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Memorial Garden on the Estate of Mikhail Sholokhov

In the spring, the orchard on Estate of Mikhail Sholokhov in stanitsa Vyoshenskaya pleases with young foliage and lush flowering, which was laid down almost seven decades ago. 

In 1949, the Sholokhovs moved to a new house in Vyoshenskaya, on the bank of the Don. The courtyard of the estate was empty and lifeless, and in order to lay a fruit orchard, at the request of the writer, in the spring of 1953, a scientist of the All-Russian Research Institute of Gardening named after Ivan Michurin, student and biographer of the famous breeder Andrey Bakharev went by plane to stanitsa Vyoshenskaya. He brought with him seedlings of apple trees, pears and plums, and under his leadership an orchard was laid on the writer's estate.

  The museum’s funds contain the memoirs of Andrey Bakharev: “In those days, the writer was visited by a lot of creative inspiration, and also the Rostov correspondent of “Pravda”, my namesake Alexander Bakharev, came, so writer’s wife Maria Petrovna and I took care of planting the garden, and he said laughing: "You and Maria Petrovna plant a garden, and Sasha and I will conduct explanatory work among you." 

Plots for planting trees were selected on the north and south sides of the house. The garden planted north of the house was called "upper", and the garden on the south side of the estate was called "lower", later it was called the "Memorial Garden". 

The plot north of the house was on the place of the old courtyard, the land was cultivated here and was quite fertile. But in the territory south of the house there was almost no fertile layer, so they had to make meter pits for planting trees and fill them with imported steppe chernozem. 

Andrey Bakharev planted more than three dozen apple trees, pears, plums and cherries of the Michurin variety on the estate. In gratitude, the writer presented Andrey Bakharev the book of “Virgin Soil Upturned”, edition of 1953, with his autograph: “Dear A.N. Bakharev in memory of Vyoshenskaya with love and friendship. M.A. Sholokhov. 22/04/53. Vyoshenskaya”. 

10 years later, in the autumn of 1964, when Mikhail Sholokhov complained that a leaflet attacked the trees in the garden, Andrey Bakharev arrived again in the stanitsa. He not only carried out the processing of trees, but also planted seedlings brought in new varieties. In memory of this meeting, Andrey Bakharev had the book of “Quiet Flows the Don” with the inscription: “To dear Andrey Nikolayevich Bakharev with gratitude for planting in the Vyoshenskaya Garden and long-standing respect and love. M. Sholokhov. 03/09/1964". 

In August 1970, the scientist once again visited the writer’s house in Vyoshenskaya. In the book fund of the Sholokhov Museum-Reserve there are three books from the writer's personal library autographed by the gardener. 

The trees grew, over the years the garden was gaining strength, generously endowed the owners with a harvest. All households loved this garden, the fruits from those trees were called "Bakharevskie". The Sholokhovs never treated the garden with pesticides - they tried not to harm the birds. Mikhail Sholokhov said that it is better to remain without a crop of apples than without birds. The Sholokhovs left the berries on viburnum and mountain ash so that the birds wintering here had something to eat. In the garden there were many birdhouses and in winter seeds were poured into the feeders, pieces of bacon were hung from the branches. 

Over time, in the conditions of a harsh steppe climate with summer drought and cold winters, the trees in the garden grew old and was struck by diseases. 

After the writer’s death, a well-known breeder, candidate of agricultural sciences, author of over 20 varieties of apple trees Gennady Shcherbenev repeatedly visited the stanitsa Vyoshenskaya from Michurinsk to carry out work on the “treatment” of garden crops at the memorial estate. He later recalled: “What struck me was that linden had grown in the middle of the garden. Where did it come from? Probably the seeds skidded in the wind. When the sprout grew, Sholokhov regretted it and forbade it to be pulled out. So linden has grown”. 

At the estate, rose bushes, which the writer loved so much, began to wither. At the request of the widow of the writer Maria Sholokhova, Gennady Shcherbenev also engaged in the treatment of the rosary. It was he who planted the evergreen Cossack juniper at the grave of Sholokhov. Under his leadership and direct participation in 2018, the Writers' Garden of Russia named after Mikhail Sholokhov was laid in the stanitsa Karginskaya. 

In 1991, the Sholokhov Museum-Reserve concluded an agreement with the All-Russian Research Institute of Gardening named after Ivan Michurin on the restoration of the gardens of the museum-reserve. Since then, the reconstruction of the memorial garden has been repeatedly carried out. In the spring of 1993, 35 fruit trees brought from Michurinsk were planted. In 2000, on the 95th birth anniversary of Mikhail Sholokhov, the reconstruction of the “Memorial Garden” was carried out, in 2003 - the reconstruction of the rosary, and in 2005, during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Mikhail Sholokhov, in the garden was laid "Alley of memory." The planting of apple and pear seedlings was attended by members of the writer’s family, a delegation of the Rostov Region Administration, representatives of leading museums of Russia, famous artists and cultural figures. 

Issues of preservation and restoration of the garden on the Estate of Mikhail Sholokhov museum staff pay the closest attention. They regularly remove dried branches, treat pests and diseases, heal wounds and sunburns. And in order to preserve the memorial appearance of the garden, seedlings are specially grown on rootstocks from cuttings taken from fruit trees in the writer's gardens. And thanks to timely and constant care, a beautiful, flowering and healthy memorial garden pleases not only museum workers, but also all residents and guests of the stanitsa Vyoshenskaya. 

Tatyana Nektova