Lilac Lanes

We had been told that the Kyiv National Botanical Garden had an impressive display of lilacs and so we went to see them on our preparation day, May 16.  [We returned the next year on May 7 and took more photos to add to this blog!]  The Loftus's went with us.  We paid our entrance fee and proceeded down the main walkway, already enjoying the lilacs and their smell that lined the way.  The main building is the headquarters of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences and its greenhouses.  




We could not see that there were any tours inside the greenhouses, so we decided to go left towards the domes of an orthodox church.   It was small, the Trinity Monastery of St Jonas, and not the cathedrals I had seen in pictures before coming.  But from the rise and over-looking the garden of the monastery, we could see the lilacs.

We walked towards the wonderful smells. Soon we were in the middle of lanes of beautiful lilacs.  It was incredible!

"The collection of lilacs in the Kiev Botanical Garden is one of the most impressive in the world: 21 species (out of 28 existing), 78 varieties and dozens of hybrids – totaling around 180 kinds. Occupying an area of about 2.5 hectares, fifteen hundred luxurious bushes are located on terraces on the steep hills overlooking the great Dnieper river, and the golden domes of the Vydubitsky Monastery."

On our return trip we walked down to the monastery to see the buildings.  

The Vydubetsky Monastery and its central church, the Mykhaylivsky (St Michael’s) Cathedral dates from 1070.  The domes' colors represent the gold of the sun, the stars of the night, and the green of nature.  In the foreground is a lacy variety of lilac and behind it the ubiquitous horse chestnut tree seen everywhere in Kyiv, especially when they are flowering. 

Unfortunately, the star-topped building has been turned into a restaurant--perhaps a good one!  

This is the small old chapel.

The main cathedral has a beautiful interior.

Painters were also seen among the lilacs trying to capture their beauty.  To the right is a tree peony.  When we first saw them we could recognize the leaves, and the people called them peonies.  When I could look them up online I found:

"Tree peonies are actually shrubs, not trees. They produce woody stems and do not die back to the ground like herbaceous peonies. They are slow growing but long lived. Some specimens in China are thought to be more than 200 years old. Plants eventually grow to 3 to 5 feet tall, but they may take decades to do so. 

  Tree peonies have larger flowers than herbaceous peonies and are available in a wider range of colors. Yellow, purple, maroon, and green are a few colors commonly available in tree peonies but rarely seen in herbaceous peonies. Both single and double flower forms are common in both types of peonies."

Beds of these peonies were among the lilacs.  Here is a specimen in front of a red variety of 

horse chestnut tree.  The blooms are very large!

We saw and enjoyed so many kinds of lilacs with hues of purple, lilac, pink, and white.  We found the "normal" lilacs to be most fragrant.  We saw "double" blossoms.  I was impressed with this "triple" or "quadruple" variety!  We did go back the next year for this thrill of the senses!