Remember the season of the golden wildflowers.

Heading upstream along the border, following the branches of the local canals, I encountered the golden hues of the water hyacinth again. This humble flower, though it only appears once a year, has become a part of the memories of those who grew up in flood-prone areas.

Water hyacinths are a part of the flood season in the Mekong Delta. Photo: THANH TIEN

This season, in upstream border areas such as Vinh Te, Nhon Hung, Nhon Hoi, Phu Huu, etc., the water has risen to the fields. The water hyacinths along the canal banks are also entering their most vibrant time of the year, with their golden blossoms brightening the eyes of the villagers.

When asked about the season of wild water hyacinth, Mr. Nguyen Van Ha, a resident of An Phu commune, cheerfully replied: “Wild water hyacinth is just beginning to bloom, so there are very few left. If you want a lot, you have to wait until the beginning of the 7th lunar month, when people harvest them and sell them at the market. The water hyacinth you see at the market now, besides a few wild varieties, is mostly the Thai or Taiwanese variety. These are grown by farmers in fields, blooming year-round, not just during the flood season. In fact, they are also delicious to eat, but the flavor can't be as sweet and fragrant as the 'authentic' wild water hyacinth.”

According to Mr. Ha's story, the image of the old row of water hyacinths suddenly came to mind. Back then, my house was perched precariously on a hill, surrounded by floodwaters like an oasis. In my naive mind, I didn't understand why there were rows of water hyacinths along the hillside. Whenever the floodwaters reached our feet, they would bloom with bright yellow flowers, swaying in the late summer breezes. If we wanted to eat them, my mother would just pick a few in a basket, and in the afternoon we'd have a plate of stir-fried water hyacinths with shrimp or a steaming pot of fragrant sour soup – perfect for those rural evenings.

Back then, I didn't really like Sesbania grandiflora flowers because they had a pungent smell, a bitter taste, and were even slightly sour. As I grew older and drifted away from my mother's home-cooked meals, I began to appreciate the sweet flavor of Sesbania grandiflora flowers. Now, if I wanted to eat that stir-fried Sesbania grandiflora with shrimp dish from back then, there's no one left to cook it. It wasn't just my family; my aunts and sisters in the neighborhood would paddle their boats over every afternoon, grab a few flowers, and have a delicious side dish to eat with fermented fish sauce or fish noodle soup!

Because the Sesbania grandiflora was a wild plant back then, hardly anyone cultivated it. They were left to wither in the sun and rain as if they didn't exist. Then, as the days passed, when the floodwaters washed over the dry roots, the Sesbania grandiflora awakened. Tiny clusters of flowers, silently nurturing their life force, appeared in the morning sun. In the past, villagers didn't need to process much of it; they only harvested enough to eat, so some flowers were overripe and fell to the surface of the floodwaters.

Mr. Ha's blunt voice brought me back to reality. The story about the water hyacinth season continued steadily in the midday sun. "About ten years ago, people used to pick wild water hyacinths from the fields. Now, if you want to eat water hyacinths, you have to cultivate them. Those with vacant land plant a few rows and have water hyacinths to eat; if there's any left over, they harvest and sell it. I heard that the income is quite good during the months when the fields are flooded," Mr. Ha explained.

Mr. Ha added that many farmers have now switched to growing Sesbania grandiflora in dryland conditions, just like other vegetables. With an area of ​​about 1,000 square meters, if they plant Thai or Taiwanese Sesbania grandiflora, they can earn a decent income when it's time to harvest the flowers. For those who grow on larger plots, they have to hire laborers to harvest from midnight to be able to deliver to their customers by dawn. Then, Mr. Ha pointed to the Sesbania grandiflora plants growing along the canal and explained that they have owners. People plant them, spread a little fertilizer, and wait for the water to flood the base of the plants before harvesting when the Sesbania grandiflora flowers bloom.

For true food connoisseurs, they have to wait until the flood season to savor the slightly pungent, sweet flavor of the Sesbania grandiflora, a flower nurtured by the alluvial soil of the Mekong Delta. Sometimes, Sesbania grandiflora harvested during the dry season is chosen to ease the longing for that rustic taste. Meeting visitors from afar who come to An Giang during the flood season, I understand even more the value of these gifts from the flood season. Guests insist on trying stir-fried Sesbania grandiflora with shrimp or in sour soup. Seeing them eat with relish, praising the dish, makes me happy too, knowing that this wildflower from my homeland is loved by people from afar.

Bidding farewell to the cheerful farmers in the upstream region, I continued along Provincial Road 957 to admire the Chau Doc River gently carrying silt to nourish the fields. Occasionally, I would still spot a few sprigs of wild sunflowers with scattered blossoms. Perhaps they are waiting a little longer to offer the world their vibrant clusters of flowers, so that anyone who grew up with the flood season will still fondly remember the simple, rustic sunflower blossoms of their homeland.

THANH TIEN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/nho-mua-dien-dien-vang-bong-a425990.html