A major greening campaign is starting in Irkutsk. Tomorrow more than 25 thousand flowers will be planted in the citys main flowerbed, and about a thousand pots with petunias will appear in the center. Biologists and landscapers waited for suitable weather so the seedlings would take root better, and prepared a reserve stock of plants in case of damage. Over the next two weeks seven green sculptures will come to life in the city, and by the end of summer two new compositions will appear. All greening work is planned to be completed by June 20, with 40 million rubles allocated in the city budget.
“The weather conditions are close to ideal,” says Vladimir Chubuk, head of the Department for Environmental Protection and Ecological Safety. “It’s not hot outside and there’s no rain — most seedlings burn in the sun or die from overwatering. The planting date for the city’s main flower bed has already been postponed twice — biologists and landscapers were waiting for the moment when nighttime temperatures would become positive, and such weather would last for about a week. Last year, the flowers were planted earlier — this year spring is much colder.”Last year, some of the seedlings in the city’s main flower bed did not take root, and they were replaced with new flowers almost every night. This year there will be no problems, the landscapers are confident. While the seedlings were sprouting, they were treated with special preparations to make the flowers more resistant to weather conditions. Damaged flowers will be restored from the “reserve fund” — about 2,000 plants.
As early as tomorrow, more than 2,000 salvia flowers (a type of sage), more than 8,000 striped cineraria flowers, almost 10,000 yellow and orange marigolds, more than 4,000 alyssum flowers, 547 frost-resistant cannas, and 505 inflorescences of ornamental cabbage will appear in the city’s main flower bed. On average, landscapers plant 85 flowers per square meter: 36 large and 49 medium-sized flowers. The number and varieties of flowers depend on the design project, for which seedlings with specific parameters were specially grown.
In addition to flower beds, about 1,000 planters with petunias will appear in the city center, into which biologists add hydrogel and a special soil mixture to prevent drying out. Watering the planters is the most labor-intensive and expensive process in the care of green spaces: watering petunias requires a truck with a lift.
Over the next two weeks, 7 green sculptures will also “come to life” on the streets of Irkutsk: a seal and a bear at the roundabout in the Baykalsky neighborhood, a sphere near City Clinical Hospital No. 1, a deer by the circus, an elephant on the embankment, etc. The seedlings are already prepared; now biologists are trying to find the right soil recipe for the living sculptures. Vladimir Chubuk noted that by the end of summer, two more “green sculptures” will appear in Irkutsk: a “Bride’s Bouquet” will be installed near the registry office building, and 7 dwarfs will “settle” near the Barguzin cinema.
“All landscaping work in the city will be completed by June 20,” Vladimir Chubuk noted. “This year’s city landscaping budget amounts to 40 million rubles, and this amount includes the maintenance of all the city’s green spaces.”
Based on materials from the Irkutsk city administration press service