Gardeners bring new life into courtyards

Yu Hong

Courtyard embellishments are not only a display of delicate decorations, but also reflect the appreciation and attitude toward life of gardeners.

Eleven families in Jiading have won the title of ¡°2019 Most Beautiful Courtyard,¡± among them Wang Lin and Zhu Mingjue family from Jiading Town and Xu Chunxia family in the Xincheng Road Community. Let¡¯s take a look at their courtyeards and enjoy the beauty they have created.

You will see various plants including succulents and banzhilian (herba scutellariae barbatae) in the garden of Qin Yuan Chun, which is at the western side of the Huangqiao Community, while a swing made from rattan is hidden among the flourishing climbing plants. More colorful plants are seen if you walk inside.

You could not imagine how dirty and muddy this corner was seven years ago when construction waste and mud were everywhere.

¡°I like to plant flowers and greenery, so I told myself that since we moved here, let¡¯s make some changes,¡± said Zhu.  

They spent a year cleaning up the garbage and designing a path in the courtyard, reviving this abandoned corner.

The family has made great efforts to reform the corner. Their daughter, a designer, helped paint cartoons on the wall. Zhu got up at 5am every day to take care of the plants, watering and fertilizing. Wang dismantled a baby bed to make a shelf, used copper wires to create a little bird and drew a Doraemon pattern on a used tire.

The courtyard also provides a place for leisure for their neighbors.

¡°Nobody was willing to come here in the past, but now an earthshaking change has happened, and residents love to sit here chatting or resting,¡± said a resident.

The couple have become the community¡¯s gardening experts since then. Residents will ask them for advice when they meet problems or put their own plants in the courtyard to help them flourish.

Another courtyard in Jia Xian Zhuang in Xincheng Road Community attracts local residents.

¡°The most beautiful season is April and May when flowers are in full blossom,¡± said Xu Chunxia, a primary school teacher.

Some plants such as roses are easy to get sick, so patience is important when taking care of them, just like caring for her students.

In her spare time, Xu will wear an apron to clean the garden and engage herself in gardening.

Xu Chunxia 

Wang Lin 
and Zhu Mingjue