On 3 and 4 May, Sigulda's Svētku laukums will host the largest and most colourful spring gardening event, the Latvian Plant Parade, for the twenty-first time.
The event features growers from Latvia only, promoting and showcasing the national plant-growing sector and honouring the people who work in it. As usual, this year's Latvian Plant Parade will bring together more than 300 participants, among them growers from every region of the country, making it the broadest national plant fair. Latvian craftspeople and local food producers will also be there with beautiful and delicious surprises, alongside representatives of garden goods and machinery manufacturers.
Andrejs Vītoliņš, Chairman of the Board of the Plant Growers' Association, says that despite the challenges growers face day to day — particularly changeable weather over the past two years, though so typical of Latvia, economic fluctuations and geopolitical uncertainty — the plant market continues to grow and develop: “The availability and range of plants on the market has only widened this year. Growers, especially newcomers to the market, are offering ever more unique and introduced varieties, which bring a breath of fresh air to garden design and landscaping. Of course, a degree of caution and pragmatic calculation is called for when choosing more exotic plants, as they demand greater care, but there is no denying that climate change is allowing us to grow some very unusual things in our gardens.” He notes that the Plant Parade is precisely the place to get advice from growers on what such plants to grow and how best to do it, while for those whose gardens are still taking shape, the event is the right place to find a rich selection.
This year the organisers will invite everyone to think not only about practical matters, but also to reflect on what it means to each of us to be out in nature, to sink our fingers into cool soil, to delight in a shoot that has only just pushed through the ground, to celebrate in a garden in full bloom. Among the many plant growers, visitors this year will also be greeted by the Ziedonis Museum, which will show the younger generation the educational animated films “Suns Funs un pasaule” and invite them to take part in a competition on Imants Ziedonis's Green Fairy Tale. 3 May is Imants Ziedonis's birthday, and the season at the Ziedonis Museum opens on that day too.
As every year, Sigulda's Svētku laukums will offer two days on which to buy plants grown solely in Latvia. Craftspeople and small-scale home producers will also be there for shoppers. Our caterers will be ready to feed anyone who is hungry. Interesting activities await everyone at the non-governmental organisations' stands.
This year too, in the middle of each day, we will hold a charity plant auction in support of those who cannot ask for help themselves — our four-legged friends living in shelters and with associations.
A reminder that entry and parking at the event are free, and our helpers will be on hand to carry plants to and from the plant cloakroom and out to visitors' cars. To find the venue, we recommend using the Waze navigation app.
The 21st Latvian Plant Parade is organised by the foundation “Stādu un kūdras inovāciju fonds” in cooperation with the Plant Growers' Association and Sigulda Municipality.