Actress and speech teacher Zane Daudziņa and actor Vilis Daudziņš spend the warm months of the year in their summer house in Valle. In fourteen years, they have turned this place into a real haven of peace, where the backyard pond will harden, squeeze the juice from the apples they have planted and delight themselves with bright flowers.
The desire for space
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While living in the city, many often felt the urge to go to nature. At that time, the children were still small, they were placed in prams or exploded in seats on bicycles and went together in the greenery – to the forest, Daugavmala. “They wanted closer proximity to nature. I have always enjoyed living in the countryside, as a child I spent all summers with my grandmother. As a result, I felt thirsty for the vastness of the countryside, ”Zane recalls.
The search for a country house took about a year, and it was in winter, when the snow covered the ground, that the view from the hill to the forest made it clear that this was the place. “I really wanted to find a country house so that I have the feeling that you are coming to your grandmother. So that the house is waiting for you and it is just like that – a bit old-fashioned, with all the old things that belong to the house – an apple orchard, berries, some dill cavities, ”says Zane.
Oaks almost in the status of big oaks
Tip if there are plaques on the oak leaves:
This pest is typical of oaks and lindens. Landscape architect Dace Lukševica says that pancakes lay larvae in these tubers. These pests extract juice from the oak leaves.
This problem indicates that the tree has a weakened immune system. The reason for this could be the previous two dry summers, because this tree needs a large amount of moisture.
For a tree, these pests are not deadly, but they can be combated by burning the leaves on which the tubers are formed. It is difficult to help a large tree in size, because it cannot be misted, as well as provide enough moisture.
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-At first, the yard was overgrown with a long grass, which was inhabited by a bunch of logs. “And then step by step, meter by meter, we depended on our territory from the wild nature,” recalls Willis. He really wanted to plant apples and see them grow. Vilis squeezes the juice from the apple harvest.
As apples are his favorite fruit, new apples are still being planted in the garden. Once on the way to work, the actor tasted very delicious “Signe Tillich” apples at the market and immediately realized that he wanted to grow this variety in his garden as well. The seller was not ready to share a branch of this apple tree, but Vilis did not give up and got them at the Dobele Horticultural Institute. A small tree has already grown from the bud. The once so popular variety “Serinka” and the variety of sweet apples, which has been given the name of the Dodni House – “Turbu Sugar”, also grow in the “bed” of Viļi apple selection.
There are several expensive oaks and birches growing in the farm, which are only a few tens of centimeters short of the status of a big tree. For oak, which is located in the middle of the yard, the circumference of the trunk reaches about 3 meters and 60 centimeters. “It simply came to our notice then. Everything is left to the children, ”says Willis. One of the oaks in the courtyard of Daugiņi has spherical bright green tubers or banks.
Usually in the spring the theater season is in full swing and in Vallé you have to spend very little time, but this year was different. “Usually life is like you run away, break something, cut it and move back to Riga. But now, in this great disease, it also had its benefits. You could see how nature wakes up, ”the actor is happy about the unexpectedly gained free time in the spring.
The garden as a theater
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One of the favorite flowers of Vilis is the St. John’s wort. “Miķelīši is a theater. Then it is quite clear that the season has begun. The last flowers, the last apples – there is something in it … ”Willis determines sentimentally.
“I test a lot of plants for durability. I ore myself in the summer, and they have to ore with me. I weed when I can, ”says the actress. If you haven’t had time to water the plants for a long time, then guilt makes you do it at night. “Somehow they call me and if they cry, I have to come,” says the housekeeper.
Recently weeding the beds, Zane came to the realization that the garden bears a remarkable resemblance to theater, as many plants portray and pretend. “For example, pigeons like to grow among lions, rather than any other weeds, because they think that they are almost imperceptible, masked that they will not notice. Do weeds grow on cucumbers that have light green leaves and yellow flowers. It is almost unrecognizable, ”Zane shares her observations. She admits that she has to be very careful, the garden teaches not only to see, but also to see and be careful.
The bright summer flowers can delight Zane’s heart: “I want thick walls of glamor in all the greenery. When something blooms, it is always a great pleasure for me. ” In the winter, when nature turns to earthy tones, Zane takes care of the windowsill plants and sometimes, to inspire her to grow, she also talks to them: “I really miss something natural in the winter.”
Although the flowers are mostly in Zane’s care, behind the house grows a small rose garden, which is taken care of by Willis. It grows nine large shrubs. Even if there is some greenery in the garden in winter, Vilis likes to plant evergreen trees and plants.
Willows can spend up to half an hour eating berries directly from the bush. Zane calls it her husband’s hobby. “A very meditative process. You stand and think very well, ”says Vilis about the vitamin-rich activity. The berries both freeze for the winter and make juice, which is very popular with the sons of.
Unforeseen nature
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For those who are not afraid to experiment and make mistakes, of course, from time to time there are some mischief. Do not do without them in this garden. For example, snapdragons were planted in front of the astilbs. The lions reached out, bloomed and had to be sentenced to death, but for some time the flowers stood proudly in a vase and delighted Zane’s mother in Riga. “It is impossible to predict how tall and in what color the plant will be,” Zane admired about the surprises in the garden.
Zane has called the small hill, under which there is a cellar, Bastejkalns. To make the view more pleasing to the eye, it is planted with ornamental plants. One of them is juniper donated by actor Andris Keišs. It has grown to an unprecedented size in ten years. After this case, Willis realized that it is not necessary to give something that threatens to grow larger than two meters, because with the plant comes the responsibility for it.
The most beautiful sunsets
The scenic view of the western sky, where the pond and the forest edge are located, was also the reason why Many chose this place. Exactly the terrace, from which you can see the most beautiful sunsets, is Zane’s favorite place in this farm. “It seems to me to be the most scenic place,” says Zane. The various shades, reflections and clouds of the sunset do not cease to surprise and delight Zani, so they have taken countless photos.
Everyday life here is incomparably quieter than in Riga. “Freedom is key here. You don’t have to meet and meet somewhere. You can be a full-time time manager and decide whether you will get up at five, six or nine. Or you can even decide nothing and just do as you wish at that moment. This is a place of respite, ”says Zane about the countryside.
This summer, journalist Henrieta Verhoustinska visited cultural figures to see how their gardens were tended and grown. It turns out that through conversations about vegetables, stalks in gardening and stories related to beds, talent lovers can look at their favorite personalities from a completely different point of view. All “Kultūrdobes” series can be watched on REplay.lv.
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