Despite being a private property, the estate’s park is open to the public. Every year, from late spring to late autumn, it is accessible to all visitors. Orekhovno Estate is located in the village of Orekhovno near Pskov, 500 kilometers from Moscow. It was in this area that Alexander Grivko spent his childhood, and later, after becoming a renowned landscape architect, he created a stunningly beautiful garden here in memory of his mother, who passed away early.

Over the past twenty years, the park at Orekhovno Estate has had a significant impact on modern landscape architecture in Russia, becoming, quite literally, a textbook for students and professionals in the field not only in our country but also in Europe. It is no coincidence that this garden has been included in the list of the world’s greatest gardens—Great Gardens of the World—and is also part of the registry of Pskov’s noble estates under the cultural and educational tourism development project.

The central point of the garden is marked by the estate house—a small castle in the Norman style. On one side, the castle is surrounded by an Italian garden, where a stone Cupid bends his bow on a lawn sown with lilies of the valley, crocuses, and snowdrops. On the other side lies an English landscape park, featuring all the traditional elements of this style: informal lines, untrimmed linden trees, and winding paths. On the opposite bank of the river, there is a so-called Russian manor

garden. Trimmed shrubs intertwine with untrimmed ones, bright colors fade, and from the hill, a Gothic grotto—a fragment of an old façade from a French church—looks down at the traveler. The park at Orekhovno Estate is an encyclopedia of garden styles: English landscape, Italian, and French formal. Here, one can find elements typical of many examples of European garden art. In essence, Orekhovno is an homage to the historical manor culture.

The central point of the garden is marked by the estate house—a small castle in the Norman style. On one side, the castle is surrounded by an Italian garden, where a stone Cupid bends his bow on a lawn sown with lilies of the valley, crocuses, and snowdrops. On the other side lies an English landscape park, featuring all the traditional elements of this style: informal lines, untrimmed linden trees, and winding paths. On the opposite bank of the river, there is a so-called Russian manor garden.

Trimmed shrubs intertwine with untrimmed ones, bright colors fade, and from the hill, a Gothic grotto—a fragment of an old façade from a French church—looks down at the traveler. The park at Orekhovno Estate is an encyclopedia of garden styles: English landscape, Italian, and French formal. Here, one can find elements typical of many examples of European garden art. In essence, Orekhovno is an homage to the historical manor culture.

Вечнозеленым тису и самшиту нашлась замена в виде туи западной. Аллея из десятиметровых представителей этого редчайшего древесного сорта, завершающаяся классической балюстрадой, цитирует французский пейзаж с кипарисами. Есть в Ореховно и миниатюрный фрагмент итальянского сада эпохи Возрождения: с зеркальным регулярным парком, узорными посадками, боскетами, орнаментальными скульптурами.

The evergreen yew and boxwood have been replaced by Western thuja. An avenue of ten-meter-tall specimens of this rare tree species, ending with a classic balustrade, echoes a French landscape with echoes a French landscape with

cypress trees. Orekhovno also features a miniature fragment of an Italian Renaissance garden, complete with a mirrored formal park, patterned plantings, bosquettes, and ornamental sculptures.

The evergreen yew and boxwood have been replaced by Western thuja. An avenue of ten-meter-tall specimens of this rare tree species, ending with a classic balustrade, echoes a French landscape with echoes a French landscape with cypress trees. Orekhovno also features a miniature fragment of an Italian Renaissance garden, complete with a mirrored formal park, patterned plantings, bosquettes, and ornamental sculptures.

balconies, and so on, there has been a trend for many years: stone, concrete, and modern materials have begun to dominate over plants," says Alexander. "And I, as a disciple of Le Nôtre, the creator of Versailles, believe that the main task is to create architecture from plants; they should come first. We must follow clear principles and not forget the Japanese saying: expressiveness is sparse; everything extra is ugly."

— Vogue, August 2016.

Отучившись у европейских звезд ландшафтного дизайна Жака Вирца и Даниэля Оста, Александр Гривко совместно со своим партнером Марком Думасом основал компанию Il Nature в 1999 году.
Александр Гривко получил самую значимую садовую премию European Garden Award за лучший проект реконструкции исторических садов и парков Европы — французский частный сад Les Jardins d’Etretat, открытый для публики. «В Европе, несмотря на все биомоды, зеленые фасады, крыши, балконы и так далее, уже на протяжении многих лет прослеживается тенденция: камень, бетон, современные материалы стали преобладать над растениями, — говорит Александр. А я, как бы нескромно это ни звучало, последователь Ленотра, автора Версаля, и считаю, что главная задача — создавать архитектуру из растений, на первом месте все-таки должны быть они. Надо следовать четким канонам и не забывать японскую поговорку: выразительность скупа, все лишнее — безобразно» — Vogue, август 2016 года.

Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin. In the Pskov region, there is the Pushkin Reserve, which includes Mikhailovskoye—the ancestral home of the poet’s mother, where he was exiled from 1824 to 1826, Petrovskoye—the ancestral estate of his ancestors, the Hannibals, and finally, the Svyatogorsk Monastery, the last earthly resting place of Pushkin.

On the E95 highway from Saint Petersburg to the Republic of Belarus, after crossing the M9 highway past Rudo, turn right at the sign for "Orekhovno 2.7 km."

From Pskov by car, you can also reach Pskov by train from Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

On the E95 highway from the Republic of Belarus to Saint Petersburg, turn left at the sign for "Orekhovno 2.7 km."