Lanyao

Hello, I’m Lan Yao, a home flower grower based in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China.

I began growing flowers in 2014. Since then, I have grown and cared for many different flowering plants in home-garden and container conditions. My experience has developed through hands-on cultivation, careful observation, repeated experimentation, and plenty of trial and error.

I have lost plants, made incorrect decisions, and paid my share of “tuition fees” along the way. Those experiences have taught me to look closely at how plants respond to light, temperature, watering, fertilizing, pruning, soil, pot size, pests, diseases, and seasonal changes.

In 2016, I began sharing my gardening experience on Chinese social media platforms. I have continued documenting and discussing flower care for nearly a decade through articles, photographs, and videos.

Sharing has always been more than a way to pass on what I know. Feedback from gardeners in different regions has helped me understand how plants respond to different climates and growing conditions. Those exchanges have also encouraged me to test, review, and improve my methods over time.

In 2025, my family went through a particularly difficult period after my daughter was born prematurely and required hospitalization and surgery. During that time, gardening became an important way for me to regain focus and move forward.

I created FloraDepth as a new beginning and as a place to share the practical flower-growing knowledge I have developed over the years. Building an English-language website is a new challenge, but it also gives me the opportunity to connect with home gardeners around the world.

Because languages and growing conditions vary from place to place, I aim to explain my experience as clearly as possible while recognizing that no single method will work identically in every garden.

FloraDepth currently focuses on practical bougainvillea care

As the site develops, I plan to expand into more flowering plants, as well as selected fruit and vegetable topics that I have personally grown and observed. Each topic will be developed gradually through cultivation, observation, and continued learning.

The methods I share may not work in exactly the same way in every region, but they can provide practical ideas and a starting point for gardeners adapting care to their own conditions.

Books I’ve Written

Over the years, I have written two long-form practical books on flower care. Both books are based on the principles and methods I have developed through growing, observing, experimenting, and reflecting on different plant-care situations.

I’ve always believed that successful gardening cannot rely solely on memorizing isolated tips and tricks. Only by understanding the relationships between light, temperature, watering, fertilizing, pruning, soil, and pests and diseases can you adapt your approach to different plants and apply what you’ve learned to new situations.

1. How to Grow Healthy, Abundant-Blooming Roses from Scratch

This book explains the complete process of growing roses, beginning with the purchase of young plants and gradually helping them develop strong growth and a long, continuous flowering season.

From choosing healthy rose plants and potting them properly, to helping them adjust after repotting, managing everyday watering and fertilizing, pruning, controlling pests and diseases, and adjusting care throughout the seasons, I’ve explained each stage in as much detail as possible. This isn’t a book based on theory alone. It’s a practical reference guide that you can read and follow as you care for your own roses.

Over the years, many gardeners have used this book as their starting point for learning how to grow roses, and they’ve shared a great deal of positive feedback.

2. How to Grow Flowers Successfully as a Complete Beginner

Writing this book took a great deal of time and effort. There are so many different kinds of flowers, and each one has its own growth habits. It’s difficult to summarize them all in just a few simple tips.

To write a guide that would be genuinely useful across a wide range of plants, I had to do more than summarize my own theories about plant care. I also drew on years of growing, observing, and experimenting with flowers, looking for the common growth patterns shared by different plants.

This book also begins with purchasing a young plant. It then explains how to assess a plant’s condition and how to develop an appropriate care routine based on factors such as light, temperature, soil, moisture, and fertilizer.

Rather than focusing on specialized techniques for one particular flower, the book teaches the fundamental methods needed to grow most flowering plants successfully. It’s much like building a house: the stronger the foundation, the more stable and higher the structure can be. Once you understand these basic principles, you’ll be able to find the right care approach more quickly when you start growing an unfamiliar plant.

Through years of consistently sharing my gardening experience, exchanging ideas with fellow gardeners, and regularly reviewing and organizing what I’ve learned, I’ve reached a point where growing most flowers has become relatively straightforward. Of course, there are still plants I struggle with — usually because the local growing conditions simply aren’t suitable for them.

Some of the Flowers I’ve Grown

The flowers below are just a selection of the varieties I’ve grown over the years. I hope you enjoy them and find some inspiration for your own garden.

If you’re thinking about growing flowers and plants at home, or trying your hand at growing fruits and vegetables, but aren’t sure where to begin, don’t worry.

I’ll share my experience step by step, and I’m sure you’ll find ideas and practical advice that can help you along the way.

I’m Lan Yao. I hope we can work together to transform a small corner of everyday life into a place filled with flowers, fruit, and the joy of growing something with your own hands.