Planting lilacs in the elementary school Jajinci

On Saturday, April 14, 2018, members of our club with the support of their friends planted Lilacs in the elementary school Jajinci. Our activity was part of the campaign “Serbia – land of lilacs”, which has been successfully implemented for more than 11 years by Vesna Jugovic de Vinca (member of our Club) and Prince Aleksandar Pavlov Karadjordjevic. So far, more than 8,000 lilacs have been planted within the project, which is a major Serbia as the valley of lords of Europe and the world, and in honor of the Christian love of Serbian King Uros and Helen of Anjou. The project also received the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of Serbia, Mr. Irinej.

We hope that at least a small contribution has been made to make Serbia a country of lilacs. On this occasion, we would like to thank all the participants, especially to Ivana Jordan, Miss of Serbia Ivana Trisic and to the Municipality of Vozdovac, for their help in the implementation of the action.

Look at photos

In the following article you can read why we decided to plant lilacs.

Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) is a deciduous bush found in South-east Europe and Asia Minor belonging to the Oleacaae family. In Serbia, its natural habitat is the eastern and south-eastern parts of our country. Its name comes from the Greek word “syrinx” which means a whistle, because the lilac tree was used to make a whistle. It is a small tree, up to 10 meters high, with stems up to 30 cm in diameter. The leaves are mostly hearty. Bloom from April to May, and each flower is 5 to 10 mm in size.

Serbian King Uros I Nemanjic (1223-1276) wanted to give a special welcome to his future wife, so before her arrival along the inaccessible valley of Ibra he ordered to plant beautiful trees with flowers to remind the landscape of her native Provence. These lilacs have survived for centuries, marking the love and respect that the people fed up with the noble queen, famous for their wisdom and education. For the past ten years in honor of Helen of Anjou, an international manifestation “The Valley of Lords” is being held in early May, when, apart from Kraljevo, the medieval town Maglic and the Žica Monastery are living.