Irkutsk will be transformed this summer by large scale floral design, thousands of dahlias, begonias, marigolds and petunias will be planted in flowerbeds, planters and green sculptures. More than 18 million rubles have been allocated for greening the city, and dendrologists have created a new original design for each flowerbed, from marble chips to beds in the shape of stars and commas. Work will begin at the end of May, and if the weather cooperates, by mid June Irkutsk is promised to become a true garden city.

Irkutsk will be awash in flowers. Thousands of dahlias, begonias, and marigolds will decorate the regional capital this summer.
According to the city’s chief dendrologist, Nadezhda Kuzmenkova, this year more than 18 million rubles have been allocated from the city budget for floral decoration of Irkutsk, of which 8 million 700 thousand rubles were spent on growing flower seedlings, and the remaining money will go toward planting them and arranging flowerbeds. Every year, dendrologists develop a completely new exclusive design for all the city’s flower gardens. For example, in the new square on Sedova and Lenina streets, the flowerbed will feature a pattern made of marble chips; in Kirov Square, flowerbeds in the shape of commas will appear, set directly into the lawn; and the flowerbed by the Zhukov monument will be made in the form of a five-pointed star. In addition, more than a thousand wrought-iron decorative planters with lushly blooming petunias in blue, red, and pink tones will appear on the streetlight poles along Baikalskaya, Sovetskaya, Lenina, Karl Marx, and Gagarin Boulevard, as well as some other streets. The dendrologists have not forgotten about the green figures either. All six green sculptures in the city, which give Irkutsk its special, unique look, will be decorated with marigolds, sedum, ageratum, and other plants.
The amount of work is large, but the workforce is small. Vacancies for flower planting will appear at Employment Centers. In the conditions of the crisis, center employees expect strong demand for this public work.
Specialists plan to begin greening work in the regional capital at the end of May. It is important that the average daily temperature does not fall below zero. Otherwise, the still very young plants may not survive. At “Gorzelenkhoz,” they promise to turn Irkutsk into a garden city by mid-June.
According to dendrologists’ forecasts, with proper planting and care of the flowers, Irkutsk residents will be able to admire them until late autumn.