Early Tet atmosphere at Nhat Tan flower village

Gardeners in Nhat Tan flower village on the edge of Ha Noi's West Lake are busier these days tending to a variety of flowers, particular peach blossoms, so that they can bloom on time for the Lunar New Year Tet holiday.
This year, the Tet holiday falls in early February. Gardeners are plucking peach leaves now so that the trees will have young green leaves, buds and blossoms for Tet, local gardener Nguyen Van Sang said.
Sang said that he usually spends most of the day in his four “sao” (each “sao” is equal to 360 sq.m) peach garden.
"We are so familiar with the farming but always excited and anxious when Tet is coming because the trees are easily affected by weather," Sang said.
The weather this year is unusually hotter than previous years but it will not be a big problem, he said, adding that they are experienced enough to have blossoms for Tet.
Tran Thi Minh, another peach garden owner said that her family is at the garden all the time to nurse the trees and to protect them from thieves.
Some people have already visited the peach gardens to choose trees with unique or nice shapes.
The time before and after Tet in Nhat Tan village is particularly busy.
Before Tet, you can see colourful bossoms, crowds or even traffic jams and gadeners' working. After Tet, the garden became quiet, with few peach trees left but still beautiful with some buds.
Nhat Tan flower village and neighbouring villages like Nghi Tam, Tu Lien, Phu Thuong that are well known for ornamental plants have become more crowded in the last few years as visitors, particular young people, come to take photos with flowers.
Flower branding
Nhat Tan flower village in Nhat Tan Ward, Tay Ho District is famous for peach flowers. Most of the 140 ha of farming land in the ward is used to grow peach flowers. About 690 local households grow peach flowers there.
In 2008, the National Office of Intellectual Property under the Ministry of Sciences and Technology granted a patent for the peach flowers grown in Nhat Tan village.
On December 22, Ha Noi's People's Committee granted the village the title "Ha Noi Traditional Trade Village 2015" which is expected to promote the image of the flower village.