When the pandemic broke out, Ms. Thao took up gardening and after three years it turned into a fairy tale garden.
Schroeder Thao's family in California has a garden that used to grow shade and fruit trees. In 2020, when the pandemic spread, life for Ms. Thao was like "a horror movie", everywhere curfew, sadness and mourning. The Vietnamese woman decided to grow roses to create a peaceful space.
Ms. Thao hired someone to dig out about 10 cm of soil, then bought sand mixed with cow dung for the whole garden and rented a machine to drill holes to plant trees.
"The drill bit broke after the worker made 20 holes, so I had to dig for many days to finish it myself," Ms. Thao, nearly 50 years old, currently working as a human resources manager at a school, shared.
Land in California is expensive, houses are close together, so "just stand and look around and the garden will run out". Thao's garden is the same, only about 200 m2 divided into vegetable growing areas, fruit trees and flower gardens.
In order for the flower garden to be able to grow many types and feel spacious, Ms. Thao built a winding path. It is also from this path that she unleashes her creativity.
“I'm the type of person who likes change, so every year I change the garden a bit. The goal is to come up with ideas and arrange them properly so that when you look at them, they won't be confusing but will see the flowers blooming in layers, creating a more aesthetic look for the garden is also quite important," she said.
Some years she planted colorful petunias along this road, other years she covered it with hundreds of colorful tulip bulbs. By 2020, starting to plant roses, her garden was adorned with roses ice burg blooms white on warm days and turns pink in cold weather.
Until this year, this road is like a fairy garden. The highest and farthest floors are old trees and maple leaves. Next are the climbing rose trellises and laden rose bushes. Tree weeping cherries blooming white flowers like a waterfall. And the lowest layer is filled with colorful daisies and tulips.
Ms. Thao said that there are many varieties and types of persimmons. Each variety has different growth characteristics, so you must learn very carefully before planting.
Up to now, just by mentioning the name of a certain flower variety in the garden, she can grasp its growth characteristics, whether it can tolerate sunlight or shade, whether the shrub is tall or short; wide or small canopy trees; Plants with many thorns or few thorns to allocate suitable planting locations.
Roses often suffer from all kinds of diseases and pests, so the gardening process is also full of challenges. She does not like spraying chemicals because she is afraid of affecting beneficial organisms, so she researches natural methods, combining planting other types of flowers to control pests and maintain a balanced ecosystem.
From having only a few rose bushes, Ms. Thao became addicted to roses, collecting 80 different varieties, many of which are rare.
Like Spirit of freedom is David Austin's most petaled flower and is no longer for sale. The flowers are fragrant, repeat all year, and grow quickly. Forever rose It is a large flower that tolerates sunlight well, repeats flowers quickly, is lightly fragrant, and is quite rare that she has collected.
Since working in the garden, Thao finds her life more relaxing. To her, roses bloom every day like precious gems, creating a peaceful and hopeful space.
The happiest feeling is when the garden brings home awards. In September 9, Ms. Thao accidentally learned that Heirloom Rose - a 2023-year-old rose business in Oregon - organized a beautiful rose garden contest. She sent her garden to participate.
After three months with hundreds of other gardeners, her garden won the top prize. She said she received a very valuable voucher from the company, but she donated all the prizes to a garden group with the desire to spread her passion to every home.
Heirloom Rose page commented that Thao's garden is a relaxing little corner, honoring natural beauty. Different from neatly manicured English gardens, here priority is given to the harmonious combination of plants and space. The charm of the garden lies in its asymmetry, bringing a simple, less restrictive beauty.
This Lunar New Year, her garden won second prize in the gardening contest of the Vietnamese plant growing association in the US. Previously, in June 6, the garden also won first prize in another Vietnamese group in the US.
"I am very happy and proud that the efforts I have put in for many years are now receiving results," said the woman of Vietnamese origin.
