From the southwestern provinces such as Ben Tre, Can Tho, and Sa Dec, flowers and ornamental trees are being transported to HCM City these days.

Nam, a resident in District 12, HCM City, said he had invested more than 300 million ($15,000) to purchase over 60,000 flower pots from southwestern provinces to serve Saigon market.

Besides dragon and phoenix-shaped trees, this year monkey-shaped trees are available as 2016 is the year of The Monkey.

Monkey-shaped trees.

The price for a pair of monkey-shaped kumquat trees is VND7 million ($350) while a pair of dragon-shaped trees is VND9 million ($450). A pair of deer-shaped trees are VND8 million ($400).

Peacock-shaped trees of a gardener from An Giang province.

Monkey-shaped kumquat trees.

Peacock-shaped tree.

Apricot trees.

Previously, peach trees were transported from Hanoi to HCM City, but this year, a large number of peach branches and trees were from Thai Binh province. The average price is VND3-4 million/tree. The most expensive trees are at least 30 years old and are VND25 million ($1,200).

At the 23/9 Park in District 1, the price for this 40-year peach tree is VND50 million ($2,500).

A gardener from Tien Giang province said his family transported 600 pots of daisies to Saigon, priced VND75,000 (over $3)/pot.

Many foreign visitors enjoy the bustling atmosphere at the flower market.