Livadia Palace , Crimea

 With Tsar Alexander II, the summer residence of the monarchs moved to Crimea, Livadia.

Maria Alexandrovna, the emperor's wife, became the first owner of Livadia, which was given to her in 1860 by her crowned husband: "As a gift to my beloved wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna".

Crimean historian and writer V. Kh. Kondaraki wrote of the new empress:

“Her Majesty constantly gives her an example of modesty and simplicity. In her outfits, in the full sense of the word, the holy mother never noticed anything clearly distinctive, nor expensive trinkets that visitors of the highest circle loved to show off at that time."

The memory of mother's "pink" passions in Darmstadt, mother-in-law Alexandra Feodorovna's love of roses, the entire floral entourage of the ballroom and official performances, as well as the most frequent public flower exhibitions in St. Petersburg , undoubtedly served to arouse the empress's interest in gardening and floriculture. In addition, the Imperial Russian Horticultural Society, founded in Saint Petersburg in 1858, run by professional gardeners and botanists under the patronage of the highest Russian aristocracy, contributed to the widespread passion for flowers in Russia. Empress Maria Alexandrovna and Empress Dowager Alexandra Feodorovna (a year before her death) became honorary members of the Society in 1859.

Creating a beautiful palace and park ensemble in Livadia, Maria Alexandrovna took the most direct part, giving advice to gardeners and sending plants. Her recommendations and wishes formed the basis of the landscape design of the royal residence.

In 1863, the first metal pergola appeared in the park, ordered in France for 12,000 francs with delivery, 400 varieties of roses also arrived for planting pergolas and flower beds. This pergola is still alive today. Neither perestroika, nor the war, nor the revolution destroyed it. It is over 150 years old and is a rare architectural structure and historical monument.

Rose cultivation in Livadia experienced ups and downs. Many roses died in frost between 1874 and 1875. Around 4,000 roses were grafted onto wild roses for restoration in greenhouses, but the death of Maria Alexandrovna in 1880 and then the death of Alexander II again stopped all work.

The next in time, Empress Maria Feodorovna, wife of Alexander III, who became Livadia's mistress, ordered the flower nurseries on the estate to be expanded so that she could supply cut flowers to royal residences in the capital all over. the country. year .

One of the greenhouses was completely dedicated to the distillation of roses. It was under her that Livadia became a rose industry. But Maria Feodorovna, who was widowed early, devoted herself to charitable and trustee activities, and the revolutionary events and the tragic fate of her family forced the Dowager Empress to leave Russia.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Emperor Nicholas II and the last empress of Russia, is known for her love of flowers. In England, where she lived with her grandmother, Queen Victoria, flowers surrounded her everywhere, she created such a world in Russia. In flowers, Alexandra Fedorovna especially appreciated aromas. Bouquets of lilacs, violets, roses, irises, rhododendrons were replaced in her living rooms (purple, green, maple, polysander) depending on the time of year.