Alexander's Amazing Aquatic Nursery and the trip north

Saturday, June 18

Vladimir and Svetlana picked us up this morning to begin our first trip out of Moscow. We traveled north about 20 km to the town of Tarasovka. Here we met Alexander Marchenko and received a tour of his extraordinary aquatic nursery and display gardens. Alexander grows and sells only the hardiest aquatic plants that will survive in the Moscow region. His display gardens give customers ideas on how to use the plants. The nursery is open by appointment only.

Alexander, Vladimir, me and Svetlana

 

Nymphaea 'Black Princess'

 

Butomus umbellatus - native in Russia, invasive in the US

 

Parthenocissus sp. growing in the nursery. When a customer wants to buy a pot, they also get a section of trellis for instant coverage!

 

A formal garden showing how aquatic plants could be part of the display. Note the white triangle at the end...

 

When we climbed up the stairs and looked back, we saw only water pools, a completely different view!

 

Though Alexander has a wide selection of aquatic plants, it soon became clear his real passion is willows. He has 70 species of Salix on display and for sale. Some were bred by a Russian breeder named Shaburov. The main goal of the breeding is to create hybrids that combine cold-hardiness with ornamental value and also add to the diversity of existing hybrid Russian species.

 

 A pendulous Salix, with long, thin leaves

Salix in topiary form

 

 



 

Upon hearing of my interest in alpine plants, Alexander showed off his rockery of Sedum, Thymus, Armeria and varieties of Helianthemum. Sempervivum species were also in bloom. But that was just the beginning..he has a collection of 50 species of alpine and arctic Salix. Many of these are prostrate forms I hope to grow someday. As we continued around his backyard and the much larger display gardens, his excitement for the genus was very apparent. “это Salix, Salix , Salix,” he would say with glee, or ”всё Salix.” (“it’s Salix, Salix, Salix” or “everything is Salix”)

Salix serpyllifolia

Diversity of Salix leaves

Rockery

 

 

We went inside his house, where he revealed an even greater passion: the study of the morphology and embryology of Salix. Any money from the garden and nursery goes to support his scientific research. He was excited about the two microscopes he had purchased. Though he is not a professor, he frequently lectures at area universities.

He has built his amazing garden over the last 25 years. It is inspiring to see someone with so much enthusiasm and willingness to share his knowledge!

We continued on and quickly became stuck in a traffic jam! Some were dealing with it in innovative, though seemingly dangerous ways. We saw bicyclists riding in between the lanes of traffic.

An ice cream vendor selling off the side of the freeway.

 

Our second stop was at The Holy Trinity – St. Sergius Lavra monastery. The first buildings on the site were constructed 700 years ago. This monastery is dedicated to education, with the Moscow Theological Academy on site.

Dormition Cathedral

 

We then went to Svetlana’s dacha, where she and her husband, Vanya, prepared lunch for us. The dacha is a small weekend home; Vanya had built this one by hand! He was currently adding gardens to their land.

Tires are a common roadside sight as colorful planters and decoration.

 

 

We continued north and entered the Yaroslavl region. Our last destination for the day was Plescheevo Lake. We are staying three nights in a house close to the shore of the lake! Tomorrow we will visit the Dendrarium that is located in the Plescheevo Lake National Park.