China’s green fingers: Gardening takes off as Beijing’s wealthy look for peace amid the bustle of the city
China’s rich are growing an appreciation for green spaces in their luxurious villas, but have yet to develop real interest in personally maintaining them
Businesswoman Wendy Liang’s favourite time of the day is when she gets to sit in her garden, taking in the pleasant scent of fresh soil and watching her young daughter chase butterflies.
The 580-square-metre private garden was the reason Liang and her husband decided to buy their 13 million yuan (HK$15.5 million) classic French-style villa east of Beijing three years ago.
The couple spent another 1 million yuan hiring a professional design firm to build a pavilion and winding walkways in the garden and plant magnolia trees, chamomile and begonias.
“The expenses have gone beyond my budget. But that’s what you must pay for owning a beautiful garden, isn’t it?” said Liang, an IT manager with a media firm.
More wealthy Chinese families are learning to appreciate their gardens. They install French-style fountains, introduce Japanese landscaping, create grassy lawns like those in America, and plant shrubs more commonly seen in English gardens.
But many often lack gardening knowledge and are usually too busy to get involved in the actual garden work.
