There is still more than a month until the 2026 Binh Ngo Tet, at this time, Tu Lien kumquat village (Hong Ha ward, Hanoi) has entered the peak season.
Besides traditional kumquats, this year's market recorded a clear interest from tree enthusiasts in wooden kumquats - a type of kumquat with prominent roots, elaborate shapes, imbued with aesthetic value and symbolic meaning.
At Xuan Loc kumquat garden, Ms. Ngo Thu Trang - the owner of the kumquat garden - said that this year the garden put more than 1,000 mau of kumquats on the market with many different varieties, from wooden kumquats, loofah kumquats to kumquats grown in corrugated iron houses, jars, pots,...
According to Ms. Trang, the highlight of Xuan Loc garden this Tet season is the wooden kumquat work that creates a horse shape named "Dinh Son Phong Ma fruiting and flower opening".
''This is a work that the gardener conceived and cared for for more than 7 years. To form a complete tree, we had to choose very strictly. 10 trees prepared, but only 1 tree met the requirements in terms of shape, shape, root system, canopy and flowering ability, resulting in the desired creation," Ms. Trang said.
With horse-shaped kumquats, the most difficult thing is to create harmony between the "quiet" part of the trunk and roots and the "moved" part on the horse's ledge. Horses standing on rocky mountains must show steadfastness, while horse's ledge is soft, flying in the wind. On that ledge itself, flowers must bloom and bear fruit - that is the biggest challenge," Ms. Trang explained.
Not only stopping at shaping, the horse-shaped kumquat work also sends a message about the persistent journey and achievements after hardships.
When people maintain a firm and steadfast mindset with the chosen path, overcome storms, good results will naturally come, like flowers blooming, fruiting on the horse's ledge," Ms. Ngo Thu Trang shared.
Ms. Trang said that the wooden kumquat with a horse shape, the garden offered a price of over 30 million VND: "This is not a tree made to sell in quantity, but for people who truly understand and love the tree.
Along with the horse shape, Xuan Loc garden also displays many unique and unique wooden kumquat shapes, aimed at groups of customers who understand and love artistic ornamental plants.
Mr. Bui Van Thich - a long-time worker at the garden - said: "Most customers coming to the garden are regular customers, they have knowledge of trees, care about the aesthetic value and meaning of each shape rather than chasing after quantity or external form.
The appearance of wooden kumquats with horse shapes and many other unique tree shapes shows that the hobby of ornamental kumquats is gradually shifting clearly, from ordinary Tet ornamental plants to artistic ornamental plants, where each shape and each shape is the crystallization of time, effort and creative thinking of the craftsman.
