Spring Day talks about the hobby of growing Narcissus flowers

According to journalist Nguyen Vinh Quyen - an expert on Hanoi cuisine and culture, the hobby of growing daffodils during Tet holidays of Hanoi people has been formed for a long time and daffodils are always present in Hanoi families during Tet holidays.

“Darlings are special flowers that only bloom once a year, in the twelfth lunar month, and last until the full moon of the first lunar month. The petals are pure white, the stamens are yellow, and the fragrance is light. They only need clean, pure water to survive. Narcissuses are a sophisticated hobby of Hanoians every Tet holiday, but over time, this hobby has gradually faded away. However, after the ups and downs of history, there are still people who love Hanoi who quietly preserve and pass on this cultural feature, including young people.” – journalist Nguyen Vinh Quyen shared.

That is the reason why, in the days leading up to Tet At Ty 2025, she organized a workshop inviting artisan Pham Hong Phuong to talk and guide how to carve daffodils. This event is part of a series of activities for a love of Hanoi initiated by journalist Nguyen Vinh Quyen in 2024.

Artisan Pham Hong Phuong guides on cutting and trimming daffodils.

Pham Hong Phuong is a hotel training specialist. But with his love for daffodils, he has nearly 30 years of experience growing flowers. "I learned about daffodils when I was studying abroad, but at that time I didn't like them because their smell was quite strong. In 1995, when I returned to my hometown and passed by Hang Luoc, I saw people selling daffodil bulbs and pots, so I immediately liked them and bought them to try," Phuong said.

The first time, under the seller's rough guidance and his imagination, Phuong also had a pot of daffodils that bloomed but only had 3 flower bags. Then, to be more professional, Phuong had the opportunity to meet Mr. Dung (in Vong Thi village) to learn and discuss about the hobby of growing daffodils. He considered him his first teacher about daffodils, even though he had been growing them for a number of years. Together with some flower-loving friends who wanted to restore the hobby of growing daffodils in Hanoi, Pham Hong Phuong founded the group "Daffodils and Friends", which currently has a large number of members. There, they often share skills in trimming, shaping and shaping daffodils.

Artisan Pham Hong Phuong said: "To teach someone how to play narcissus, it only takes about 10-15 minutes. But whether or not they can play well depends on each person's perseverance and practice spirit."

People often mistakenly think that learning to peel the bulbs is enough, but in fact, peeling narcissus only takes up about 10%, the remaining 90% is caring for and nurturing it, Mr. Phuong said. "Newbies take about 1-2 hours to peel narcissus. But the remaining 20 days for narcissus to bloom, they spend 1 hour every day with it. They have to bathe, after peeling there is a lot of sap, they have to bathe that sap, to avoid bacteria, fix the flowers and leaves, brush each root one by one. Especially at the end of the year in Hanoi, the weather is humid, the humidity is high, the temperature is high, at that time bacteria stick to the roots and the flower bulbs will rot. Caring for narcissus must be meticulous, brushing each root one by one, after 8-10 days it can be easier because you only have to change the water, but then it comes to the shaping step. When the narcissus grows, you have to remove the leaves, bend the leaves, trim the leaves... then turn the flowers, align the flower branches to the desired position", Mr. Phuong said.

According to Mr. Phuong, a person who wants to play with daffodils needs two factors. One is patience and perseverance because peeling daffodils requires removing each layer of the leaf. The second is passion because with enough love, everything can be done: "I myself am a hasty person, but when I learned about this hobby when I was young, daffodils helped me become more patient."

Journalist Nguyen Vinh Quyen said that perhaps there is no workshop that, even though it was more than an hour longer than the regulation, people still did not want to say goodbye like the one about daffodils. In the faint scent of incense, the gentle, gentle scent of daffodils, people sipped tea and jam while admiring the flowers and listening to the wonderful sharing of the speakers. There were tears when looking at the vase of daffodils, remembering the old grandmother who used to sit and trim flowers when December came. There were tears shared when holding on to flowers to overcome life's challenges and above all, emotions before the beauty of a special flower that likes cleanliness and needs the care of delicate people.

Pham Hong Phuong shared in detail so that everyone could better understand the process from bulb to flower of narcissus, as well as shared the philosophy of narcissus: beauty has no place for ease but sometimes requires sacrifice, dedication and devotion.

The talks and demonstrations on the hobby of growing narcissus, according to journalist Vinh Quyen's wish, are to spread a beautiful cultural feature of Hanoi people during Tet. Through the talk, the audience learned together why many people believe that growing narcissus in the house during Tet will bring good luck, drive away bad luck and help the family welcome a peaceful and happy new year.

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“I still can’t forget the days before Tet, when I was a child, every year my mother bought several baskets of narcissus from Hang Buom. My teacher loved peeling them, losing both his appetite and sleep because of narcissus. Many times, my mother threatened not to buy narcissus next year so that my teacher wouldn’t have to peel them; but that was just saying, but from the beginning of December onwards, he would go out to choose and buy narcissus...”.

(Excerpt from "Eating Tet Thuy Tien" by writer Vu Bang)

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/ngay-xuan-noi-ve-thu-choi-hoa-thuy-tien-10298925.html