Businesswoman cultivates rose garden of nearly 500 species

Early each morning, the 42-year-old wakes up to the sound of birds chirping. As they flock to her garden, the scent of roses drifts through the window into her bedroom.
The owner of the garden grows excited on seeing the Dream Light Rose she loves in full bloom. "Walking in my own flower garden, I feel like I'm lost in a mystical paradise," said the female director of a cable television branch in Bao Loc Town, Central Highlands' Lam Dong Province.

In 2010, she moved with her mother and two daughters from Saigon to Bao Loc to live due to a change in work. She bought a 300-square-meter strip of land for VND1.8 billion, used a third of the area to build a house, and two parts for gardening.
Having visited many rose gardens while in Europe, Suong wished one day to have a beautiful flower garden for herself. But due to a busy schedule, she did not pick up gardening until 2015.

Suong spent a chunk of her time hunting for different kinds of roses both at home and abroad, including Thai and Vietnamese grafts, along with other plant species.
To import rare rose varieties from Europe, she had to place orders through a middle man. In 2015, the price of bare-root roses from abroad was around VND1.2-2 million per plant while roses imported from mountain resort town Sa Pa cost VND10 million.
Everything in the garden was desgined by herself, from paving the walkway to installing flower arches.
"I often get scratches on my hands from thorns, but since I love flowers so much, I keep gardening every day," she said, adding she works on improving the garden whenever she has spare time.

At first, she thought that using a lot of fertilizer would help her roses grow faster. Unexpectedly, more than 40 imported rose plants withered and died, wasting more than VND80 million worth of seedlings. After this painful lesson, she read more to gain experience in caring for her garden

"For newly bought or weak plants, I have to cut all flowers, prune the branches and change the soil. For best results, I use rice husks, cow dung, coir and mix them in with the soil," Suong revealed.
Later, the rose bushes are watered every three days to stimulate root growth. When the plant sprouts new shoots, she follows up by incorporating some organic fertilizer, watering the roots once a week, spraying fungicides right after planting and others.
To treat mealybugs, the gardener mixes dishwashing liquid with cooking oil, rubbing solution onto the leaves with a toothbrush. If there are red spiders, she will use a spray to wash the leaves.
She designed the garden in European style. In order for the roses to have enough space to grow, she had to cut down many trees.
Currently, the garden has a total 450 species of roses, with total costs reaching more than VND300 million. But she said she will not stop here. Every time there is a new variety, she orders and adds it to her garden.

Suong knows the names of all types of roses in the garden, along with their properties and methods of care.
"Mac spice roses from New Zealand have been bred and domesticated in Vietnam, the flowers usually bloom in clusters, small in size and mild in scent," she noted.

The white Friendship rose varieties were planted by the gate since it helps form an arche thanks to its strong vining ability and because its flowers bloom in clusters pefect for decoration.
Suong often takes photos of her rose garden and posts it to online flower-loving groups, where many other flower enthusiasts ask her for advice on how to care for flowers, treat worms, aphids and others.

While many families opted to travel for the Reunification Day (April 30) and Labor Day (May 1) holidays, Suong and her family just played around in her garden and observed the beauty of the flowers.
"Every 35 days, there will be a new blooming period. As birds start chirping again, life suddently feels more brighter and livelier," she said.