A Vietnamese son started growing flowers in his small backyard as his mom battled brain cancer, the project eventually becoming a deeply personal community project and inspiration for other cancer survivors.
East Austin ’s Vui Lên Farm grew from a son’s love as his mom battled brain cancer On a warm spring morning in East Austin , Thien “Tommy” Nguyen walks slowly through rows of blooming snapdragons, zinnias and native wildflowers tucked behind his home.
East Austin’s Vui Lên Farm grew from a son’s love as his mom battled brain cancer The tiny backyard flower farm, hidden behind a modest East Austin home, began after Nguyen’s mother was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2023, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer. What started as bouquets for his mother during chemotherapy appointments has since become a deeply personal community project rooted in grief, healing and Vietnamese American identity.
East Austin’s Vui Lên Farm grew from a son’s love as his mom battled brain cancer Austin ceramic artist Loc Trinh reconnects with Vietnamese heritage through pottery For several summers, he worked seasonal medical assignments in Yellowstone National Park, where his parents would meet him at the end of each season before road-tripping back to Texas together. His mother bought her first lifetime National Park pass at Rocky Mountain National Park.
They stopped at the State Fair of Texas. A few days after dropping his parents off in Houston, Nguyen received a text message that a family member had been hospitalized. East Austin’s Vui Lên Farm grew from a son’s love as his mom battled brain cancer By the time Nguyen called, doctors had already discovered two tumors in her brain.
As his mother underwent treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center, flowers began arriving constantly, delivered by friends and relatives to both the hospital and her home. It made her happy. It made her laugh. East Austin’s Vui Lên Farm grew from a son’s love as his mom battled brain cancer The bouquets became ritual.
Nguyen, who lives in Austin, drove back to Houston multiple times each month, bringing fresh-cut arrangements with him. He started handing bouquets to friends, neighbors and coworkers. People began asking where they could buy them. Flowers don’t discriminate.
Everyone needs flowers. A mother’s dream lives on inside a Hutto's "What's the Tea?
" shop In April 2024, after another difficult appointment at MD Anderson, he and his mother stopped in Houston’s sprawling Asian dining district, Bellaire Boulevard, for what he jokingly calls her “usual lobster feast. ”East Austin’s Vui Lên Farm grew from a son’s love as his mom battled brain cancer “Out of the blue, I looked over to my mom and she was just whispering, ‘Vui lên, vui lên,’ under her breath,” he said.
“She was at such a dark and scary spot in her life,” he continued. “Even in your deepest, darkest, hardest moment in your life, there’s some piece in you that you could find light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
Texas native Luisa Navarro pens heartfelt tribute to Mexican heritage and family stories East Austin’s Vui Lên Farm grew from a son’s love as his mom battled brain cancer Once I realized the tumor was growing, I thought the flower fortress had broken down. But I realized flower therapy was helping me too. Cutting flowers, watching birds move through the yard, noticing butterflies landing on petals — all of it offered small moments of peace.
As a first-generation Vietnamese American, Nguyen said the project also reflects lessons passed down from his immigrant parents, who arrived in the United States with little money and built community through food, gardening and family. Growing up, his family lived in a crowded fourplex where relatives shared childcare, meals and resources. Gardening was practical then — growing vegetables that reminded them of home and were difficult to find in stores. The farm remains small.
He calls it a “micro urban farm. ” But Nguyen has bigger ambitions: creating affordable local flowers in Central Texas, building a regional flower collective with other growers and eventually opening a small roadside flower stand where neighbors can stop by and pick up bouquets on the honor system.
East Austin’s Vui Lên Farm grew from a son’s love as his mom battled brain cancer Then he added the thing he wishes more people would remember to do:is highlighting stories that reflect the impact and contributions of AAPI communities across Central Texas. If you have a story idea to share, you can email him atHow to Get Insurance to Pay for Roof Replacement in Austin, TX: A Complete Guide for Texas Central Texas roofs take a beating.
Between the spring hail season, the straight-line winds that roll in from West Texas thunderstorms, and the falling limbs frA man was critically injured Tuesday night after a tree fell on him outside Green Mesquite BBQ, according to the Austin Fire Department and Austin-Travis CountySevere thunderstorms moving through Central Texas Tuesday night left thousands without power as strong winds snapped trees, caused flooding and triggered severeA Clear Alert issued for a missing La Grange woman has been discontinued after authorities located the vehicle connected to her disappearance and secured the scTexas DPS troopers arrested a suspect on Sunday after a pursuit in Austin ended in the suspect's vehicle crashing into a median and rolling over. Officials say t
Vietnamese American Identity Gardening Community East Austin Vui Lên Farm Brain Cancer Snapdragons Zinnia Native Wildflowers Community Project Flowers Cancer Survivor Micro Urban Farm Regionally Available Flowers Central Texas Asianamerican Communities Bellaire Boulevard
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