{"id":1899,"date":"2020-05-12T16:38:46","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T08:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/?p=1899"},"modified":"2020-09-14T22:25:58","modified_gmt":"2020-09-14T14:25:58","slug":"vietnamese-home-gardens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/vietnamese-home-gardens\/","title":{"rendered":"Vietnamese City Dwellers Grow Lush Gardens To Keep Their Homes Cool Amid A Summer Heatwave"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vietnamese home gardens keep their owners cool<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n

Summer is here at last<\/strong>, but the current heatwave is unbearable for many, especially those living in the big cities devoid of greenery.<\/p>\n

Blasting the air conditioner around the clock is the most popular, yet costly solution to stay cool. But there is a more environmentally friendly and cheaper way to combat the heatwave<\/strong> in your own house: plants.<\/p>\n

To keep their homes cool in a more cost-effective and aesthetic manner, many owners of Vietnamese home gardens have put their green thumbs to use by filling their living environments with plants.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

A home farm in Saigon<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n

Despite living in Saigon, Vietnam\u2019s most crowded and land-scarce city, Facebook user Pham Huyen<\/a> is not fazed from turning her home into a tranquil, green farm.<\/p>\n

In NGHI\u1ec6N NH\u00c0<\/a>, a Facebook group for people who share a passion for interior design and renovation, Pham Huyen shared stunning photos <\/a>of her DIY 280-square-meter home farm in Saigon.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"mini
\nPham Huyen and her daughter
\n<\/em>Image credit: <\/em>Pham Huyen<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Huyen\u2019s farm is home to a variety of vegetables and fruits, such as kale, cucumis melo or muskmelon, loofa, and carissa carandas berry shrubs. <\/strong>We imagine she won\u2019t need to go to the market to get veggies at all.<\/p>\n

\"mini
\nA 2 month-old vegetable farm
\n<\/em>Image credit: <\/em>Pham Huyen<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

To add more flair to her home farm, Huyen and her husband built a small stilt house (nh\u00e0 s\u00e0n<\/em>), <\/strong>which is made of bamboo, wood, and straw and built above the ground. This stilt house is frequently used as their family\u2019s cooking and dining place, and it\u2019s also the<\/em> favorite hangout spot among her family and friends.<\/p>\n

\"stiltHuyen and her friends dining in the stilt house
\n<\/em>Image credit: <\/em>Pham Huyen<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>To complete her garden with a water feature that blends into the landscape, Huyen also built a lotus pond and a fish pond.<\/p>\n

\"lotus
\nImage credit: <\/em>Pham Huyen<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Huyen revealed that the mini farm has strengthened the connection between her family members. <\/strong>They spend more bonding time together through gardening activities such as watering plants and watching them grow.<\/p>\n

And with so much greenery to enjoy, she can easily stave off any cabin fever.<\/p>\n

\n

Growing many plants in a smaller space is possible too<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n

For people living in small apartments or townhouses, designing a lush indoor garden to purify and cool the air is not mission impossible if you know which plants to grow.<\/p>\n

\"chilling
\nImage credit: <\/em>Tu\u00e2n Nguy\u1ec5n\u200e<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Tu\u00e2n Nguy\u1ec5n\u200e<\/a>, another member of the Facebook group, shared his plant-filled chilling corner<\/strong> in his Hanoi home and tips on how he built it. To maximise the vertical space in his limited gardening environment, Tu\u00e2n Nguy\u1ec5n used hanging plants<\/strong>, and chose brightly-lit areas that are the most suitable areas to grow plants.<\/p>\n

For indoor plants that can thrive with little care and sunlight<\/strong>, Tu\u00e2n Nguy\u1ec5n<\/a> recommends mother-in-law’s tongue and araceae plants that give out oxygen at night and purify the air.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"atrium
\nImage credit: <\/em>Ho\u00e0ng Thanh Th\u1ee7y<\/em><\/a>\u200e<\/em><\/p>\n

Ho\u00e0ng Thanh Th\u1ee7y<\/a>\u200e, another member of the group, gave her house\u2019s atrium area a tropical aura <\/strong>by planting three live Eastern redbud trees, which are often mistaken by her guests as artificial trees.<\/p>\n

A die-hard gardener herself, Th\u1ee7y<\/a> also manages to fit plants in as many corners of her home as possible. She grows ficus lyrata, aroid palms, and Eastern redbud trees <\/strong>because these plants thrive without too much sun and wind.<\/p>\n

\n

Netizens are inspired to follow suit<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n

Photos flaunting these DIY gardens in the group have won praise from its members. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Vietnamese
\nImage credit: <\/em>NGHI\u1ec6N NH\u00c0<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too bad that my home doesn\u2019t have many plants. Watching photos of your living space give me cravings for greenery. I\u2019ve learned a lot (from your photos),\u201d Ng\u1ecdc Huy\u1ec1n<\/a> expressed her inspiration from Tu\u00e2n Nguy\u1ec5n\u2019s lush balcony in the comment section.<\/p>\n

\"Vietnamese<\/p>\n

Image credit: <\/em>NGHI\u1ec6N NH\u00c0<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Th\u1ea3o Nguy\u1ec5n<\/a> commented on Pham Huyen\u2019s mini farm, \u201cThe vegetable farm looks so desirable that I can\u2019t stop going over the photos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apart from flooding the comments with praise, netizens also asked for gardening tips.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Vietnamese
\nImage credit: <\/em>Pham Huyen<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMay I know how you grew your cucumis melo<\/em> so that they could produce fruits?\u201d Facebook user Oralie Li<\/a> commented on a photo from Pham Huyen, expressing a common curiosity among urban gardeners hoping to farm their own produce.<\/p>\n

\n

Vietnamese home gardens help keep city-dwellers cool during the hot summer<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n

Not many of us can sustain even an hour without air-conditioning these days when the heat is peaking in most parts of the country. However, constantly being in a closed, air-conditioned room can harm our health<\/strong>, because bacteria and viruses can linger in closed spaces.<\/p>\n

We can try to keep our homes cool and improve the quality of our air<\/strong> in the long run by growing indoor plants. They can cool the air during transpiration, add elegance to your living space, make your home less stuffy, and even become a source of organic vegetables and fruits.<\/p>\n

Also check out:<\/p>\n