Harvesting water lilies during flood season. Photo: Vietnam.vn
Water lilies are the most popular “specialty” vegetable flower in the West, growing wild everywhere, from rivers, fields to low-lying ponds. In some places, people grow water lilies to exploit as vegetables, most of this flower grows and develops wildly. During the flood season, the vast fields in An Giang , Dong Thap, Long An... have many types of water lilies of all colors: purple, white, pink. People in the garden are familiar with the fields full of water lilies (which are harvested rice fields) showing off their colors. Among the purple, large flowers are white, pink, and small “ghost water lilies”. In the dry season, the roots of the “ghost water lilies” are hidden deep, “sleeping” underground, waiting for the water to return to “revive”. Water lilies often bloom, showing off their brilliant colors in the morning, after noon they often close their petals. Some types of water lilies bloom at night. “Ghost water lilies” often grow up with the high water, the stems can be several meters long. People in the West, mostly women, often wake up early in the morning to row boats to the fields to pick water lilies to bring to the market to sell or to prepare dishes such as water lily salad, sour soup, fish sauce hotpot, or thinly sliced to eat raw with some vegetables dipped in fish sauce. The long, succulent, crunchy, crunchy water lily stalks are "appetizing" in any dish. Water lilies are indispensable in hotpot or sour soup in the garden. Stir-fried water lily buds with garlic are also very delicious.
Women next to water lily boats. Photo: Vietnam.vn
Coming to Moc Hoa, Long An during the flood season, from September to December of the solar calendar, it is not difficult to see the image of farmers rowing boats to harvest water lilies, a "specialty" vegetable that grows wild everywhere, from rivers, fields to low-lying ponds. When the flood season comes, water lilies bloom. At this time, people here are busy harvesting water lilies to sell for stalks to eat, or arrange them into full boats to attract tourists to visit and experience.
Water lily season in Moc Hoa, Long An. Photo: Vietnam.vn
The water lily season in Moc Hoa, Long An is planted by people with plump stems, large flowers and a length of 1.5 to 2m. Wild water lilies (also known as ghost water lilies) have thinner stems, 3 to 6m long, soft stems, but have a resilient vitality. When the water rises, the water lilies also grow taller. Flood water covers the fields in the upstream area of Long An province, which is also the time when farmers harvest water lilies to earn extra income. People in the West, mostly women, often wake up early in the morning to row boats to the fields to pick water lilies and bring them to the market to sell. During the flood season, when coming to Dong Thap Muoi, along the provincial roads through Hong Ngu (Dong Thap) or Moc Hoa (Long An), it is easy to see people selling many rolls of fresh water lilies that have just been scooped up from the fields and still have the smell of mud. The price of a kilo of water lilies is about 10,000 VND/kg. The interesting thing is that visitors can both admire the beautiful scenery of the flower fields during the flood season and join the village girls in picking/pulling the water lilies onto the boat, or jump into the water with them to sort and clean the bunches of water lilies that have just been picked. The water lilies only bloom beautifully for a few days and then wither, "saving their place" for the buds to bloom one by one throughout the season until the water in the fields gradually dries up, the water lily buds/roots "fall asleep" again, only waking up in the following flood season, giving the land to farmers to plow, sow, and plant the new crop of rice. In recent years, Moc Hoa has become an attractive destination for photographers to create photos, and tourists to join colorful "water lily tours". Tourists sit on motorboats or rowboats following the village girls in conical hats, scarves, and Vietnamese traditional dresses to visit the immense water lily fields or the patches of water lilies growing in the cajuput forests, showing off their colors in the green canals reflecting the clouds and sky./.Yanjiang
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