Jacaranda Garden with 450 Ancient Trees, Owners Proud of Rare and Special Trees

As someone who loves and collects plants but only truly appreciates Jacaranda mimosifolia, Mr. Hoa and Mrs. Hai (in Mang Yang, Gia Lai) have dedicated a large garden to showcase it. They have set aside a 5,500-square-meter plot of land to house 450 Jacaranda trees, collected painstakingly over a decade by the couple.

Mrs. Hai shared that she and her husband are captivated by the purple color of the Jacaranda. Every day, they tend to the trees, prune them, and eagerly await the flowers to bloom. Watering in the morning and pruning in the afternoon, she cannot manage it alone and requires several workers, costing VND 1.5 million per day for watering.

Mr. Hoa proudly claims that his Jacaranda garden is a collection of the oldest, most beautiful, and most unique trees that cannot be found anywhere else. He spent years searching for them. Whenever he heard of a beautiful Jacaranda, whether in Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Phu Yen, Binh Duong, or Da Lat, he would visit and bring it back to his garden.

Mr. Hoa shared that many trees in his garden have achieved the “perfection” of bonsai, with their width and height in balance. “The special thing is the combination of the trunk and roots of centuries-old wild Jacaranda, with large, oddly shaped roots, grafted with buds of the Thai Jacaranda that has the darkest purple color and longest-lasting flowers, creating the tree’s unique charm,” the proud owner boasts.

In the garden, two trees shaped like a camel and a dragon are most beloved by the owners, who estimate their value at VND 6-7 billion. Mr. Hoa believes that it is impossible to find another tree like them in all of Vietnam.

Mr. Hoa explains that the tree resembles a dragon crawling up a cave, with four strong legs in the middle, while the flower branches represent the dragon’s whiskers reaching upwards. It is both graceful and majestic.

Remarkably, due to the tree’s sturdy and solid trunk, people can “ride” on the dragon’s back without fear of breaking any branches.

Billion-Dollar Offers Haven’t Tempted the Owners to Sell

Mrs. Hai recalls that over 10 years ago, she burst into tears when her husband brought home the dragon-shaped Jacaranda tree. The reason was that when he asked her about buying the tree, he only “revealed” that it would cost a few hundred million VND.

She believed it until she checked their account and realized he had transferred VND 1.2 billion. She cried because she was upset that her husband had lied, but when she saw the tree, her heart melted, and she stopped blaming him.

Recalling the incident, Mr. Hai is still emotional: “Over ten years ago, VND 1.2 billion was a considerable sum. But I felt that this tree was so natural, so beautiful, and so unique, so I was determined to buy it. After buying it, I waited for 15-20 days but did not see the tree being delivered. During that time, I could not eat or sleep well.“

Over the years, partly to please his wife and partly due to his personal interests, Mr. Hoa has searched far and wide for the most unique Jacaranda trees. There were times when he saw a tree, fell in love with it, but the previous owner was hesitant to sell it. He had to visit them several times before finally persuading them to let him have it.

The family, who are obsessed with Jacaranda, said that they have not been able to save any money over the years from their stone carving business (making stone tables, chairs, house pillars, tombs, and other spiritual works). They have spent all their earnings on buying trees.

“I can’t remember how much we’ve spent on buying trees, not to mention the transportation costs. Sometimes we have to borrow money from friends and relatives and pay it back gradually because we don’t have enough cash,” Mr. Hoa explained.

But because they are so passionate about it, Mr. and Mrs. Hoa see their billion-dollar Jacaranda garden not as a place for buying and selling but as a place to appreciate beauty and connect with others who share their passion.