Hanoi and Flower Vendors

One of the things that I love about Hanoi is the flowers carrying the season throughout the city.

Hanoi counts it’s seasonal periods through seasonal flowers.

January comes on an old car that carries branches of crimson peach blossoms, bringing Spring onto the street.

In April and May, all the alleyways are resplendent in the yellow of sunflowers and the pink of the lotus that the women and girls carry on their thin backs.

Then in September, October, and November, daisies are probably the most anticipated flower season. I don't know how many times I strolled through the flower shop on the street, just to see where the little white daisies went, where they came from, where they arrived in this little piece of Hanoi.

Then the season of white lilies, areca flowers, and sweet grapefruit flowers on the streets filled with loads of street vendors. There are countless seasons of roses, white flowers, red flowers, and beautiful little flowers. These flowers that we don't know the name of, only knowing them through the mothers and grandmothers of Hanoi, spread all over the city.

Who doesn't love the flower season when coming to Hanoi? Is there anyone in this city who doesn't love the flower season? Like Hanoi itself, we love the years of sticking together, sharing, and passing by the seasons of both known and nameless flowers on the streets.

- In Hanoi -

other works by Thuy Trang