

The garden is about 20-odd sq m, a neat rectangle. Because it faces north with its back to the south, the south-facing side can only enjoy the sunshine in the morning. Taking this into account, I planted 4 or 5 varieties of hydrangea on the south side; hydrangeas are one of the few flowering plants that do not much like sunlight. On the north side of the garden, exactly the opposite of the south, the sunlight is very abundant, and in summer the light even feels excessive. Without a doubt I chose the wide variety of roses, mainly European and Japanese roses, with abundant blooms and rich colors, but poor disease resistance, which nearly wore me out as a gardener. I kept quite a supply of all kinds of pesticides, and the results were also delightfully gratifying.

Of course, a yard worthy of being called a garden cannot lack a grape trellis and fruit trees. I was no exception, and when I built the fence with preservative-treated wood I also put up a tall grape trellis, but I did not plant grapes, which are prone to disease; instead I chose Chinese trumpet creeper, which blooms in summer.

As for fruit trees, I spent a "huge sum" to bring home a lemon tree and a blueberry tree. The lemon tree lived up to expectations: in its first year at home it bore more than 100 fruits, in the second year more than 60, and after that...... but it deserves a rest too. The blueberry that came home at the same time was not so lucky: in the first year it produced beautiful flowers but not a single fruit, and in the second year it did not even bloom. It seems I must take better care of it.

These assorted plants deck out my garden gorgeously. From spring to autumn, every season has a star taking the stage to sing the main role, very lively indeed. In March and April the roses are a riot of color, a sea of flowers (I planted more than 10 varieties, and the scene of them blooming together is still quite magnificent). In May and June the hydrangeas show a thousand postures; Endless Summer in particular has enormous blooms, and I cannot even hold a single flower in both hands. When the fierce heat comes in July and August, the Chinese trumpet creeper fairy takes the stage; only she can stand on the grape trellis closest to the sun in this season and look down on the other beauties in the garden, who have long been silenced by the heat. Only a queen can command such fiery colors. When the temperature drops and the weather turns cool in September and October, all the plants in the garden revive and break into a grand chorus: roses, hydrangeas, Chinese trumpet creeper and so on all appear together, accompanied by golden-yellow lemons. It is as if every plant is burning its life to sing its most beautiful song. Only winter has no program prepared for it by me; this season is the time for plants to rest and recuperate, and the gardener need only busy himself with fertilizing and pruning, and must by no means interrupt the flowers' sweet dreams.

Ever since I started having this little garden, I have become more and more of a homebody. Every weekend I always get up early to check the plants' growth, spray medicine on sick plants, and fertilize and water the flowering ones. Whenever I pick a bouquet from the garden and arrange it in a vase on the table, I can always feel a ray of sunlight shining into my room, and at once the house becomes a warm home.

In order to fully enjoy the lovely atmosphere of my garden, I placed a small stool on the balcony, and with a cup of coffee and a book, sitting there, I can see every one of my treasures in the yard as soon as I look up, and a feeling of happiness rises from the bottom of my heart. Because the yard is limited in size, I cannot bring home all the plants I like, but that cannot stop me from placing in every corner of the garden some figures modeled on anime characters: a koala on a swing, birds chatting and a goose carrying a shoulder pole. These fellows, though lifeless, do not prevent you from being drawn into a fairy-tale world. I put that goose in the most conspicuous place in the garden, so that from any angle I can see it smiling at you among the flowers. It reminds me of a puppet I saw last summer on a windowsill of a household in the English countryside, greeting everyone's gaze with the purest, loveliest smile.

Whenever I laze indoors and see that goose, I think that happiness is really just a matter of one's perspective: if the place you happen to look at has exactly the scenery you like most, then at that moment you are certainly happy.

Note: Gardeners who want to enjoy more of the beautiful scenery of Angel Gabriel's garden can follow the author's personal WeChat official account: Angel Gabriel

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