It only took her 1,000 days to transform the shabby chicken coop into a garden wonderland, and everyone in the village was envious!

Chicken coop becomes garden

Looking at the garden above, it’s hard to imagine that it was a chicken coop three years ago. Jiuyue, the owner of the garden, is not a rich second generation, but a thorough "second generation farmer". When she came home, she saw this chicken coop, which was still dirty and messy no matter how she cleaned it. She thought that she was quite good at growing flowers, so she decided to turn it into a flower garden!

Jiuyue decided to go all out. With the straightforwardness of a Sichuan girl, she immediately started to search online for information. The garden in her mind should have many flowers, grasses, trees, and a sun room so that her family could take a rest in the garden and be in a dream...

While collecting information, Jiuyue was still struggling with her parents. They just wanted to plant corn next to the chicken coop, and it would be too late if they didn't plant it this year. There was no other way. Jiuyue followed her parents around every day and showed them the information she had found. The garden was so beautiful, do you still have to do farm work for the rest of your life?

Overall garden renovation

Everyone loves beauty, and since the daughter found nearly 10,000 pictures, the parents finally decided to fulfill their dream of building a garden with their daughter. In the spring of 2016, we worked together to knock down the wall of the chicken coop, and we haven’t had a single day of rest since then.

1. Overall planning, paving the way first

At the beginning of the renovation, the overall area was measured first, the layout was made according to the plan, and then what needed to be demolished was demolished, and what needed to be dug was dug. It was all boring physical work, and it was too expensive to hire workers. The whole family, young and old, had to work together. They were covered in dust and dirt all day long, and they hadn't eaten on time for a month or two.

Two months later, the chicken coop and the abandoned yard were basically leveled, and some stone roads were laid out so that the divisions of the garden would be clear. Some of the stone slabs are leftovers from home renovations, and some are purchased. The materials are too expensive, so Jiuyue recommends that you save as much as possible.

The main road in the garden will be paved with gravel, and all the gravel was picked up by Jiuyue at the river and laid one by one by herself. There are still some stones and feet in the corners of the road. Jiuyue has a daughter who is in elementary school. These little ideas are all hers.

2. Central small platform

At the intersection of several paths, Jiuyue designed a small platform and paved it with some broken marble. It was mainly completed by her father. Her father, who was still growing corn at the time, contributed the most to building the garden!

This small platform is for everyone to have activities in the garden. In addition to viewing, it is also convenient for pruning flowers and plants, especially flower arranging. That is Jiuyue’s favorite, and she has fantasized about it many times in her mind.

Plant flowers quickly

After the roads were paved and the areas were clearly divided, Jiuyue started to plant flowers. After all, it takes time for flowers to grow. When the garden was almost ready, the flowers were also grown. So she started by planting hydrangeas, roses, clematis, and other beautiful and easy-to-grow large flowers. They would grow in the same year and you could see them blooming in the summer.

The corners of the garden were enclosed with stones, and some succulent seedlings, evergreens that grow wildly, and colorful alum roots were planted. Jiuyue was not a master of growing flowers at that time, and it was common for half of the ten plants to die, so she first picked small, easy-to-grow species to test the waters.

This is the succulent plant that Jiuyue planted in a pot. She hasn’t dared to plant it in the ground yet. It’s summer now, so she’d better take good care of it!

Build a temporary pond

The flowers have been planted almost completely, and we are just waiting for them to grow and bloom. Meanwhile, the weather is getting hotter and hotter, and the whole family hasn’t had time to take a break, so we immediately decided to build another small pond. Let’s take action as soon as we think of it, let’s get started! The pond was located in a corner of the garden and was built with large stones and cement. Water could be added when the cement dried.

Later, my dad used cement to build a rockery, which was really interesting when placed in the pond. I happened to have a flat stone at home, which was perfect as a tray for the water lily pot. There were originally a few fish and turtles in the pond, but half of the fish died and all the turtles ran away! I had to raise it again...

Life in the Garden

Jiuyue Garden has gone through three years of ups and downs, with both bitterness and sweetness. Although the climate in Sichuan is relatively good, the severe winter of 2017 still caused heavy casualties. Because there were too many flowers, many ground-planted flowers could not be transplanted indoors in time, and most of the flowers grown outdoors were frozen to death overnight.

No one is born good at growing flowers. Jiuyue has killed countless flowers before she achieved today's results. Now the garden mainly grows hydrangeas. It may be because the soil in the south is acidic, most of the flowers she grows are blue.

I also planted a lot of clematis, and the flowers are so beautiful. I always wanted to plant them before I had a garden. Now I have planted many varieties~

There are also the succulents that Jiuyue raised at the beginning, now they have all become old trees. There is no secret, just grow them outdoors and rely on the weather!

The garden is not only the world of flowers and plants, but also some cute little ones. I have to mention Jiuyue’s pet Huihui: it is an expert in posing for photos. It comes up as soon as you take a photo. It also likes to play in the garden. When it gets angry, it sneaks into the garden and you can’t call it back.

The three grey cubs were also born in the garden, they are chubby and have all found good families.

Huihui's good friend Da Mao, the two are always inseparable

I read Jiuyue's Gardening Notes

What do you feel if you love flowers?

I want to discuss with more flower lovers

Let's chat a little more~