Novgorodians were surprised by the peony exhibition with a palette of colors and aromas

The past week has given our city a real miracle - for two days the hall of the Polytechnic College of Novgorod State University turned into a blooming greenhouse. The annual peony exhibition "Magic of a Flower" was held here, organized by the local flower growers' club "Inspiration". Founded in 2009, the club attracts enthusiasts of all ages and professions, uniting like-minded people who are passionate about the art of growing beautiful flowers and giving others the opportunity to touch the beauty of living nature.

Guests of the exhibition were treated to a spectacle of elegant forms and refined aromas.

We asked one of the club members, Valentina LIBURKINA, to tell us a little about this event.

"This is our anniversary, 15th exhibition. As you can see, there are a lot of peonies. We used 233 vases, but they were not enough to place each variety separately, in some we had to put two. That is, about 250 species are presented here. The large hall contains varieties of foreign selection, these are peonies bred by breeders from countries such as the USA, France, Austria, Holland. In the small hall - samples of domestic selection. Recently, their number has been increasing, and now about 50 varieties are participating in the exhibition," Valentina Vasilievna said.

At the end of the first day of the exhibition, the jury selects the best specimens. And now we see the winners awarded with diplomas on a separate table. Who evaluates the peonies and how to choose the best when they are all beautiful?

"We are creating a commission of 6-7 people. This year, guests were invited to join it - famous peony growers who came to our exhibition from St. Petersburg and Tolyatti. A special evaluation sheet notes the combination of external qualities and the health of the plant. The contender for victory must have a large flower and a good leaf," the interlocutor answered our question.

This time the champion of the exhibition was Ivan Vasiliev's variety - "Alexander Nevsky". By the way, it had never been exhibited anywhere before. Novgorodians were the first to see it. And it blossomed just in time for the exhibition. Isn't it a miracle?

Ivan Yakovlevich Vasiliev is known to flower growers all over the country. For several decades now, he has been breeding new unique varieties of peonies. It is interesting that when naming a new variety, the breeder adheres to the Novgorod theme. His collection includes varieties with such names as "Marfa Posadnitsa", "Shelon", "Valdai Bells", "Novgorod Veche", "Lord Veliky Novgorod". And this, of course, evokes great respect and gratitude, especially considering how painstaking this work is, and with such a long period of waiting for the result.

By the way, Valentina Liburkina herself was also noted by the jury. The flowers of the Mrs. F. D. Roosevelt variety that she grew took the honorable 2nd place in the nomination "Peonies of Foreign Selection". She herself has been breeding peonies for about 15 years.

" I invite all my friends when the peonies start to bloom: come and see. I want to give people a piece of warmth, kindness and pleasure. And here, at the exhibition, people come, are surprised by the quantity, the abundance of varieties, and thank us," the florist says.

Valentina Vasilievna also notes that recently more and more young people are interested in flowers: they contact her and ask questions. There are also men who are passionate about flowers.

In addition to the huge number of vases with peonies, there were also beautiful compositions made by florist Daria Dergacheva. Exquisite combinations of simple wild flowers with rich peonies attracted the attention of visitors throughout the exhibition.

Another highlight of the anniversary exhibition was a no-lose lottery. For a symbolic fee, you could pull out a ticket with the name of a plant that the participant could buy for his or her summer cottage. All the "prizes" were worthy, so there were enough people willing to take part in the drawing.

The guest of the exhibition was Ninel Vlasenko , known to many Novgorodians, the head of the applied arts club "Zorenka", a silver volunteer. For several years in a row, members of the club "Inspiration" have invited Ninel Georgievna to their event.

" I make brooches in the form of peonies and today I will be holding a master class on creating these brooches. In addition, for the photo shoot I brought two hats that participated in the "Hat Chic" fashion show competition and received first-degree diplomas, as well as kokoshniks decorated with peonies ," the craftswoman shared.

Ninel herself, it seems, did not expect that her headwear would be in such demand. The hats literally passed from hand to hand – so many people wanted to capture themselves in an unusual image.

This is how this flower festival went. We are sure that it will become a source of vivid memories for many Novgorodians and guests of the city, giving beauty and inspiration.

Elena Nikitina

Photo by the author