Unusual present – a bosket of 300 apple-trees – prepares Helsinki for the city over the Neva jubilee. The apple-trees will be planted in the Park of “300 Years to St. Petersburg” which has being set up in the Primorsky region on area of 85 ha. The garden will flourish on the main jubilee date – May 27, 2003. St. Petersburg signed an agreement with the Kharviala farm in the South of the country where the frost-resisting apple-trees of Malus Baccata series -- with small red apples and a thick crown are cultivated. The trees are collected to be of various sizes, thus the orchard will look quite natural.

The Finns say that it is a wonderful big “bouquet” for the Northern capital jubilee, for the gardeners of Helsinki are going to plant exactly 300 trees. This present will cost Helsinki about 1,000,000 Finnish marks. Official ceremony of the park opening will take place on May 26, 2003.

In the ceremony of planting the trees will take part the vice-governor of St. Petersburg A. A. Smirnov and the vice-mayor of Helsinki Martin Meinander.

The timetable of the trees’ planting is as follows: 1. Autumn 2001 – a trial party of 30 trees; 2. Spring 2002 – 80 trees; 3. October 14, 2002 – 135 trees; 4. May 26, 2003 – 85 trees.

News source: www.regnum.ru
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