PERENNIALS IN VILLA RANA GARDEN

The garden and greenhouse of Villa Rana in 1915 (postcard photo). Collections of the University of Jyväskylä Science Museum.
The garden and greenhouse of Villa Rana in 1915 (postcard photo). Collections of the University of Jyväskylä Science Museum.

Until the 1960s, the warm slope of Villa Rana's garden housed the greenhouse of the Jyväskylä Teacher Seminary. The garden's current appearance was formed in the 1960s (in terms of the trees), when various apple trees (Malus spp.), the magnificent purple bird cherries (Prunus padus 'Colorata') and regular bird cherries (Prunus padus) were planted on the slope. The pine trees (Pinus sylvestris) growing on the lower slope at the edge of the garden are from the 1890s and the mountain elms (Ulmus glabra) from the 1920s.

The renovation of the Seminaarinmäki garden was carried out in the 2010s. Detailed historical and landscape surveys were carried out on the area before the work was carried out. The plans for the area were drawn up by landscape architect Gretel Hemgård. Before the renovation, the garden of Villa Rana was quite wild and various perennials were dug up, catalogued and finally replanted, e.g. various peonies (Paeonia spp.), daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.), Siberian iris (Iris sibirica), campanulas (Campanula spp.) and Solomon's seal (Polygonatum multiflorum).