Wednesday Walk in the Upper Garden in Peterhof

a month ago · 2 min read · Peterhof

The Upper Garden in Peterhof was under restoration for several years. The territory of the garden was surrounded by a high fence, and only the employees of the museum-reserve knew what was going on in the garden. Finally in August this year the garden was opened for visitors. I immediately added to my diary the task ‘to wait for good weather and go for a walk in this garden’. But first it was too hot, then I was caught up in a whirlwind of other urgent matters... At the beginning of October it became clear that I could not put off this walk for the future, otherwise I would have to postpone it until next year.

The fact is that the fountains in Peterhof work only until the middle of October. After that, the park workers carry out preventive maintenance, drain the water pipes and preserve the fountain system for the winter. If this is not done, the frost will damage the pipes that supply water to the fountains. The last day of the fountains will be next Sunday, and there are only a few days left to admire the falling jets of water.

Right now, the gardeners have already started preparing the garden for the winter season. Some of the flowers in the flowerbeds have already been cut, and I caught the moment when the heat-loving trees in tubs were being loaded onto a car trailer to be transported to the covered greenhouse. Wooden boxes placed around the perimeter of the fountains were already filled with fallen leaves - in the morning the gardeners clear the leaves from the water surface.

I was lucky with the weather that day. The sky was not completely covered with clouds, and sunlight occasionally illuminated the beautiful garden panorama. It was quite warm (warm for an autumn day), I walked along the fountains first and then walked around the perimeter of the garden. In the centre of the garden there are several fountains, and to the left and right symmetrically arranged green pergolas and labyrinths of trimmed bushes.