In the Brno Botanical Garden, the largest greenhouse is being repaired, aided by climbers

Brno – The roof and walls of the largest greenhouse at the university botanical garden in Brno currently only consist of bare construction without glass. Due to repairs, most of the plants had to be removed, with only the largest trees remaining in place, as they cannot be relocated. The reconstruction will last until the end of August, said Magdaléna Chytrá, head of the Botanical Garden at the Faculty of Science at Masaryk University, to ČTK.

In the hot days, climbers were sanding the old coating of the structure, hanging on ropes or on a mobile platform. Once the sanding is completed, craftsmen will begin the coating process, again in gray. "New glass and custom polycarbonate for each window are currently in production," Chytrá stated. The repairs include electrical installations, a new fountain, or hoses with misting nozzles.

"Our gardeners will start in September, and their task will first be to replace the soil with a new substrate, while minimally damaging the roots of the trees that remain in the greenhouse and must endure the whole process. I think they enjoy it, as subtropical plants can be grown outdoors in summer here, and now they are under the blue sky and beautifully soaked by the rain from storms," Chytrá described.

The other plants are currently relocated to the garden or in a storage greenhouse. They will return to their original locations in the fall, and very soon the palm greenhouse will be filled with green leaves. "As can be seen in greenhouses 1 and 2, which were repaired in the same way in the last two years, it is practically impossible to tell that the plants have only been there for one or two years. Everything has already grown up to the ceiling again," said the manager. The remaining two greenhouses are expected to be repaired in the next two years.

For this year, the garden has also prepared the construction of a new fence on Veveří. The current fence is wooden, while the new one will be metal. Its artistic design reflects the visual style of Masaryk University and also features the motif of wheat stalks in a field, some of which are slightly bent by the wind. In the future, wisterias, flame vines, roses, grapevines, or trumpet vines will climb upon the fence.