Flowers help various cultures blossom
Online
Here they are — perfectly exquisite flowers in carefully coifed arrangements, accompanied by the sight of ladies in marvelous hats — with the grand launch of the annual Chelsea Flower Show in late May, Britain’s gardening season has begun.
Living in London over the years, I have grown to appreciate how important gardens are in British culture.
One close friend, Sally, always passionately tells me what plants she has been watering or trimming in her garden at the beginning of every conversation. John, another friend, says the first thing he does when reaching home after work is to sit in his garden for a while, so he can “find” himself.
I guess my friends are not alone in their fascination with plants, judging from the dozens of famous flower shows across the country, and the hundreds of expansive garden centers where British families gather at the weekend.
And that’s understandable. British children, who grow up reading popular children books such as The Secret Garden and Winnie the Pooh, know that gardens are very important places from an early age. Despite British people’s constant moaning about the weather, the country’s relatively mild climate is actually suitable for producing a wide range of plants, making gardening a fun activity.
Walking in beautiful British gardens has inspired me to reflect on the significance of gardens and flowers in Chinese culture.
The magnificent “Daguanyuan Garden” in the famous 18th century novel Dream of the Red Chamber, is a secluded place where young men and women live in childhood innocence and sincerity, cut away from the more complex emotions and social entanglements of the wider story.
Another example is Peach Blossom Spring, a fable written in 421 AD by poet Tao Yuanming that depicts an ethereal utopia where people live in harmony with nature, unaware of the outside world. This peach blossomcovered landscape symbolizes an unobtainable utopia, an ideal world in our hearts.
Unbeknown to many, China has made very significant historical contributions to British gardens.
In the 19th century, plant hunters including Ernest Wilson, George Forrest, and Frank Kingdom Ward ventured to China to gather exotic plant seeds to bring back to the United Kingdom. Wilson spent so much time in China hunting for plants that he became known as “China” Wilson.
Those seeds were from plants including lilies, hydrangeas, and peonies, all now common sights in British gardens.
In more recent years, Chinese garden designs have become interesting additions to British garden shows. Last year’s Chelsea Flower Show witnessed a Chengdu Silk Road Garden, and this year it welcomed a Wuhan Water Garden.
The Wuhan Water Garden, for example, celebrated the centuries-old water management system in China’s “City of 100 Lakes”.
The Silk Road garden combines architecture and planting in a conceptual East-West landscape with a dramatic “Silk Road” bridge linking the various elements of the garden.
The flowers in the gardens bloomed radiantly, bringing with them energy, growth, and beauty.
In their quiet way, from history to the present day, seeds and flowers have created a powerful connection between the Chinese and British cultures, propelling forward our two nations’ ever-closer friendship.
Contact the writer at cecily.liu@ mail.chinadailyuk.com