What is grown at the dacha Vovk, Sharapova and other stars

– I have a dacha in the Novgorod region near Valdai. This is my mother’s homeland. We left there on April 2, and all this time we have been here. In two months they repaired the fence, planted blueberries, plums, cherries, and an apple tree. In addition, we are engaged in housekeeping, we drown a bathhouse on the bank of the river. Everything is in bloom, the weather is wonderful. The husband goes fishing, we eat delicious fish soup from different fish, which we cook over the fire.

In fact, we had a good holiday thanks to self-isolation, because before we could not come here for so long. I don’t miss life in Moscow. I work here on the Internet, now a new filming project is being prepared, so we are working on the script remotely.

– Actually, I am a typical city dweller, and we never had any dacha, but with the advent of the child, my husband and I decided that it was necessary to move out of town for the baby (In February, Ulyana turned three years old. – Approx. “Antenna”)… Therefore, we have been renting a wooden house from the same owners for several years and are very satisfied. We have a small plot of several acres, on which tall pines grow, they were planted a long time ago, ornamental plants and flowers. In the courtyard there are roses, various shrubs, and my husband and I have much to make efforts. 

Last year spouse (photographer Alexey Pigurenko. – Approx. “Antenna”) I planted green onions in the beds, a little dill, parsley, sorrel, spinach, which we tear right to the table. These are the sources of vitamins. Wild grapes weave across the veranda. We cut off excess leaves and branches, put the thuja in order: loosened it up, watered it, and made a haircut in some places. Now there is more work in the garden. Previously, we mowed the lawn from time to time, because there was no time, but now everything is in perfect shape.

– Our village where we live is located between Sorochany, Yakhroma and the Tyagachev resort. When we settled in, we found a small patch of strawberries. For two years I turned it into a meadow and cultivated it like a strawberry. The berries were huge last year. Later she planted a cherry, an apple, a pear and a plum. We constantly feed them. I have three gooseberry bushes, raspberries, blackberries, lingonberries, viburnum and blueberries.

I’m waiting for the lavender to bloom. Last year, actress Marina Yakovleva brought bell seeds from her homeland, Baikal. And the director Vera Sokolova presented lilies and irises. Should rise soon.

The neighbors gave me 16 small tomato bushes. Sprouted zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, radishes. I dug several birches, planted oregano, mint and lemon balm around. These herbs repel insects well. I also got an exotic plant – ginger. I bought it at the beginning of the quarantine.

At the entrance to the territory, a small pussy willow meets me, which was presented to me two years ago on a tour in Rostov. She took root in the water and turned from a bunch into a beautiful tree. Even the first fluffs appeared. The pine tree, which we saved from a construction site on a neighboring site, is also pleasing. Now she is about 80 centimeters tall, and you can see two bumps on her. Recently I read that all conifers need acidic soil. Therefore, I use coffee cake as a groundbait.

– I have a small house in the suburbs. Two greenhouses where I grow cucumbers and tomatoes. Beds with onions and various herbs. Small potato field. And, of course, flowers. There is a large lawn in front of the house. Rhododendrons grow on it, there are three large flower beds with hydrangeas, dahlias, lilies, roses, peonies and phloxes. In the spring – with tulips, lilacs and daffodils.

There is also a small alpine slide with mallow. This is a greeting from my childhood impressions from my father’s homeland, Ukraine. At the height of summer, everything here blooms and smells sweet. Birds are singing in the garden trees. We feed them all winter.

I have four cats. They are always well fed, therefore they do not attack birds. They don’t even catch mice. They are also homebodies. In summer they rarely go out for a walk. The dog also lives. I like to walk along the site, do nordic walking. This is how life goes on in spring worries.

– We have been living outside the city for a long time, one might say, this is our dacha, – tells the artist’s wife Liana. – With the advent of my site, I wanted to create beauty on it. It is very pleasing to the eye when in the morning you go outside with a cup of coffee and see all this splendor.

I love experimenting in the garden. We have lilacs, magnolia, rhododendrons (I love them very much), peonies, roses, crocuses, hydrangeas, poppies. There is also a decorative almond tree. When it begins to bloom, it turns into a large pink ball. I also planted two lovely cherry blossoms. Fruit trees include apple, pear, prune, cherry and sweet cherry. From bushes – raspberries, black and red currants, gooseberries, wild strawberries.

Each plant needs a special approach. We try to take care of them ourselves: cut and spray so that they do not get sick. We pay special attention to roses so that no insects strike them. We cover the berry with nets so that the birds do not peck. We even put sound “scarecrows”. Trying to girls (the couple lives in a dacha with three daughters: 23-year-old Sarina, 14-year-old Emmanuelle and 10-year-old Beata. – Approx. “Antenna”) explain what is planted and where, in order to instill in them love and interest in this. Sometimes I ask you to pick apples or plums. I see that it brings them pleasure!

– The village where we live is called “Moscow writer”. My grandfather Viktor Gusev once received a plot here, built a house. He died very early – in 1944, when he was not yet 35 years old, and the street where we live was named after him. That house remained as a memory, relics are kept in it, and we live in a new building nearby.

When I was small, our entire plot was a large vegetable garden, where absolutely everything grew, up to potatoes. Real farmland. But they gradually stopped doing this, and the site became more like a forest, which I like, although it does not bring real benefits in the form of vegetables and fruits.

And during the time of self-isolation, a small step was made towards returning: several apple trees were planted, my wife organized a greenhouse on the site. There are cucumbers, tomatoes, peas, carrots, radishes, and one person is enough to take care of all this, especially since I’m not a big fan of doing this. Rather, I will help you wash and vacuum the dishes. We also made a round flower bed and planted strawberries there. But we do everything little by little so as not to damage the forest, which we are very proud of.

A couple of phrases

What do you like to do in the country?

Svetlana Galka, comedian:

– Take care of the beds. Especially for strawberries, from which I then make face masks. I like to dry berries and mushrooms.

Andrey Ilyin, actor:

– I have a dacha near the Volga, so I often fish. When my friends come, I make a barbecue. I know a lot of interesting recipes.

Anna Nevskaya, actress:

– The dacha is my place of power. Only here I rest in body and soul. There you always want to go in for sports and just enjoy the scents of nature.

Lyudmila Porgina, actress:

– Breathe in the pine forest and listen to the birds singing. It is very calming. We have extraordinary air in Zagoryanskoye.

Margarita Sukhankina, singer:

– Plant flowers! Water and care for them. I love experimenting with new varieties. It is not easy to find plants that would work well for our weather.