| Gardening has a long tradition in China. Developing though successive dynasties, gardens were common among the ruling elite, designed to reflect social and economic status. In urban China today, the gardening tradition is being resurrected as part of the social transformation of urban lifestyles. Apartment dwellers in Wuhan have added ornamental house plants to their balconies, a practice largely absent a few years ago. This study follows theoretical frameworks of humanistic and feministic geography, and relies on the perspective of landscape architecture. It documents the use of guanxi, or relational networks for conducting social science field research.; By conducting a large-scale survey and intensive interviews in Wuhan, China, this effort yielded findings that describe contemporary urban gardeners engaged in the vernacular activity of cultivating house plants within the context of domestic space. The most involved gardeners were older and more likely to be retired, giving them time to engage in gardening. They had disposable income to spend on plants and gardening accessories. They also had space for their gardens. The location of these gardens was primarily on apartment balconies, or in 'borrowed' space, an historically significant link for the placement of potted plants. This study adds to the understanding of contemporary urban Chinese society by highlighting the largely overlooked activity of container gardening, carried out by people with the necessary means to connect to nature within the confines of their urban homes. This activity is largely similar to the gardening behavior of the ancient elites. |
