Last autumn, 16 thousand tulips and daffodil bulbs were planted in the park of the Cēsu Rucka manor. This emphasized the record low birth rate in Latvia fixed in 2022 at that time.
A flower for each child
Since October 2023, the Cēsa Rucka manor has been managed by the “Live Latvia” society, whose founder is the resident of Cēsa, Latvian patriot Renārs Sproģis. The owner of the manor says: “Latvia’s history, present, and future have always been important to me. Therefore, when I started farming in the Rucka manor, I wanted to do something that would have a symbolic meaning not only from today’s point of view, but also in the future. I hope that the tulips and daffodils will gather, the flowers will have several babies, thus giving a signal that no matter what times have hit us, there will be children! Our children are the future of Latvia and I, as a father of several children, was very worried by the news that only 16 thousand children were born in 2022 – this is far too few for us to be able to exist as a nation even after several hundred years. It should be noted that even during the Second World War, the birth rates in Latvia were much better. Unfortunately, the situation is not improving and even fewer children have been born in 2023. I want this fact to be noticed, that’s why I raise this issue within the limits of my possibilities – in this case, I plant one spring flower for each newborn child.”
In autumn, the planting of bulbous flowers will continue
Tulip and daffodil flower bulbs were purchased from the Latvian breeder Jānis Dukaļskas, but a large number of supporters of this campaign, including families with children, schoolchildren and even kindergarteners, were involved in the planting. Renārs Sprogis is pleased that so many supporters got involved in the planting of onion flowers, but it must be said that not all onions are planted correctly, so not all 16,000 will bloom this spring. However, the owner of the manor does not see anything bad in this fact: “we learn from our mistakes!” This year, the planting of bulbous flowers will continue, however, more attention will be paid to the organization of the work, so that the park meadow on the side of the manor’s entrance becomes more and more impressive with each coming spring.
Read more about Rucka manor here.
Nra.lv wrote about the news of Rucka manor here
Margarita Berziņa
