Engineering a beautiful floral display
By Lu Xiaofeng and Xu Wei |
April 30, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
WHEN people walk onto the terrace of the Fuyun Community Culture Center in the Jiading Industrial Zone, they will probably be amazed to see such beautiful scenery. The roof garden features more than 500 pots of flowers and plants covering 20 or so categories.
The roof garden can be compared to a mini flora museum, in which all the flowers are planted by Sun Licheng.
He has been carefully nurturing them over the past 40 years. Today, the roof garden has become a good place for residents in the neighborhood to enjoy flowers and discuss their own experience of growing plants.
Flower planting is a hobby for Sun, who used to be an engineer before retirement. After graduating from college, Sun was assigned to work in Zhejiang Province. Due to a heavy work schedule, he suffered a lot from insomnia. A friend told him that planting flowers was a good way to cure insomnia. Sun tried and gradually he became very enthusiastic about the hobby.
Sun, 68, lives a frugal life. He spends all his pocket money on planting flowers. Since mature flowers are often expensive, he travels many places to get various flower seedlings, and grows them on his own.
"Planting flowers is definitely a healthy and fulfilling hobby," Sun said.
"It helps me forget the troubles and unhappiness in work and daily life."
After planting for more than a decade, Sun has a growing collection of flowers. In 1990, he returned to work in Shanghai, along with two truckloads of plants.
Most people are only interested in the beauty of the plants, however, few knows it is a painstaking thing to care for them.
"Look, this Osaka pine has become 'a disabled'," Sun explained. "Three years ago on its way to an exhibition at Shanghai Botanic Garden, it dropped to the ground and its crown was broken. The artistic value lost because of the fall."
To find high-quality flower seedlings, Sun still frequently travels around the country by train and spends about 5,000-6,000 yuan (US$790-US$948) monthly on seeking plant seedlings, nearly all of his retirement pay.
Sun treasures his plants very much and always says, "They are priceless to me." For instance, he once declined a man's offer of 200,000 yuan for his golden cypress.
The roof garden can be compared to a mini flora museum, in which all the flowers are planted by Sun Licheng.
He has been carefully nurturing them over the past 40 years. Today, the roof garden has become a good place for residents in the neighborhood to enjoy flowers and discuss their own experience of growing plants.
Flower planting is a hobby for Sun, who used to be an engineer before retirement. After graduating from college, Sun was assigned to work in Zhejiang Province. Due to a heavy work schedule, he suffered a lot from insomnia. A friend told him that planting flowers was a good way to cure insomnia. Sun tried and gradually he became very enthusiastic about the hobby.
Sun, 68, lives a frugal life. He spends all his pocket money on planting flowers. Since mature flowers are often expensive, he travels many places to get various flower seedlings, and grows them on his own.
"Planting flowers is definitely a healthy and fulfilling hobby," Sun said.
"It helps me forget the troubles and unhappiness in work and daily life."
After planting for more than a decade, Sun has a growing collection of flowers. In 1990, he returned to work in Shanghai, along with two truckloads of plants.
Most people are only interested in the beauty of the plants, however, few knows it is a painstaking thing to care for them.
"Look, this Osaka pine has become 'a disabled'," Sun explained. "Three years ago on its way to an exhibition at Shanghai Botanic Garden, it dropped to the ground and its crown was broken. The artistic value lost because of the fall."
To find high-quality flower seedlings, Sun still frequently travels around the country by train and spends about 5,000-6,000 yuan (US$790-US$948) monthly on seeking plant seedlings, nearly all of his retirement pay.
Sun treasures his plants very much and always says, "They are priceless to me." For instance, he once declined a man's offer of 200,000 yuan for his golden cypress.
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