In the agrotown Krupitsa of the Minsk district, Southern Street greets passers-by with a series of well-tended front gardens. But one plot makes you stop: a riot of colors and a luxurious cascade of tiers. Antanina Kaziuleva created this fairy tale. Behind her are more than 20 years of gardening experience, a collection of rare varieties, and even one small wonder — a lily that outgrew its gardener. Antanina told pristalica.by how to grow a personal kingdom from an ordinary garden.
Antanina and her family settled in the agrotown in 2002, and back then the landscape was completely different. Today, their plot is a thoughtfully zoned area. The vegetable garden has a strictly designated spot behind the house, the south side hosts a relaxation area under the crowns of sprawling fruit trees, and flowers occupy all the remaining space.
Flowerbeds as Art
The main pride is the flowerbeds. These are not chaotic plantings, but the hostess's design solution. The most extensive one stretches in front of the house along the fence.
"I did this on purpose. You step out in the morning with coffee, and before you is a continuous ribbon of flowers. It's beautiful and doesn't bother anyone. I really enjoy this work – propagating, planting, caring for them. It brings joy to both the eyes and the soul," Antanina says.
Although the composition looks like a single line, in reality, it is divided into rhythmic zones. The scheme is almost classic: a peony, next to it a daylily, then a lily, and at the foot—a textured hosta. Evergreens complete the picture. Antanina initially considered making raised flowerbeds, edged with stone, but the idea of an open flower garden, which gives a sense of space, prevailed.
Daylilies and a Two-Meter Wonder
Among dozens of species—roses, climbing plants, buddleias, dahlias, and yuccas—Antanina's heart is especially fond of climbing plants.
"They are called daylilies because each flower lives for only one day. But there are so many buds on the stem that the bush blazes with colors for almost three weeks," she explains.
With lilies, the gardener has a special relationship. The "Prince" variety in her garden was capricious and did not prove to be resilient, but "Princess" was the opposite. A separate story is her love for OT-hybrids (Oriempets). One day, this passion brought a sensation to the world on the scale of one plot.
"I bought a regular bulb and got a two-meter inflorescence. I thought it was 'broken,' growing strangely, all up and up. And then an incredible number of buds opened on it. The next year it wasn't so gigantic, but it still holds the record as the tallest in the garden."
Secrets of Care: Calla Lilies and Hosta's Appetite
Currently, Antanina's collection includes about 15 species of climbing plants and 15 varieties of lilies. A special pride is her kingdom of calla lilies. This year, she planted tubers of various colors in pots with a volume of no less than 20 centimeters. They gained strength on the windowsill all spring and were moved to the garden only by the end of May.
"My calla lily is quite unpretentious. It started blooming already on the windowsill; I only watered it sometimes. I kept it on the west side," the florist admits.
An important nuance: unlike climbing plants, which winter in the ground after simple pruning, calla lilies are not left in the soil. Hostas need to be pruned in a timely manner.
"The main thing is to divide them in time, otherwise the bush becomes huge and snails settle there. I try to replant every five years, but I always monitor their condition," the hostess explains.
For bright accents in the garden, there's a place for annuals: in May, Antanina plants marigolds, but most of all, her heart belongs to snapdragons and asters.
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