Nowhere is as beautiful as Tukums!” poet and publicist Imants Ziedonis once wrote to his teacher, Gundega Reine, in Tukums. On his 77th birthday, together with his friends from the Viegli Foundation, he planted the first cherry trees on Mālkalns Hill. His friends and the people of Tukums continued the initiative, planting more and more cherry trees over the years.
Today, Mālkalns Hill is gradually becoming ZIEDONIS’ GARDEN – a place where stories of Imants Ziedonis as a former secondary school student intertwine with those of Ziedonis the gardener. The garden invites visitors to discover how a garden grows, to experience the beauty of Tukums and Latvia, and, in the spirit of Ziedonis, to blossom themselves, because “a person’s greatest freedom is to translate oneself into the most beautiful sound one can create.”
The garden is still evolving – after all, a garden is never truly finished. Yet even today, visitors can enjoy the landscape and panoramic views of Tukums, explore the natural meadows and the urban forest, and discover cherries, chokeberries, lilacs, birches, oaks and many other plants and trees.
Stops in the Garden in 2026
- Japanese Cherry Orchard
- Low Cherry Garden
- Tukums Slope
- Meadow
- Aronia Garden
- Landscape Garden
- Monument "Oak - Branches of Strength"
- Decorative Cherries Garden
- Sunset Slope
- "Forest"
- Lilac 'Imants Ziedonis'
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Lilac 'Imants Ziedonis'
The lilac cultivar ‘Imants Ziedonis’ was developed by Latvian horticulturist and plant breeder Pēteris Upītis (1896–1976). The cultivar is also known as ‘Nerimtīgais Ziedonis’ (The Restless Ziedonis). It was dedicated to the poet Imants Ziedonis (1933–2013), of whom the breeder once said: “It is a miracle that our small nation has such a great poet.”
The flower buds are deep purple. The flowers are large, with distinctively curved petal tips that give the flower clusters their characteristic appearance. The clusters are medium-sized, compact and dense. When fully grown, the lilac shrub is medium-sized and relatively compact.
The ‘Imants Ziedonis’ lilacs were planted on Mālkalns Hill in 2020 as small young plants. Today, visitors can watch them grow and see how they blossom more beautifully year after year.
Meadow
Latvia’s natural meadows are true treasure troves of biodiversity. Their richness can rival even that of tropical forests, with more than 50 different plant species growing in just one square metre of meadow. From the first warm days of spring, meadows delight visitors with vibrant colours, followed by wonderful scents when they are in full bloom. The flowering season begins with the first warm days and continues until the first heavy frosts.
There are currently three meadow clearings on Mālkalns Hill where, with appropriate management, the natural meadows will become richer and more colourful each year. Here you can find red clover and white clover, oxeye daisy and white bedstraw. In the second half of summer, common yarrow, wild carrot, common chicory and common sorrel come into bloom. Keen observers may also spot creamy strawberry and plantain, along with a variety of grasses – not to mention the many insects and birds that make these meadows their home.
Come and explore the meadow as part of the GARDEN SCHOOL! Bring a plant identification guide and discover how many different species grow and bloom in the meadows of Mālkalns Hill.
Ornamental Cherry Garden
The creation of ZIEDONIS’ GARDEN on Mālkalns Hill began with the planting of ornamental cherry trees. Among them is a special cherry tree planted by the poet Imants Ziedonis himself.
Tukums played an important role in shaping Imants Ziedonis as a person. He spent his teenage years here while attending secondary school, discovering a new environment and meeting teachers who broadened his aesthetic horizons and encouraged him to continue on his path of personal growth and development. Ziedonis emphasised the importance of Tukums throughout his life, particularly in his later years.
This connection was also reflected in his final public initiative in 2010. To celebrate his 77th birthday, Imants Ziedonis and members of the Viegli Foundation planted 77 cherry trees on Mālkalns Hill.
Sunset Slope
The slope on the south-southwestern side of Mālkalns Hill has been named Sunset Slope as part of the development of Ziedonis’ Garden. Since 2024, several large lounger-style benches have been installed here, spacious enough for a whole family or a small group of friends to sit together and enjoy the surrounding landscape and clouds, soak up the sunshine during the day, and watch the colours of the sunset over the treetops of Tukums in the evening.
In autumn and winter, the slope is also a wonderful place to admire the starry sky, while in August it is one of the best spots to watch for shooting stars.
Over time, with careful management and maintenance of the grassland, more and more flowers will appear, helping to create some of the most beautiful urban meadows in Tukums.
Low-Growing Sour Cherry Orchard
The Low-Growing Sour Cherry Orchard was established in 2011, when the first 60 sour cherry trees were planted thanks to the initiative of the Viegli Foundation and the people of Tukums. In May 2013, the spring following Imants Ziedonis’ passing, another 100 trees were added to the original planting, followed by approximately 200 more cherry trees in 2014, bringing Imants Ziedonis’ dream to life: “I wanted Tukums to have cherries and nothing but cherries.”
Why were low-growing cherry trees chosen? The idea was simple – when the cherries ripen in summer, they should be within easy reach of every visitor. Come to the garden, pick a cherry, taste it and look out over Tukums. And remember the lines from Ziedonis’ poem: “Let me go into the world in beauty, as the cherry trees blossom in Tukums!”
Japanese Cherry Orchard
In spring, even before the cherry trees traditionally found in Latvia burst into white blossom, one corner of Mālkalns Hill turns shades of pink with the blooming of Japanese cherry trees, or sakura.
