The new bridge will connect the entire complex, says the director about the transformation of the botanical garden
What does the fact that the new season has begun mean to visitors?
For visitors, this primarily means that the first exhibitions and events are taking place. Probably the best known, which has even begun, is the orchid exhibition.
Every year, the orchid exhibition is something specific. What for this year?
The subtitle of this year’s exhibition is Orchids of All Continents. Visitors will meet specimens from all over the world. This follows on from the layout of the entire Fata Morgana greenhouse, which is divided into individual geographical units, so that visitors pass through South America or Africa, for example. Of course, we do not have orchids from our region or, for example, from colder areas in the greenhouse.
Domestic orchids have been on information panels located around the greenhouse for many years. Of course, the exhibition is accompanied by another program, such as lectures by our curators, and visitors can also buy some interesting orchids, and this year we have, for example, bred new varieties from the Netherlands.
What do you think is the biggest attraction of this exhibition?
I would definitely highlight Angraecum madagascariensis, which is an orchid that, as the name implies, grows in Madagascar. Along with it, there is also a unique species of butterfly, and only he is able to pollinate this orchid.
They have a certain guarantee, because the butterfly is sure that no one else will take the nectar from these flowers, and the orchid is sure that it will not get pollen from any other plant. We also present many useful orchids. Vanilla is definitely one of the most famous. Everyone knows this, but few people know that it is an orchid, and even that it is creeper-shaped and grows several meters long.
What events are you planning for visitors this year?
We have returned to the original traditional exhibition, so visitors will not miss the butterfly exhibition, which is always very popular, especially for the youngest. The bonsai exhibition will follow the butterflies. Some events will also focus on wine, which the garden grows itself in the vineyard of St. Klára and I process straight away. In connection with this, I hope that this year we will finally be able to organize the vintage again, which is planned for September.
The last year of your wine was very dry. What does it look like this year?
It’s different every year. The years 2018 and 2019 were very sweet, then it completely broke, the years came when it rained more and it was colder and the wines were very dry. This year’s wines should be a little sweeter and the menu should be more varied due to the diversity of the local varieties.
I believe that this year will change the face of the garden for many, many years.
Bohumil Černýdirector of the Prague Botanical Garden
For example, during a pandemic, you moved the lectures to an online environment. Do you plan to continue to do so?
Online lectures are very popular, so they do not rule out that at some point they are in a dangerous mode. But on the other hand, human-plant contact is extremely important to us. It is necessary to explore them with all the senses, to see the colors, to smell them.
315,000 visitors came to the garden last year, is this a big drop compared to pre-pandemic flights?
Undoubtedly, last year was more successful than 2020, because the number of visitors increased by 120,000 visitors. However, covid sent us back to 2016, when attendance was similar. All you have to do is thank all the visitors for their unwavering interest, and that you can support the garden at a time of all the constraints that existed in the spring.
Do you think that you will return to pre-pandemic numbers in terms of traffic this year?
At least I hope so. And I believe that people will not be discouraged even by the minor restrictions associated with construction work in the garden.
What’s new in the year and is it already serving visitors?
Below the Fata Morgana greenhouse is a new building, which is both the entrance to the garden and the restaurant, and above the restaurant there are landscaped terraces. At the same time, a few new smaller exhibits have been created, whether it concerns the collection of various cultivars, grasses or perennials of the North American prairies.
This year’s events and exhibitions
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A bridge is to be built in the garden. Where will it lead, when will it be done and why is it needed at all?
The Botanical Garden has long been concerned with issues that are divided into two areas, the Fata Morgana Greenhouse and the outdoor exhibition. So the visitors who went to the greenhouse and then had to go through the outdoor exhibition had to walk around the entire garden through the residential area. The bridge project was planned 15 years ago, however, only in recent years have land disputes been resolved and we have been able to start fully designing.
Work on bridging the historic entrance began in January this year, and if the construction conditions are favorable, we will be able to complete the construction by the end of the year. Along with the bridging, a new exhibition presenting the evolution of plants will be created, which will offer a look into the history of plants on Earth, from the oldest ones, such as various algae and horsetails, to the blooming beauty we can already see around us.
What other construction projects await you this year?
Reconstruction is currently underway in the Vinoteka sv. Klára, where a new technical and social background will be created. In addition, the building as such already needed a complete revitalization after many years of operation. It is a very sensitive reconstruction coming from the pen of Professor Ladislav Lábus, who has long been involved in connecting modern architecture with historic buildings.
Due to this, the throughput of the area will be limited in these places in the short term. A completely new space with a breathtaking view of the vineyard, but also of the whole of Prague, should also be accessible by the end of the year, at the latest in the first quarter of next year. Our largest construction project is being prepared in the Ornamental Garden, and this is the construction of an exhibition pavilion, which has been underway since May last year.
I hope that we will be able to finish everything here this year as well. There will be not only facilities for employees, but there will also be a place where we will organize indoor exhibitions, events, workshops, lectures. In my opinion, the pavilion will become one of the focal points of the entire garden.
Judging by all your plans, it looks like the garden is undergoing a drastic transformation.
I think this year will be really important in terms of construction projects. I believe that this year will change the face of the garden for many, many years.