If your journey takes you to the island of Hvar, do not miss visiting the Fjori Fôra garden in the village of Gdinj. In cooperation with master of agronomy and garden designer Kristina Lazaneo, Željka and Stjepko Ćurin transformed a plot of 2,500 m2 into a functional plant oasis that offers numerous interesting facts about the island of Hvar’s wild flora.
They point out the Fjora Fôra garden:
Based on the study of facts about the rich biodiversity of the island of Hvar, its climatic characteristics, and numerous historical records about the coexistence of the local population with plants, the concept of the garden boils down to an educational-interactive familiarization of visitors with the appearance of individual island plants, with an emphasis on their useful value. The possibilities and values that individual plant organs provide for people’s enjoyment are numerous. We are familiar with these benefits through our traditional commitment to the island’s natur,e translated into the Fjori Fôra brand, which literally means “flowers of Hvar”.
The plot of the garden has retained its original form, with regular geometric division into smaller fields defined by old dry walls. Such a linear concept was maintained even through the creation of today’s appearance of the garden. Over 80 plant species were sorted through the fields and either planted in high square wooden beds or planted directly on the plot. Cultivating the wilderness is a long-term process of transferring seeds, cuttings, and adult wild plants from different parts of the island of Hvar to the flower beds that adorn six fields. Each field and each plant tells its own story.
The circular direction of movement through the garden is conceived as a circular flow of vegetation. Passing through 6 different fields, you reach the rest area, which is a place for tasting and presentation of Fjori Fôra products, from where you return to the beginning of the plot. The plant species that you encounter during the circular walk change in appearance from month to month. Every year, the garden rotates through a circular course of the dynamic presence and absence of specific plant organs, allowing the visitor to visit throughout the year.
Various accompanying elements in the garden, events, and workshops, as well as garden tour packages, are educational and interactive.
Location of the garden: Gdinj village, Jelsa municipality, Hvar island.
Landscape architect: Kristina Lazaneo.
More about the Fjori Fôra project: rebranding and organic spices.
