My Japanese roommate, whom I have already said nice things about on this blog, truly is an awesome person to live with and a great friend. Not only is she an amazing cook and teacher of Japanese cuisine but she also loves to arrange flowers. These days in the States is seems that people don’t really do this anymore, if you want a bouqet you buy one already made. In Japan flower arranging is an art form and the plants and flowers that you have in your home reflect on you and what kind of home you want. Therefore, we always have fresh flowers in every room of the apartment. Thinking that this must be costing my roommate a fortune I asked her where she bought the flowers and why she wants to spend that much money on a deoration that will shrivel up and die pretty quickly. Turns out the flowers are not expensive and come from one of Shanghai’s bird and flower markets (花鸟市场).
One Sunday last month we went together to buy some new cut flowers and poinsettias for the apartment. The place was amazing. Not only is its size and variety stunning, but the prices were down right criminal. If any of you have ever bought an orchid or a bouquet of roses in America you know that those items are luxuries, and usually you’re left feeling like you paid too much for something that’s going to die anyway. Apparently in Shanghai it’s the exact opposite. I even had to stop my roomate from bargaining at one point, the prices the shop owners gave us were, to me, insanely cheap. For example, a pot of three healthy phalaenopsis orchids in flower was (before any bargaining) about 70 RMB or $10.00 US. In the States those plants could easily fetch over $50.00 at a nursery. I didn’t buy any orchids (international shipping of exotic plants is a bitch) but I did manage to take some photos.
Address: 安顺路 & 定西路 The market closes at 7 PM.
