What is there to know about gardening in the Czech Republic and why would people in Cook County want to know?
The Czech Republic’s climate and growing season are similar to Minnesota’s, and because of this, University of Minnesota floriculture professor Neil Anderson took a year-long sabbatical with a Fulbright scholarship in the Czech Republic learning about the country’s plants, teaching floriculture—the cultivation of flowering plants—and collecting plants.
Dr. Anderson will be sharing his horticultural discoveries in the Czech Republic in the St. John’s Catholic Church hall in Grand Marais at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 10, 2013.
While in the Czech Republic, Dr. Anderson visited historic horticultural gardens such as the one at Cesky Krumlov Castle, the famous summer castle of the ruling families. He saw the way plants were used in seasonal celebrations such as May Day, which is celebrated with decorated May poles. He went wildflower hunting throughout the year. He visited summer cottages where “everyone gardens,” communal apple and grape presses, and family vineyards and wine cellars. He saw how people garden on rooftops and in window boxes. He found wreaths made of pussy willows and tree peonies over 200 years old. He saw many “weeping” species of plants, Christmas trees in pots, fields of blossoming canola, and late harvest peaches in September and October.
The event is being co-hosted by the Grand Marais and West End garden clubs and is free and open to the public.
Leave a Reply