HAI PHONG – Ms. Bui Bich Ngoc spent three months renovating the terrace littered with bricks and tarnished corrugated iron, turning it into a home resort.
At the end of July, Ms. Ngoc went to the roof to repair a broken water tank, suddenly realizing that she was wasting a large available area. She decided to renovate the area.
The terrace is 60 m2, about 20 m2 has a roof, the gardener has converted it into a place to relax, the space without a roof is used to grow flowers and vegetables.
“I rely on the wall structure and load-bearing beams to avoid cracking the roof and well manage the irrigation water, not letting excess water seep into the ceiling,” she said. The total cost of buying materials and decorations is about 30 million VND.
She turned the broken bed in the corner of the terrace into a table and chairs to receive guests, the bed frame into a green decor… In addition, the items chosen to be purchased are convenient and compact for easy carrying, because the stairs are narrow. .
At first, Ms. Ngoc planted trees in plastic pots. After a month of exposure to the sun and wind, the pots are discolored and broken. The owner of the garden decided to buy wooden pallets to make wooden crates that are both beautiful and environmentally friendly.
For the first time doing carpentry, everything was surprised. Ngoc didn’t even know how to install a drill. “After a month, I was black but well-versed in everything, and my husband and children teased me that I was a genuine farmer,” she said. The yard has no railings, so she built tall wooden crates on the edge to make walls.
Her two 11-year-old and 13-year-old children are absent from school due to the epidemic, so they help their mother paint the walls, draw pictures, and fill in letters. Her husband was not supportive at first when he saw the parents and his daughter having fun from morning to noon, but when each corner of the terrace became more beautiful, he changed his mind and rolled up his hand to help.
The cactus painting on the door is the product of Ms. Ngoc and her two daughters. She planted trees according to the light needs of each type. The covered area is planted with perennial youth, youth, betel nut with sawed leaves… Adjacent to a place with little light, planting chrysanthemums, rosemary, coins and vegetables, and flowers.
Where there is a lot of sunshine, she prioritizes growing vines such as cantaloupe, cucumber, and bitter melon. At the end of the bitter melon season, Ngoc planted octopus tomatoes. She chooses trees of different heights interwoven to ensure aesthetics.
Corn has been planted for a month and a half has a good set of green leaves. In order to grow vegetables and flowers in the garden, she composts organic household waste including vegetables, fruit peels, eggshells, and coffee grounds. The owner of the garden spreads a layer of dead organic waste at the bottom of the pot to both drain well and create nutrients for the plants.
In the garden, there is also a box to collect dead leaves, the stumps are cut off in the season to compost to create nutrients for the soil. Every weekend, she cycled around the street asking for eggshells at bread and cake shops, dried and squeezed to store them for mixing and supplementing nutrients for the plants.
Having a “garden in the clouds” Ngoc’s family’s life changed greatly. The children are more excited to eat vegetables when they know that their mother planted them and took care of them. During the meal, the children excitedly told the change of each flowering branch in the garden.
Every weekend, her garden is a place for family and friends to gather. “The epidemic has stopped my work, quite stressful. The garden is where I have more positive energy to live happily every day,” she said. Follow vnexpress
