During the month of May, thousands of flowers, apple blossoms and the lilac alley named after Empress Alexandra Feodorovna[1], began to bloom on the grounds of the Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs at Ganina Yama [situated 15 km/10 miles northeast of Ekaterinburg].

On 7th June 2022, the laying of an The Lilac Valley named in honour of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna took place at the monastery. Following a Divine Liturgy, 30 lilac bushes were planted next to the church in Honour of the Icon of the Mother of God. The event was one of many held across Russia marking the 150th anniversary of her birth on 6th June 1872 at the New Palace in Darmstadt.

Today, the following varieties beloved by the Empress and her family are presented here – “Madame Lemoine” (1890), “Memories of Ludwig Späth (1883), Alfos Laval (1887) and Charles Joly (1898).” The monastery noted that all the bushes survived the winter safely, took root and are now gaining colour.

Visitors to the monastery will be delighted by the variety of blooms, including numerous varieties of daffodils, tulips, fragrant peonies, lilies, and more than 50 varieties of roses. In addition, are the apple trees that were planted next to the refectory, bursting with the abundance of snow-white inflorescences, and delicate aromas.

PHOTO: The monument to Emperor Nicholas II was installed on 19th May 2008, the day marking the Sovereign’s birthday.

The floral development and landscaping of the grounds of the monastery at Ganina Yama, which preserves the memory of the Holy Royal Martyrs, is being improved from year to year.

This year, the number of flowers has increased significantly. Moreover, they are selected in such a way as to delight pilgrims and visitors with their variable flowering and delicate aromas throughout the summer months.

At the beginning of May, several hundred tulips bloomed. After the tulips, daffodils bloomed, followed by fragrant peonies. In addition, pilgrims and tourists will be able to admire the colourful irises, petunias and other floral arrangements that adorn the grounds of the monastery in abundance, including the pedestals of each of each of the three monuments dedicated to members of the Holy Royal Martyrs [see below].

PHOTO: The monument to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was installed in 2011.

“There are noticeably more flowers in the monastery this year,” said one pilgrim – “it’s as if you have found yourself in a kind of Garden of Eden. For me, this is Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers” come to life! I like to come on a weekday when it’s not so crowded. You can walk for hours along these paths, enjoy the beauty of God’s creation in peace and solitude, and pray to the Holy Royal Martyrs, praise the Lord” – she added.

By the time that this year’s Tsar’s Days begins, in mid-July, the buds of more than a thousand snow-white lilies – 300 varieties from all over the world – will be in full bloom.

The dean of the monastery, Hieromonk John (Nevryuev), noted that every year on 17th July – the day of remembrance of the Holy Royal Martyrs, Mine No. 7 is decorated with hundreds of flowers. This is the place where the regicides tried to hide all traces of their crime – the murder of the Tsar, his wife, their five children and four faithful retainers. It is this place, in which the blood of the Holy Royal Martyrs was spilled, that is the heart of the monastery.

PHOTO: Monument to Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Tsesarevich Alexei was also installed in 2011.

NOTES:

[1] Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was very fond of lilacs, decorating the rooms of the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo with blooms of various colours: white, mauve, purple and pink, from the gardens and greenhouses at Tsarskoye Selo – even during the cold winter months.

“The lilac is coming out and its fragrance in the evening is marvelous” – letter from Emperor Nicholas II to his mother the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, written at Tsarskoye Selo, 10th May 1895

In January 2022, the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum revived the tradition of placing lilacs in the Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir and the Maple Drawing Room of the Alexander Palace. The white lilacs bloomed over the past winter.

For the first time in more than a hundred years, the fragrant scent of lilacs once again fill the interiors of the Alexander Palace during the cold winter months.

© Paul Gilbert. 30 May 2023