Suzanne's Mom's Blog

Photo: Ann Scott Tyson/Christian Science Monitor.
In China’s hutongs, people travel more slowly, affording them time to enjoy the lush bounty of small gardens.

I do like stories about the joy and innocence of growing things. Check out today’s feature from the Christian Science Monitor, an outlet that reliably covers more positive news than the blaring headlines we are used to.

Ann Scott Tyson writes, “On his morning rounds after a summer rainstorm breaks Beijing’s heat, Zhao Shisheng inspects his favorite vine of gourds. 

“From a small pot of dirt set against the wall of his back alley home, the vine climbs a bamboo pole, rising past mops hung out to dry. From there, it scales window ledges, pipes, and electricity wires, soaring toward a makeshift trellis Mr. Zhao built on his rooftop.

“In fact, Mr. Zhao’s prolific, potted garden – bursting with vines of melon, grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, and beans – is rapidly enveloping his modest, one-story house, where he lives with three generations of his family and a pet parrot.

“Mr. Zhao counts himself among the ranks of Beijing’s hutong gardeners – the avid, green-thumbed residents who work wonders in the city’s maze-like ancient neighborhoods, tucked behind skyscrapers and traffic-clogged avenues. In hutongs, as the narrow alleys are called in Chinese, people travel more slowly – often by bicycle or by foot – affording them time to enjoy the lush bounty, and admire the gardeners’ horticultural feats. 

“ ‘We eat some and I share the rest with neighbors. I don’t need to sell what I grow. I already have a way to make a living,’ Mr. Zhao says, pointing to a tiny convenience shop in the front room of his house.

“These gardens are largely vertical, rising like Jack’s beanstalk out of humble clay pots or small planters. Vibrant vines and curly tendrils cling to the old stone and rounded tiles of the traditional courtyard homes. Their rustling leaves create a soothing sound and welcome shade as they arc over alleys and courtyards on trellises. …

“Around the corner next to another hutong garden, a plein-air painter has set up an easel and canvas to capture the scene. ‘This plant is a loofah gourd,’ says Liu Changli, dabbing leaves on his watercolor tableau. ‘People in Beijing like to grow it because you can eat it, or simply enjoy looking at it.’ …

“The grower of the loofah gourds, Zhao Guangliang, steps out his door carrying a potted tomato that needs a sunnier exposure. Space is precious in the hutongs, where people live in crowded conditions and share public toilets. So gardeners must be creative. Assisted with strategically placed bamboo, they use every nook and cranny for plants. One of Mr. Zhao’s neighbors arrays plants on the roof of an unused van. Mr. Zhao opts, for now, to seat his tomato on a small chair. …

“Visit with them for a time, and the gardeners enjoy sharing not only growing tips, but also how to use different plants in cooking and other practical ways. ‘This is a Sichuan pepper bush I’ve been growing for more than a decade,’ boasts Mr. Wang, who withheld his first name for privacy. ‘You dry out the pepper in the yard, then you can use it to make mapo tofu or meat stew.’ …

“ ‘This is mint. Do you have some in your house? Smell this kind – see how strong it smells? If you get bitten by a mosquito you can crush some and rub it on your skin. … It’s good for people to chat like this,’ he reflects. ‘It gets rid of your worries.’ “

I wanted to grow loofah gourds here, but I knew I shouldn’t introduce a species to my region. Loofahs make those wonderful “sponges” I used to think came from the sea.

More at the Monitor, here. No paywall. Subscriptions encouraged.