Russian gardens

[Olga Bondareva]

This topic is for Lesley and all who are interested in Russian gardens. I’d like to introduce some. I couldn’t say they are typical Russian. But these gardens are the best I’ve seen here.

The first one is my friend Elena’s garden. It is in pine forest in 100 km from Moscow. Elena’s grandfather was the famous Russian phloxes selectionist. Therefore she maintains a large (about 70) phloxes collection. By the way Phlox paniculata is one of the favorite Russian plans. No doubt each garden has at list one phlox.

Elena likes shade plants. Last years she’s taken a great interest in alpines, saxifrages, gentians and daphnes.

[Susan Band]

Looks a lovely garden, really well designed and planted with all the shade plants popular here. What kind of weather do you have? I doesn't look as if it get too hot and dry.
Susan

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Beautiful shots Olga - gorgeous looking garden as well.
I hope to see more of these hidden little treasures

[Olga Bondareva]

Susan, we have very different weather. Every year differs. Last winter was the coldest in history. Two months with temperature about -20 and -44 C in January! Gardeners was really shocked, many of them thought they will find cemetery instead of garden in spring. But gardens are still alive! All plants in my alpine garden were in flowers, ginkgo became 0.5 m taller, roses became more beautiful and magnolias bloomed! Apple and pear trees suffered for a little. I think we were saved by snow. It was about 0.4 m when the lowest temperature.

It was of course unusual winter. Usually it is not lower -30 (-5 on average) and a lot of snow. Sometimes winters are warm. Those are bad winters. 

Summers are the same. No forecasts. Three months of reins or two months of drought are the extreme points but sometimes they happen.

Hot and dry, it is not about us.  It is about regions to the south of Moscow.

[Paul T]

Olga,

You have the most beautiful pictures!!  I just loved that snow covered one you posted in the other thread.  Beautiful pictures of a beautiful garden!!  Thanks for taking the time to post them.

[Olga Bondareva]

Paul, one more winter gift to you! 

[Hkind]

Welcome Olga - and thanks for taking up the thread!

I have visited Elenas garden two times and being there one feels transported to a fairy tale garden. The multitude of woodland plants is overwhelming!

Here are some of my pics: a self-portrait of Elena's grandfather, a couple of views from the garden and an image of some of Moscow's most active gardeners (from left: Michail Polotnov, Dimitrij (?), Sasha -Elena's husband-, Elena and Yevgenyi Tarasov)

Hannelotte

[Olga Bondareva]

Hannelotte, yes! 

My regret, I was too busy and couldn’t meet you. But I’ve heard about you from Lena, Misha and Evgeny many times. Glad to virtually meet you! 

[Maggi Young]

A wonderful new thread for us to study, Olga! Thank you!

[Hkind]

Olga, I hope we'll meet next time I am in Moscow!

Here are some pictures from Valeria M.'sgarden. He is a collector of Sempervivum and Jovibarba and there are thousands of them in his garden in more shades one can imagine.

Hannelotte

[Lesley Cox]

Thank you Olga, for starting this thread - JUST FOR ME! But obviously everyone is interested in what's happening in Russian gardens. Elena's garden looks beautiful and so healthy.

I wonder what is a "typical" Russian garden? Just as we here in NZ wonder and often discuss what is a New Zealand garden? We grow things from every country in the world and oddly, many of our own native plants, which in general are very distinctive, having evolved in isolation to a large extent, look fine or "right" with the more usually grown plants from elsewhere. Our flaxes (Phormium), cabbage trees (Cordyline), astelias and many other spiky plants are quite comfortable with rhododendrons, hostas, primulas etc etc. (Alpines are the exception. NZ natives are much more attractive planted with their own kinds, rather than with the more brightly coloured plants from elsewhere. Much of the attraction of NZ's alpines is in their foliage.)

So I guesss a typical NZ garden is just a collection of whatever plants we like and which grow well for us. Personal tastes and one's own sense of "taste" play a large part in making a garden with which we here are comfortable. But perhaps those coming here from the northern hemisphere think our planting combinations are bizarre or ugly. I don't know. 

Anyway, we all look forward to seeing more of your lovely pictures. Thanks again.

[Olga Bondareva]

Hannelotte
See you next year! 

Lesley
I see we discuss the same questions. And the same

We grow things from every country in the world

I can say about modern Russian garden. Old public gardens and palace parks have their own face. But new private gardens not yet.

Russian personal gardens were mostly orchards and vegetable gardens – just to grow food. Some decorative plants were only addition for a soul. They grew in the front garden usually. Syringa, sorbus, viburnum, padus, philadelphus, phloxes, paeonias are the old cottage garden.

[Olga Bondareva]

Is a botanic garden a GARDEN? Our main Botanic garden is a large park with a great arbor collection. It has a well constructed Japanese garden.

[Olga Bondareva]

More pictures.

[Hkind]

Yes, Olga, I have the same impression as you, that there isn't yet any Russian style of ornamental gardening.  When I think of russian gardens, I think of tidy rows of cabbage and potatoes.

May I show the forum some exemples?

The first image is of a gardening lot in Magadan, where Alexandra Berkutenko has two beds to grow some of her plant collection (her assistent Anatolyi to the left, she herself to the right). 

The second  is from a datcha in the inland of Magadan. The owner is actually interested in rnamental gardening and has collected some of the native plants. Among others there were vigorous mats of Loiseluria procumbens. (im 3).