Perhaps, almost people only know Hanoi where is different to other cities by 4 seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter. However, as for local people, the loving point of Hanoi is twelve flowers season according to 12 months in a year. For more than 20 years I have been living there, it seems as my hometown and also it is very closed to me with romantic beauty.
Let’s discover which flower in each month.
January: peach flowers
February: mountain-ebony flower
March: tiny flowers
April: Lily flowers
May: purple lagerstroemia and phoenix flowers
Jun: Lotus
July: sunflowers
August: flowers of bead trees
September: Alstonia scholaris
October: Daisy flowers
November: forget-me-not flowers
December: yellow mustard flowers
Every spring comes, that is the time to peace flowers say hello with us. There are some huge gardens as Nhat Tan, Tu Lien with a lot of peace plants. Many vendors display peach plants, or peach branches with full pink buds along each street. This kind of flower is only suitable with cool weather.
When we see the peace flowers, we feel the Tet holiday, the beginning a new year very closed to us with nice atmosphere.
Nowadays, even though there are some colors as white, pink, red, but pink is still like unique one of spring.
Buying a peace plant or a branch is a often habit of all families on new year occasion, which time every member finish a working year and reunion together at their home.
The peace flowers gone, the Ban flower season accesses with purple and white colors which go along many streets.
Especially, before this kind was started planting on the high mountain area as Son La, Dien Bien, after that our Gov brought them to grow up. So far, each flower season comes which cover some streets as near to Hochiminh museum by both of purple and white color creating a special view in Hanoi city.
The specific of this flower is that has 5 petals in which are 4 white ones and 1 purple ones, the tree is not too high therefore we could touch the leaves and the flowers to take photos.
The following month is March, tiny flower season, you can walk some streets such as Phan Dinh Phung, Phung Hung, etc where your eyes toward on the sky and see a white areas carpet the clouds. That is the tiny flowers of dalbergia tonkinensis which is special point of Hanoi in March.
Even though, dalbergia tonkinensis have not any particularly specific, the flowers blossoms and stay with vivid green leaves creating a stranger beauty with a peaceful Hanoi.
In each April occasion, women and girls have thrilled to greet lily seasons on many wide gardens, which cover by a white color as a spacious field.
In additional, the vendors use their bicycles to bring many bushes of lily flowers to along all the streets. That’s also a specific in Hanoi wherever not have.
These flowers have a pure and bright beauty which are simple, humble and noble, you only look once time and be attracted forever. We see it like to the trumpet, and which comes quickly and passes quickly also. Sometime, people have not realized the flower season returned, the lily petal faded, it appears only from 2 to 4 weeks, at least each family has a vase of lily flower once in this season.
The Purple lagerstroemia and phoenix flowers seem the “farewell flowers” of students and pupils when summers come. They end the studying period and get the holiday, and also some of them say goodbye to have a exam to upgrade the class or school, or they stop studying to jump in working.
Along many streets, Hanoi change to the purple and red colors by 2 kinds of flowers, especially a long 2 river sides as Lang street, Kim Ma street, ect. And we also enjoy listening to the symphony among each tree by cicadas, That’s so fun.
As you know, lotus is a national flower of our country, and Hanoi is a place where are famous of this kind of flower has long been become the symbol of culture, spirit and elegant personality of Vietnamese.
Lotus season coming in, people wake up all to grow up after sleeping long time and the petals are dancing and blooming to appear the yellow sepals in the sunshine. The pink color of lotus flower is neither absolutely brilliant nor fuzzy, but it is ethereal and plain to make people feeling comfortably, and also it is similar to young girls in villages at last time who are simple and honest.
Particularly, lotus tea is also famous in this month, cause it make by fresh lotus with light smelling.
When you see blazing yellow sunflowers following bikes to doors of Hanoians covering the streets, it’s time of July. A lot of girls go to the sunflower fields to keep wonderful moment.
That’s out of world, when you see the sunflowers blossoming along 2 sides on the way of flower garden which is covered by yellow color. The shape of this flower is similar to the sun, that’s why it named sunflower. How fabulous is it!
The weather in August is sometimes hot, sometimes cool with sudden rainy as an fickle girl, but very lovely. Instantly, it is happy time to see the picture of thousand of tiny flowers of bead tree blooming,. Swaying lightly under the wind of the summer, these white flowers in harmony with the green leaves create a wonderful paint of nature.
Occasionally, we look for some bead fruits are covered by flowers and leaves, green and white are mixed together to a fresh feeling.
When the cool weather comes, means autumn returned in Hanoi, Alstonia scholaris blossom and send the scent everywhere. Alstonia scholaris become a symbol of Hanoi in autumn. The smelling of Alstonia scholaris with cool winds come into each corner, each street like to inform people that the fall is coming.
People in Hanoi often ride bicycle through many streets and enjoy the weather including breathing the Alstonia scholaris smelling.
When the weather becomes colder, daisy flowers look like flowing on each street in Hanoi. The petal of flower is white, and thin with yellow sepal which create a soft style like a girl.
Hanoi is famous with many big field of this kind of flower, it is covered as a white rug, absolutely attract us.
November brings a purple color into Hanoi by for-get-me-not flowers which are the same shapes with daisy but has the different beauty. Vendors ride bicycles enclose purple baskets, go through the streets in cold days, that is a romantic painter. This flower season is also short time that they come and disappear on the streets only 2 weeks before the cold winds of winter rush.
Hanoi has a special flower in the cold winter days: yellow mustard flowers which one are normally planted along rivers and blossom in this season. From the end of November, these yellow flowers are distinguished in the entire corner of gardens in a cold weather. They sway lightly in the wind, on hair and in the hands of beautiful brides.
Which flower do you love most? For me, each has its own beauty and attractiveness. I always enjoy seeing how Hanoi changes by each color flower every month.
Donna Nguyen 