Making a fortune from ornamental plants

Trained in nursing but passionate about ornamental plants, Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Thuy from Dai Dinh commune has spent 15 years diligently learning, expanding the scale of her cultivation area, and building a model of ornamental plant cultivation combined with tourism experiences, yielding high economic efficiency. In the last 5 years, revenue from selling ornamental plants has reached hundreds of millions of VND annually, and importantly, it has provided stable employment and regular income for 4-6 local workers.

Visiting and experiencing the ornamental plant nursery of Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Thuy near the Tay Thien Pagoda area, and listening to the owner's story about her entrepreneurial journey in her garden, we better understood the "venture" of a young woman who graduated from medical school with the dream of becoming a doctor, but life led her down the path of growing ornamental plants.

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Thuy tends to ornamental plants in her greenhouse.

After graduating from high school, due to family circumstances, Thuy did not continue her studies but worked as a garment factory worker at a military enterprise in the area for over four years. In 2007, she got married and returned to her husband's hometown in Dai Dinh town (formerly Tam Dao), now Dai Dinh commune (Phu Tho province). However, her dream of studying medicine to become a doctor always motivated her. Despite having a young child and being busy with work, she was determined to pass the entrance exam to the nursing department of Vinh Phuc Medical College. After nearly three years of diligent study, she graduated and was hired on a contract basis at a medical facility near her home. However, due to the lack of permanent employment, the work was arduous, and the contract salary was meager, so after a few years she quit and returned home.

Driven by her passion for agriculture , and with the help and experience of her husband's family, who were all involved in ornamental plant cultivation, in 2009, Thuy discussed with her family the idea of ​​utilizing their garden land to invest in growing ornamental plants, mainly begonia, azalea, and camellia, combining it with tourism experiences for visitors to the Tay Thien Historical and Scenic Area. Growing ornamental plants is difficult even for someone with a professional background, but for a young woman with a medical degree like Thuy, it was a huge challenge. However, with a proactive spirit, Thuy not only diligently learned techniques and plant care from her family members but also taught herself through the internet, books, and joined online groups to absorb new methods.

During her free time, she travels extensively to collect and acquire unique and unusual ornamental plants and flowers to cultivate in her garden. To ensure the plants thrive, she invested nearly 500 million VND in a sprinkler system, seedlings, nursery pots, and a greenhouse. Her efforts paid off; in the very first year, during the Lunar New Year, tourists visited and purchased hundreds of plants, mainly azaleas and camellias. She earned hundreds of millions of VND.

However, things didn't always go as planned. The first two years of gardening were difficult, and then her first child fell seriously ill. The constant care and treatment forced her to abandon the garden, and it was nearly two years later before she returned to ornamental plant cultivation. In 2017, with strong support from her family, Ms. Thuy expanded her garden to over 1,500 square meters, planting nearly 1,000 ornamental plants of various types. To maintain her ideal garden, she personally handles all aspects, from watering and pruning to shaping the canopy. Thanks to this, her family's ornamental plant garden always thrives. Today, the garden covers over 5,000 square meters with more than 3,000 ornamental plants, regularly employing four workers with an average income of 5-6 million VND per month.

The azaleas from Ms. Thuy's garden that she sells during Tet (Lunar New Year) are priced from a few hundred thousand to over 10 million VND per tree.

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Thuy said: "Azaleas, begonias, and golden camellias – plants loved by many for their numerous health benefits and high economic returns – prefer moist, nutrient-rich hillside soil. To succeed in this ornamental plant farming model, the initial investment is quite large for purchasing seedlings, requires advanced care techniques, and demands diligence and meticulous attention to detail. Besides a large area, a greenhouse and an Israeli drip irrigation system are necessary. This method has many advantages, as it is suitable for all weather conditions and minimizes water waste."

Drip irrigation systems can be combined with automatic fertilization systems via valves, pipes, and pumps, ensuring fertilizers dissolve evenly in water and come into direct contact with the roots. This optimizes nutrient absorption by plants, keeping leaves fresh longer and, especially, ensuring flowers bloom evenly with vibrant colors. During plant growth, growers need to monitor regularly and prune leaves to help the plants concentrate nutrients on flower development. Currently, Ms. Thuy and four seasonal workers are taking advantage of favorable weather to care for various ornamental plants so that the flowers will bloom in time for the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026.

With the goal of developing green agriculture combined with experiential tourism for visitors to the Tay Thien Scenic Area, Ms. Thuy continues to invest and expand the area to plant some unique and rare plants; at the same time, she promotes the application of new farming techniques, proactively grasps the needs and fluctuations of the market to adjust production, bringing economic efficiency and creating more jobs for some local workers.

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Thuy's ornamental plant cultivation model has been selected by the commune's Party Committee as a model for economic development. Ms. Thuy is a responsible and exemplary leader, always at the forefront of local activities and movements. She also serves as a shining example, spreading the spirit of economic development to all segments of the population. Through this model, she contributes to the local Party Committee and government's efforts to gradually achieve the set economic and social development targets.

Xuan Nguyen

Source: https://baophutho.vn/lam-giau-tu-cay-canh-240423.htm