Therefore, walking through the garden of jade leaves felt like reliving my past self before Tet, a feeling of nostalgia and longing as I strolled among the vibrant yellow blossoms of the apricot tree. I used to toddle behind my mother, carrying tea for my grandfather to admire the apricot tree in front of our house during Tet. That memory remains deeply ingrained in me to this day, and each year my affection for apricot blossoms grows stronger. So when I walk through the apricot blossom garden in front of the Imperial Citadel, I feel a sense of familiarity, as if I'm meeting old friends, and I understand even more deeply the genuine affection for the apricot blossoms of a Hue native far from home.

This apricot blossom garden, comprising 135 trees aged 30-60 years, is a gift to Hue from Ms. Pham Dang Tuy Hoa, the 11th-generation descendant of Empress Dowager Tu Du. I remember when we started planting the garden, many people from Hue came to see it, and everyone was secretly delighted. This apricot blossom garden is a subtle introduction to the spiritual and cultural life of the people of Hue. The value of the garden lies not only in the 4 billion VND price tag, but more importantly, in an immeasurable love for Hue, in the dedication and effort put into searching for and collecting each tree to bring here. Without a love for apricot blossoms, without understanding their place in the hearts of the people of Hue, this could not have been achieved. It's a gift born from understanding and affection, cherished and preserved; therefore, the flowers embody the spirit of Hue and its people.

In Hue culture, the apricot blossom is considered a royal, imperial flower, but it is also a flower of the common people. For the people of Hue, the apricot tree is as close as a gentle and patient friend, always standing there in the courtyard, silently watching family members grow up, mature, and grow old. I once read in the eyes of an old farmer in The Chi Tay apricot village when he said: "Seeing the apricot blossoms makes me long for my son to come home for Tet. He's been working all year and doesn't remember, but whenever I see the apricot blossoms, I remember him."

I sat gazing at the emerald green foliage, imagining this space once filled with the fragrance of apricot blossoms more than two hundred years ago. That Imperial Citadel, separated from today's apricot garden by only a city wall. Inside, the famous apricot blossoms of Hue's royal court – the Imperial Apricot – once bloomed, stirring the hearts of those in the Forbidden City: “The moon shines brightly on the apricot blossoms, filling the garden with fragrance / The apricot blossoms surpass the moon, their beauty filling the garden / The jade palace's brilliance remains year after year / The precious hall's fragrance lasts forever.”

(In January, apricot blossoms brighten the earth and sky / Fragrance permeates the garden / Every year, the jade palace, the moon always shines / The precious hall, the incense never diminishes day after day)

My friend abroad told me that every year during Tet (Vietnamese New Year), her father meticulously cuts out yellow paper flowers to make a branch of apricot blossoms, which he then places in a ceramic vase brought from Vietnam. She understands how much her father misses his homeland, so every year she tries to arrange for him to return home for Tet. Since then, without needing any medicine, the prospect of returning to Hue for Tet brings him joy all year round. Hearing her story, I understood more about the meaning of "homeland" that poet Bui Giang wrote about in his poem about apricot blossoms:

"Will you come home this spring?/The apricot blossoms of my hometown bloom gently/Gentle and graceful in autumn/The apricot blossoms of the old street bloom gently."

The plum blossom branch, representing "my hometown," is my homeland.

The yellow apricot blossoms of Hue have gently bloomed and are now turning green. A garden of jade-like leaves – a delicate, pure, and pristine "jade." A green that inspires dreams, possessing the inner strength to inspire steps taken to return to one's homeland. A green of January in Hue, amidst countless shades of green. A green of heartfelt confession, "Oh, how I love Hue!"

* Poem by King Minh Mạng, inscribed on the stele at Hiếu Lăng mausoleum.

** Translation of Nguyen Thanh Tho's poem

Xuan An

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/vuon-la-ngoc-163608.html