Happy Lunar New Year
Posted:
February 08, 2021
Categories:
Plant The Look
The Year of the Ox starts Friday 12 February 2021. It's said to signify hard work, duty to others, and honesty.
Oxen are there to serve others, to be reliable, and trustworthy. There's also an eastern belief that cows and oxen can cure disease.
Sounds like 2021 could be the year we all need...
Gold-flowered and gold-leaved plants stand in for true golden treasure, and promise riches in the months to come.
Chrysanthemums and their relatives traditionally bring good luck, and symbolise the Chrysanthemum Throne of the Japanese royal family; while marigolds and paper daisies - or everlasting flowers as they are also known - represent long life. Plant paper daisies - Helichrysum, Rhodanthe - and you could become immortal!
Look out for plants with 'gold' in their name to bring you good fortune in the coming year. We suggest Gold Rush grevillea, Pirate's Gold ixora, Double Gold gazania, Golden Magic gardenia, and Hymenosporum Gold Nugget, the dwarf native frangipani. Cheaper than a scratchie or lotto ticket, and you win with flowers every time!
Red is a very auspicious colour - symbolising fire, the colour red represents life and energy, and wards off evil. Red flowers and red foliage make it easy to bring this life-giving lucky colour into your garden. Carphalea Flaming Beauty is in full bloom now, huge fiery red clusters covering the plants. Encore azaleas are enjoying their second season of colour - Autumn Fire is the reddest of all.
Plants with 'fire' in the name, and those resembling the hanging clusters of firecrackers used as decoration at this time of year, can bring positive energy to your garden, and keep bad spirits away. We like the native firewheel tree (Stenocarpus), and Illawarra flame tree (Brachychiton); Jacobinia Firefly; red-and-yellow Fireworks grevillea, and especially Russelia, commonly known as firecracker plant , flowering here on the Sunshine Coast.
It's a perfect time to tidy the garden too :
Lucky Lunar New Year Plants
Lucky Lunar New Year plants traditionally resemble gold coins of fortune - they're fat, round, and yellow.
Many golden fruits are said to bring coin luck - especially citrus plants such as kumquat, citrange, sweet orange, mandarin and lemon trees, along with pineapples, and golden passionfruit.
Gold-flowered and gold-leaved plants stand in for true golden treasure, and promise riches in the months to come.
Chrysanthemums and their relatives traditionally bring good luck, and symbolise the Chrysanthemum Throne of the Japanese royal family; while marigolds and paper daisies - or everlasting flowers as they are also known - represent long life. Plant paper daisies - Helichrysum, Rhodanthe - and you could become immortal!
Look out for plants with 'gold' in their name to bring you good fortune in the coming year. We suggest Gold Rush grevillea, Pirate's Gold ixora, Double Gold gazania, Golden Magic gardenia, and Hymenosporum Gold Nugget, the dwarf native frangipani. Cheaper than a scratchie or lotto ticket, and you win with flowers every time!
Red is a very auspicious colour - symbolising fire, the colour red represents life and energy, and wards off evil. Red flowers and red foliage make it easy to bring this life-giving lucky colour into your garden. Carphalea Flaming Beauty is in full bloom now, huge fiery red clusters covering the plants. Encore azaleas are enjoying their second season of colour - Autumn Fire is the reddest of all.
Plants with 'fire' in the name, and those resembling the hanging clusters of firecrackers used as decoration at this time of year, can bring positive energy to your garden, and keep bad spirits away. We like the native firewheel tree (Stenocarpus), and Illawarra flame tree (Brachychiton); Jacobinia Firefly; red-and-yellow Fireworks grevillea, and especially Russelia, commonly known as firecracker plant , flowering here on the Sunshine Coast.
Chinese Zodiac Lucky Plants
Each of the twelve zodiac signs has its own "lucky plants" - find out what yours is here. Look for the year you were born - remember lunar new year starts late January/early February so it might be different to your birth year if you were born around this time. Why not plant one in your garden and see if your fortune changes? At the very least, you'll get lovely flowers or leaves - and that's pretty good luck!
RAT
- 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 : lily, African violet (Saintpaulia)OX
- 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 : tulip, Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema)TIGER
- 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 : yellow lily, anthurium, cinerariaRABBIT
- 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 : hosta, fittonia, jasmine
DRAGON
- 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 : bleeding heart vine (Clerodendrum), snapdragon, larkspurSNAKE
- 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 : orchid, passionflower, cactusHORSE
- 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014 : calla lily, jasmine, marigoldGOAT/SHEEP
- 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 : carnation, primrose
MONKEY
- 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004 : chrysanthemum, crepe myrtle, alliumsROOSTER
- 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017 : gladiolus, celosia, impatiensDOG
- 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018 : rose, cymbidium orchidPIG
- 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019 : daisy, hydrangea, pitcher plant
Out With the Old, In With the New
It is traditional in the days before New Year to clean and tidy your house, to sweep away any bad luck from the previous year and make room for fresh good luck.It's a perfect time to tidy the garden too :
- deadhead bushes like buddleia, rose, and hydrangea that have finished flowering
- chop back herbaceous perennials such as salvia and lavender
- and tackle weeds that have sprouted after summer showers
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