Slow Life in Taiwan: a Trip to Flower Fields in Blossom Season
Written by Senior Editor Xue-yao KUO and Travel Editor, Liangliang
What kinds of flowers do you like? Do you watch cherry blossom in sakura season? Or the tung flowers widely known as May Snow? Taiwan is located at the border of tropical and subtropical regions and it has a big gap in the altitude that brings abundant natural resources and there are different flowers and plants to appreciate in four seasons. This time we will show you to Miaoli, Taichung and Yunlin to watch the beauty and grandeur of a variety of flower seas.
The Golden Sea the Untamed Power
Ever thought about the fallow farmland can be utilized with pot flowers and turned into a scenic spot for agri-tours? Every winter, by the country roads in San-wan, Nan-zhuang, Tung-xiao areas in Miaoli, there are stretches of sunflower seas! Passing through the bypass roads (the touristic collector road between Nan-zhuang and San-wan), we find each and every golden sunflower energetic and vibrant, looking up towards the sun as if they were brave soldiers that stop many riders and travellers to watch the beautiful view. And Nan-zhung Farmers’ Market, right next to Nan-zhuang Flower Sea, provides the freshest local agricultural products and seasonal fruits and vegetables. Asides from the golden scenery, this place is also worth visiting so to show support and acknowledge for farmers’ efforts and hard work.
When you are in Nan-zhuang, remember to visit “Nanchiang Leisure Farm Area”, asides from DIY activities such as pounding tea or mochi, visitors can also relish the taste of the local far-ranched chickens, potherbs, and hand made pickles. And in every April, visitors may see the sparkling and scintillating glowworms!
The Purple Sea A Beautiful Dream
The dream starts with two ladies, one worked in a foreign bank and the other was an instructor teaching piano. They spent years getting familiar with western herbal plants before they dreamt of having a lavender field of their own. So they quit original jobs and brought what they had to Xin-she in Taichung, a mountainous place with glowworms and crested serpent-eagles, all from scratch, they built up the main building and garden together with the landowner and turned the original betal nut farm into a lavender and herbal farm, so the Lavender CottAge was officially established and these two ladies started their simple life taking care of the herbs.
Lavender is the flower that takes up the largest area in Lavender CottAge. Lavender is well developed with a rather big industry scale in France and England over Europe and is a part of local people’s life. Taiwan sporadically introduced lavender to the market in earlier times, but not until the late 10 years that lavender is grown in a larger scale. Therefore, the founders of Lavender CottAge not only diligently grow the lavenders but also develop relevant products and provide herbal courses in hope to integrate leisure farm with tourism and make more people understand the benefits of herbs. The restaurant in Lavender CottAge also uses herbs in their scrumptious dishes, such as grilled chicken with soy sauce and lavender honey, stewed pork rib with herbs and seasonal vegetables, and lavender-and-fruit pancakes, so that tourists can taste the herbs asides from just watching them.
Lavender CottAge, located in Cho-teng-keng Leisure Farm Area, also grows all kinds of sages that are similar in color and shape with the lavender, the oregano that relieves headaches, tricyrtis formosana that allays inflammations, geranium that has antibacterial effects, and so on. Strolling in the walking path with over 20 kinds of herbs, all we feel was refreshing, relaxing, tranquil and care free. The purple color as the ocean in the garden and a variety of plants together with the fairy tale atmosphere designed by the founders create the unworldly fantasy and happiness. Visitors can go to the Grace Garden growing tropical plants and indigenous Taiwanese plants and feel the beauty of plum, cherry, tung and cedar in different seasons. For even much simpler sense of happiness, the Cottage of Beginner’s Mind is where you should visit. It is a wooden space especially created by the designer. In the embrace of forest, brewing a cup of fair-trade coffee in person or reading a good book and having introspection, you would surprisingly find yourself calm down and also slow down the hectic pace.
The Red Sea Pure and Simple Passion
Seeing roses in gardens or flower shops is not rare, but here visitors can hand pick the roses, which is something unusual! Visitors holding the bouquets wrapped simply by the newspaper may make the bouquets seem plain, but the roses are full of love and affection visitors would like to share with families and friends, as well as the passion for the flowers of the Garden owners.
Making Yourself at Home Rose Garden, in Huwei Township of Yunlin County, the garden owner, San-zhi CHEN, has the principle of selling flowers to those who are flower lovers. Each flower is priced at coins. Originally the flowers were sold through the agriculture production and marketing groups, but later on he has the grandchildren so he got no time for harvest. Therefore, he decided to make the garden growing thousands of rose trees to the public and adopted self-service practice, visitors can cut and pick roses if they like. Asides from roses, rambler roses are also flowers that are available for picking in Making Yourself at Home Rose Garden. Many people don’t know the difference between roses and rambler roses. They are both rose family, similar in size, but rambler rose has slimmer and more flexible stems and branches with smooth leaflets while the rose has straight stems and the wrinkled leaves. When the rose dies, the calyx of rambler rose will fall down but that of rose will stay. When cutting and picking the flowers, you may discern them by the aforementioned principles. Especially when the parents bring kids here, it is the best opportunity to have a nature class up close and personal!
Each and every flower in Making Yourself at Home Rose Garden is a child of the garden owner and his wife. To prevent the natural enemy of roses, the red spiders and moths, from nibbling petals and leaflets, the owner and his wife invested a lot to build a net room for culture in order to maintain the quality of flowers. Because they value the flowers that they remind the visitors “Do not pick the buds that are about to blossom, do not cut those you think less pretty, and do not cut the fully blossomed ones that are dying soon”. Visitors will also read all kinds of flower meanings of different number of flowers in the corners. We are so moved for such kind of spirit and passion!
As spring is coming and you are still wondering where to go? Why not bathing the body and mind in the flower seas and taking a good relaxing trip!
Nan-jiang Leisure Farm Area(南江休閒農業區)
ADD: No. 40, Jin-Guan 9th Neighborhood, Nan-zhuang Township, Miaoli County TEL: 037-821093 Website: https://goo.gl/2SCeTV
Miaoli Sunflower Sea(苗栗向日葵花海)
Miaoli Sunflower Sea ADD: Bypass road in Nan-zhuang Township, Miaoli County
Lavender CottAge (Xinshe in Taichung)(薰衣草森林（台中新社店）)
