The love of gardens has always been with me, as I remember as a young girl, watching my mother make an old unkempt garden into a real paradise. However, we all had to help, especially over the weekends, so when I finally set up a home of my own I did not want a garden! Perhaps remembering only the hard work involved made me believe I could be without one.

Soon enough, I was populating my two balconies with pots that grew in number and each year I would have a new variety of plants. Since being back in the Czech Republic, I started to dream of having a garden of my own. I am thrilled my dream came true last spring when my garden was finally finished and established. Although the trees are not yet fully grown they give colour and shade, the bushes thrive and I especially love putting in perennials (flowers/plants which last for three or more years). I surround the grass edge with annuals (flowers/plants that last a year or for one season) in pots.

At this time of year, perennials are easy to plant and low maintenance. My favourite are peonie (paeonia); they have bold leaves and showy blooms. They vary in shape; single, semi-double, double or anemone like, and are in shades of white, yellow, pink and red. Although the tubers are best planted in the autumn, you can put them in a stable position in the spring, they do not like being moved, and can be divided after flowering and losing their leaves. They thrive in the sunshine and bloom in May and June. Especially lovely is the old variety that is late blooming, with soft pink, fragrant double flowers called “Sarah Bernhardt.” They also pair especially well with the spiky leaves and flowers of the bearded iris, which blooms at the same time and are easy to grow.

Irises, are beautiful flowers which were originally named after Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow, as the shades of their colouring and markings are reminiscent of those of the rainbow. They grow well in sunny areas and come in many varieties.

The genus of perennials, grown mainly for their decorative foliage, are hostas, sometimes also called plantain lilies. They form large clumps that are excellent for ground coverage and are fully hardy. Most species prefer shade and rich, moist but well-drained, neutral soil. Many hostas also produce decorative spikes of flowers, which rise graciously above the foliage in mid-summer. My favorite variety is hosta undulata univittata, which has bright green leaves that have a white stripe in the middle.

I have now come to love gardening, especially in spring. I hope these suggestions of where to find the best plants and advice will be of interest. There are many gardening centres in the country and also in Prague. You can also find e-shops that sell either seeds, seedlings or grown plants. Specialised nurseries for trees and bushes and even materials for eco-gardening are also available.

GARDEN CENTRES

The Havlis garden centre, I first came across this centre when I was looking to purchase a magnolia. They specialise in importing them, and in particular from Holland. They grow the varieties suitable for local climate and offer a wide selection. For those of you wanting to grow plants in an eco-friendly way they also have an eco-farm, where fruits and vegetables are grown by using organic-based substrate and fertilisers. You can purchase these in their Bio e-shop and they also deliver to your home. www.havlis.cz

The well-known garden centre, Chládek, can be found in Prague 6. They sell a wide variety of plants, as well as a “green grow cellular system” which is excellent for starting your own plants from seedlings. That can be very rewarding and you can grow anything from herbs to unusual trees. www.zahradnictvi-chladek.cz

Zahradnictví Krulichovi, is another garden centre in Prague 6, who specialise in perennials, alpines, herbs and healing plants. They also have a few flower shops which sell not only imported flowers but also home grown flowers and sometimes unique flowers. www.zahradnictvikrulichovi.cz

In Prague 4, by the river you can find Zahradnictví Rypáček, who offer a wide variety from seedlings to full grown trees. You can even bring your own garden pot or window box and they will fill it with your chosen plants. This is a nice weekend trip to a far afield location, where you can explore not only the garden centre but also the surrounding riverside. www.zahradnictvi.net

Another garden centre in Prague 4 is Zahradnictví Mládek, who offer a large selection of plants and shrubs, as well as being a lovely place to relax and walk around the garden which has a pond and other interesting garden designs. www.kvetinymladek.cz/zahradnictvi

I hope that you will enjoy strolling around some of these places and find something special to grow. Here are some Czech words that you might find useful when browsing around.

VOCABULARY:

Garden = Zahrada
Garden Center = Zahradnictví
Flower = Květina
Flower Shop = Květinářství
Bush = Keř
Tree = Strom
Grass (individual) = Tráva
Grass (field) = Trávník
Seeds = Semena
Cuttings = Řízky
Bulbs = Cibuloviny
Annual = Letnička
Perennial = Trvalka