The Japanese Cherry Orchard on Mālkalns Hill has gradually developed over several years. The first trees were planted in 2021, while most have been planted since 2022 during the autumn Forest Days, with the support of the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments and the Forest Development Fund. Each year, another five to seven trees have been added to the orchard. A further five trees were planted by representatives of the National Alliance party in Tukums.
Tukums Slope
The slope on the west-northwestern side of Mālkalns Hill has been named Tukums Slope as part of the development of Ziedonis’ Garden. The reason is simple – from the upper edge of the slope, visitors can enjoy panoramic views of Tukums. The cityscape includes the spire of Tukums Lutheran Church, the chimney of the former distillery – later an enzyme factory – with its surviving sailing-ship weathervane, the garden-lined buildings of Rīgas Street, and the red-brick Tukums I railway station. From here, you can also look out over the meadows of the former Lake Tukums and imagine that perhaps one day water will ripple there again.
Tukums Slope is especially worth exploring in spring, during the cherry blossom season. On the northern side of the slope, Japanese cherry trees, or sakura, are the first to bloom in May, covering the trees in delicate salmon-pink blossoms. A little later, the Low-Growing Sour Cherry Orchard comes into bloom with white flowers. July is another wonderful time to visit, when the blossoms have given way to ripe, deep-red cherries.
One day, we hope to create a viewing platform at the top of the slope inspired by the idea of an “endless road”. Envisaged as both a distinctive feature of Mālkalns Hill and a place from which to enjoy the panorama of Tukums from an even higher vantage point, it will invite visitors to reflect on the idea that each of our lives is an endless journey.
Aronia Garden
The Aronia Garden on Mālkalns Hill became visible and accessible to visitors only in 2023, when walking paths were created as part of the GARDEN SCHOOL. Until then, only the town’s gardeners knew about this small plantation.
It is not known exactly when the aronia bushes were originally planted. What may come as a surprise, however, is that aronia belongs to the rose family. This makes the Aronia Garden particularly fitting for Tukums – the Town of Roses. Even more surprisingly, according to botanical morphology, aronia fruits are classified as pomes rather than berries.
“Forest”
Plantings of various tree species dating back to the 1970s and 1980s have created an unusual FOREST within ZIEDONIS’ GARDEN on Mālkalns Hill – a forest in the heart of the town. Here you can find oaks and lindens, rowans and hawthorns, silver birches, maples, larches and pines.
The vision for ZIEDONIS’ GARDEN is to create a FOREST SCHOOL within this urban forest, offering visitors an opportunity to discover and better understand the diversity of different forest types and the life they support. Even today, everyone is welcome to walk through and enjoy this unique urban forest.
Water Garden and Garden School
The future development plans for Ziedonis’ Garden on Mālkalns Hill also include a WATER GARDEN and a GARDEN SCHOOL. The Water Garden will be created as an extension of the existing garden. Wooden boardwalks are planned along the shoreline, with some sections extending over the water. Wider sections of the boardwalk will provide resting areas with seating and educational information boards. The banks of the large pond will be gently sloped to accommodate a diverse range of waterside planting. A fountain is also planned to help oxygenate the water and prevent the pond from becoming overgrown.
The GARDEN SCHOOL will be designed as a thematic exhibition featuring different demonstration gardens and planting beds. The permanent displays will include a traditional Latvian garden, medicinal plants, ornamental vegetables and plants that attract and support insects, while annual flowers will form a changing display, allowing the garden to look different every year.
The Garden School will also feature the GARDENER’S HOUSE, which is planned to host an interactive exhibition entitled ROOTS. Through visual and audio elements, the exhibition will invite visitors to reflect on the importance of roots – both for every living organism in a garden and, symbolically, for people.
With its miniature gardens, the Garden School will be a place for both relaxation and learning. It will also provide opportunities for educational events on growing and caring for different plants and flowers. But we will have to wait just a little longer for all of this to become a reality...
The Virtual Gardener Imants Ziedonis
While attending secondary school in Tukums, Imants Ziedonis dreamed of becoming a gardener – a dream he was unable to fulfil during his lifetime. Ten years after the poet’s death, the Ziedonis Museum brought this dream to life with the help of artificial intelligence.
Today, by scanning the QR codes on the information boards, visitors can already listen to the first stories told by the virtual gardener Imants Ziedonis about oaks, birches, chokeberries, cherries and other trees and plants found on Mālkalns Hill.
The stories were created with the assistance of specialists from Bulduri Technical School and can be heard in Imants Ziedonis’ voice in Latvian:
Listen to the stories in Latvian
Listen to the stories in English
Garden Creators
Tukums Municipality – Maija Fogele, Landscape Architect; Ingrīda Smuškova, Head of the Tourism and Heritage Development Department
Ziedonis Museum – Žanete Grende, Member of the Board
100 Acorns Ltd. – Ģirts Runis, Landscape Architect
Supporters of the Garden Development
Tukuma novada pašvaldība; Latvijas Republikas Kultūras ministrija; Interreg VI-A Igaunijas–Latvijas programmas projekts “Access Routes”; Interreg Baltijas jūras reģiona programmas projekts “Interactive Gardens”.
Tukums Municipality; Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia; Interreg VI-A Estonia–Latvia Programme project “Access Routes”; Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme project “Interactive Gardens”.