Darželis - The Garden
According to an old saying: “If there is no garden by the house, it means no live person resides there.” From earliest times, a part of each Lithuanian‘s sodyba, and its ornament, was the flower garden. The most popular flowers for these gardens were those that survived the cold winters and kept coming back: jazminai, diemedžio krūmai, saulutės, karkleliai, mėtos, razetos, našlaitės, narcizai, tulpės, bijūnai (jasmine, boxwood hedges, sunflowers, phlox, mint, mignonettes, pansies, narcissus, tulips, peonies) and many others.

People had their own ideas about the best times to sow seed or plant flowers in the garden. Some said that flowers planted during the time of a full moon (pilnatis) would grow well, and with double blooms. Others claimed that one should plant during the jaunatis (new moon), so that flowers would always be new, and always young. But no one would ever suggest sowing or planting during the moon‘s wane (delčioje), as this was an unsuitable time, blank and empty.

However, the basic foundation of the flower garden was always the rūta. “A garden without rūta is not a garden.” Rūta was widely used as a folk medicine, and decorated the bride‘s table during wedding festivities. Rūta was symbolic of youth and a maiden‘s innocence. “Without rūta, a bride is no bride.“ And a deceased maiden‘s coffin was adorned with rūta as a final tribute.

A family could have one or more carved wooden crosses or shrines standing in their sodyba, near the garden, either as a sign of devotion, as a celebration of some particular event, or in honor of a favorite patron saint.

Fences and gates were mostly of wood, often intricately made.

Often a tall vine twined around the fence and nurtured clusters of hops, which grew almost anywhere, especially along riverbanks, without enouragement or supervision of any kind.

Women liked to use the garden fence to hang their washed earthenware, pots, cups, pitchers and sometimes buckets to dry.

Sometimes the young ladies would decorate free parts of the flower garden with small stones and rocks. When the piršliai (matchmakers) rode up on their gaily-caparisoned horses, they were tied up at the garden fence - a sure signal to the neighbors of the visit‘s purpose.

© English Translation - Gloria O’Brien 2011

This article was printed in Bridges, 2011