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| 1. Calla Lilies |
2016 is the Year of the yang fire Monkey and it starts on February 4th, Lichun Day (立春) at 5:45 pm local Malaysian time. Lichun denotes the start of the first solar term and beginning of spring in ancient China. It is a day when farmers would traditionally hold prayers to the gods for a prosperous year ahead hoping for a good harvest. It is a time when farmers go back to the fields and begin work after a long winter's break.
The nurseries have started selling Chinese New Year plants and flowers and here are some preliminary pictures.
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Dahlias are called "da li ju:" 大麗菊 = big/very beautiful chrysanthemum.
Perhaps "li" sounds like "da ji da li" (大吉大利) meaning great fortune and great profits/gains.
Florists also give the following names to dahlias:
芍藥 shao yao (Chinese peony)
大利花 da li hua (great gains flower)
紫牡丹 zi mu dan (purple peony)
“Chinese New Year Plants and Flowers 2016”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on Jan 16, 2016
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Camellia azalea hybrid
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Why Liliums (e.g. stargazers, casablanca, madonna ,asiatic,oriental, tiger lilies) are auspicious:
a) Chinese name for Lilium spp is "bai he" (百合) - meaning many things going smoothly according to your wishes
b) For couples, the phrase "bai nian hao he" (百年好合) would mean happy together for a hundred years
c) For marriage this would mean that the husband and wife shall always be together and live happily ever after.
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Clyclamen plants are known as "xian ke lai" (仙客來) in Chinese which sounds like "fairies, gods or immortals are on the way or coming over as guests" hence it is very auspicious.
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Triphasia trifolia
Common names: Lime-Berry, Limau Kiah
Common names: Lime-Berry, Limau Kiah
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Aglaia odorata is also known as the "Chinese perfumed plant".
It is also called the Chinese Rice Flower - mi zi lan (米仔兰 - rice, little, orchid).
Just saying the words "mi zi lan" in Cantonese reminds me of my grandmother so much!
Just saying the words "mi zi lan" in Cantonese reminds me of my grandmother so much!
The flowers are very fragrant with a sweet lemony scent hence the common name "mock lemon". The tiny flowers do not open fully and each one look like a grain of rice. I guess this would signify and abundance of food since rice is a staple food in Asia.
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Hyacinth is 洋水仙 (yang shui xian) meaning water fairy, or 风信子(feng xin zi)
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Narcissus bulbs
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Lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana)
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Lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) grown in vases with auspicious paintings and decorated with festive ornaments.
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Ardisia crenata
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Pussy willows.
Some are in their natural colour of white with unopened buds but there are some batches with long, blooming catkins.
Some have been dyed in colours of pink, red and orange.
The ever popular must-have chrysanthemums.
Peach Blossoms have arrived in Malaysia!
Some are in their natural colour of white with unopened buds but there are some batches with long, blooming catkins.
Some have been dyed in colours of pink, red and orange.
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Flower pots with auspicious wordings.
Note: This post will be regularly updated with fresh photos as we count down to Chinese New Year 2016
