From 25 April, nearly 300,000 seedlings of more than 50 flower varieties readied in our Greenhouses will be planted in the Catherine and Alexander Parks.
Pansies are our main floral decoration this spring. Already starting to bloom inside, their 15,000 seedlings will move out to the flowerbeds until the end of April.
Premiering this season, lantanas (a.k.a. shrub verbenas) and other aromatic plants will grace the Maids-of-Honour and Hanging Gardens of the Catherine Park to create the atmosphere of the scent appreciative 18th century.
Kale or leaf cabbage will decorate the Maids-of-Honour Garden for the first time. Later into the season, vegetable flowerbeds with several varieties of peppers, fennel, sage and tomatoes will reappear at the Semicircular Parterre in the Old Garden of the Catherine Park, much to the excitement of our visitors.
The season of roses and their exciting fragrances will start mid-summer. Our parks will have some modern varieties of roses, which are similar to old ones but disease/weather-resistant, with incessant flowering.
Exotic for our latitudes, 230 laurel trees will leave their wintering place in the Greenhouses when the average outside daily temperature hits 10 degrees Celsius to decorate the area around the Catherine Palace, the Courtyard, and the Hermitage Alley in the Catherine Park.
Our 11th Apple Midday garden event at the Upper Greenhouses of the Alexander Park in September will offer some giant pumpkins weighing 100 kg and more, as well as pumpkins of rare ancient varieties.