In 2021, Lviv for the first time in Ukraine introduced the positions of city gardeners of a new format. Therefore, since April last year, each district and park of Lviv has been assigned a specialist who has studied the landscaping of the area in detail. The Department of Ecology and Natural Resources explains that the work of gardeners was the first step towards a complete inventory of trees and other landscaping facilities in the city and helped significantly change the quality of greenery.
Today, gardeners are involved in drawing up work plans for the care of plants, as well as monitor their implementation. Oleksandra Sladkova, Head of the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources, emphasizes that this allows to bring order to a complex and extensive system, when certain types of work on the same site are performed by several different contractors.
“When I came to the position of head, I saw that the parks and majestic trees of Lviv lack not so much money as competent care and indifference. This is what gives the quality of landscaping. So when the gardeners came along, I realized that this was the link that was so lacking. They do 10 times more in planning and controlling landscaping care than I did before, ”says Oleksandra Sladkova.
She adds that for many years maintenance work in Ukraine was carried out according to outdated standards, which the city inherited from the Soviet Union. Gardeners are changing this by introducing modern world practices and methods in Lviv. This allows you to bring the work of gardeners to a qualitatively new level.
In particular, urban gardeners have managed to introduce new trends in flower garden planning. An example of this is the flowerbed near the Town Hall and the landscaping of Chernivtsi Street – they are made in the current style of the “new wave”. Plantings of ornamental grasses and perennials mimic the natural meadow vegetation of our region.
The department’s specialists not only work with modern trends – they also revive local horticultural traditions. So, last year, according to archival materials, Arnold Rering’s flower bed was recreated in the ground floor of the Ivan Franko Park. Also, together with dendrologists, gardeners restored and supplemented the plantings in the park on St. George’s Square.
This spring, for the first time in many years, tulips, crocuses, daffodils and other spring primroses appeared on the streets and parks of the city. This experiment was considered successful, and it is also the achievement of the Department of Gardeners.
Thanks to the coordinated work of gardeners, including specialists in various fields, it became possible to implement such global city-wide projects as the establishment of the Garden of Remembrance of the Heroes of ATO / OOS, on which the whole team worked. The logistics of planting black pines at the Memorial to the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred were also difficult.
Last year’s large-scale planting of trees and shrubs on the city streets also took place due to the long work of gardeners in planning, preparation and supervision. They visited the planting sites of each tree or bush several times, determined the preparatory work, monitored the planting and planned further care.
Parks in remote corners of the city, little-visited parks: such as Snopkivsky, Arkhangel Mykhailo, Sknylivsky, used to be traditionally financed and cared for on a residual basis. Now each of them has his “lawyer” in the person of the district gardener, who makes sure that the park is taken care of properly. Due to this, many abandoned park areas have received new life.
Gardeners additionally gather communities around their districts, as a result of which residents are actively involved in landscaping and care. All green areas are being cleared – now with the participation of gardeners, which allows not only to clean the area from debris, but also to carry out more complex and skilled work.
The Department of Ecology and Natural Resources told in more detail about each member of the team of gardeners.
Maksym Koshelnyk Halytskyi district
Gardener with vast experience. Maxim is an absolutely indispensable person in the team. No one is able to plan landscaping and care work in as much detail as he does. That is why Maxim is involved in the most difficult, in terms of organization, projects. All the preparatory work, the necessary tools and materials, possible difficulties and pitfalls – Maxim is immediately able to answer each of these questions. He will make every effort to ensure that everything is done properly.
Oksana Sofiyanchuk Halyts’kyi district
The motto with which Oksana goes through life: “Anything can be improved.” Her keen analytical mind is constantly looking for ways to optimize everything around her: workflows, management, urban space, and the world at large. Oksana sees very clearly the causes and consequences of everything involved, able to find a system in any chaos. Extensive experience in design gives gardeners a deep understanding of beauty, style and harmony.