Ligita Čukure’s Decorative Garden / Magnolia Garden in Engure

Engure-resident Ligita Čukure takes great pride in the wide variety of magnolias in her garden. In addition to the magnolias, she grows exotic trees and shrubs and has a small collection of peonies, a beautiful selection of English shrub roses and other interesting plants.

The garden is near the sea and takes up 2,000 square metres together with the adjoining buildings. It is designed as a landscape garden that is picturesque from all angles. The garden blossoms more and more colourfully with each year as the collection of plants grows. Those who wish to enjoy the beauty and fantastic scent of the fragile magnolia flowers so unusual to the Latvian environment should visit Ligita Čukure’s Garden in May, when they are at the height of their beauty. Some magnolia varieties bloom later in June and even in July.

Magnolias belong to the same ancient woody plant types as ginkgos, tulip trees and sweetgums. In the wild, they grow on the American continent from southern Canada to Brazil, in eastern Asian countries like Japan and Korea, but they grow most abundantly in China, the Himalayas and the Malay Archipelago. They began to be grown in Europe in the first half of the 19th century – in England, France and later also in Germany. Latvia is one of the northernmost places where it is possible to grow the hardiest deciduous magnolia varieties. There are about 120 known magnolia varieties in the world, but only a little over ten of them are able to acclimatise in Latvia.

Ligita Čukure is happy to share practical advice on how to grow and care for magnolias. In the future, she plans to build a campsite for tourists so that they can enjoy the magic of the garden and the sea nearby at their own pace.