Estonian Garden Pearls

Creating and maintaining your own garden is a soothing activity for you and a beautiful sight for anyone who visits. This is why many of Estonia's (and Latvia's) gardens are now open to the public. With nearly 80 gardens and parks in Estonia and Latvia, a project called Garden Pearls serves to link these gardens. These include private gardens as well as stately manor parks, herb gardens and ornamental gardens. In addition to plants, local produce can also be purchased from many gardens.

Let's take a closer look at some of these Garden Pearls.

Maie's Garden

Maie Vridolin's vibrant English garden inspires many garden enthusiasts. Located in the heart of Paikuse village in Pärnu county on a plot of land measuring 1500 square metres, the garden occupies approximately 1200 square metres.

Various plants, perennials and herbs are used throughout the English garden. A lush bed of moisture-loving plants lines the banks of the pond. The garden features both sunny perennial flower beds and shaded planting areas, where ground-cover plants have been skilfully used to cover all the soil under trees and shrubs to create beautiful arrangements.

Tamme Farm Herb Garden

The herb garden of Tamme Farm features one of the largest collections of aromatic and medicinal plants in Estonia. The farm is located near Pärnu in the village of Malda. A stroll around the garden will provide you with an unforgettable sensory experience full of scents and tastes: The herb garden has a diverse and exciting collection of around 500 unique plants. The Tamme Farm herb garden has been awarded the Estonian Ecotourism Quality Label (EHE).

Collection Garden at Lepiku-Mardi Farm

Pärnu County is home to Estonia's largest private collection garden. Over the years, Lepiku-Mardi farm has evolved from a family pastime and ordinary country garden to Estonia's largest private collection garden, spread out over three hectares, with more than 6000 unique plants from all over the world.

Plants from the Far East, Japan, New Zealand, along with those from the Alps, are especially noteworthy. The aim is to adapt the plants in the garden to the local climate, as they grow in much more favourable conditions in their natural habitat.

The University of Tartu Botanical Gardens

The University of Tartu Botanical Gardens is a noteworthy landmark in Tartu that boasts the largest collection of species in Estonia. Situated on 3.5 hectares along Emajõgi River in Tartu, the mission of the botanical gardens is to introduce visitors to the diversity of flora, plant use and conservation. The botanical gardens contains more than 10,000 species of plants ranging from the tundra to tropical rainforests.

Palusalu Garden

Palusalu Garden on the outskirts of Räpina is a two-hectare English garden whose construction began in 2004. The garden is landscaped with trees, shrubs, climbing plants and plenty of perennials. Most of the plants used in the garden are bushy perennials with long blooming periods. Several old varieties have also been used. The garden is complemented by spring, summer and autumn blooms of bulbs.

Mikko Farm 'Garden with Hearts'

The Mikko Farm Hearts Garden offers picturesque views of Põlva County. Featuring over 1000 plants, the English farm garden has grown over the years to cover around two hectares of land. The hilly terrain opens up to picturesque views. The garden includes multiple garden spaces, a rockery, a forest garden and ponds with water lilies.

Information about dozens more parks and gardens in Estonia and Latvia is available on the Garden Pearls website at www.gardenpearls.eu.