Vincek’s botanical garden, unique in Montenegro

21 Mar

Come to Kolasin , and not visit Mr Vincek’s botanical garden, it would really be pitty. It was formed in 1981, at 1018mnm above sea level. It is located at the meeting point of silicate massif of Bjelasica and carbonate masses of Sinjajevina mountain.

The plants in the garden mostly originate from continental mountains of Bjelasica, Sinjajevina, Moracke planine, Komovi and Durmitor. Today there are about 350 plant species in the garden, considerable number of which are endemic. .From the mountain range of Prokletije, the species of mountain Hajla are represented in significant numbers. Several successful attempts have been made at including some species from highest peaks of the coastal mountains Rumija, Lovcen and Orjen.

The owner of the botanical garden, Mr Vincek, although in his eighties, greets every group and takes it around his awesome garden. Not only take, but, in a very good english language tells a story about each plant, its latin name, where from it was brought , and much more. Although he teaches young man from Kolasin, how to guide through the garden, what to tell, and that young man is pretty good in what he does, still he , and his groups like him to be the host. To maintain the garden on such a place like Kolasin is not easy at all. The climate of Kolasin is modified continental, with the lowest temperature in January, -25C and summer maximum in July and August is 25-32C. In addition to a winter hibernation period, there is a summer/autumn one, caused by the lack of precipitation.

The garden is protected, to some extent, from the gusts of nothern mountain winds bz southern exposition, and a pine forest in the hinterland. Every year a damage to the garden is caused by frost and thich snow covers, which bend shrubs and woody species.

When you walk through the garden ,you will notice that all plant species have been labelled under latin, and, partly, vernacular names, which were taken, due to the lack of their systematic study, from literature, acorrding to works of some eminent Balkan’s botanics.

How systematic Mr Vincek is in his flora research tell us also the facts that a card file and a database have been maintaned in the garden, through which the morphologyand phenophases of individual plants are observed. Also, a herbarium, which due to the lack of space, was given to the National park of Biogradska gora. The existing database is managedand updated by the Faculty of Science and Mathematics from Podgorica. The garden also possesses a library, VHS casettes, slide pictures and photo collections.

On the above photo, Mr Vincek, with our group explaining the principle of presentation based on the elements of associations – habibat.

This garden, privately owned one, the only of a kind in Montenegro is very valuable for the botanics and scientists who are provided by a separate and more comprehensive list of the garden plant species. Mr Vincek and his assistants , regarding a systematic disposition of species in the garden, were guided by the idea to provide, for certain groups of plants, conditions identical, of course, as far as possible, to their natural habitats.

In the future, the garden will be maintained by bringing live material from terrain. They do even more, they collect and send seeds from the garden to some other gardens in Europe.

Many garden plants species can also be seen in their natural environment in the National park Biogradska gora.

The basic task of the garden is to present, gather and popularize the patrimoniuma of autochthonous mountain species of Montenegro, especially the protected and endangered ones. The garden also seeks to act educationallz and contribute to the conservation of genofund and provide foundations for scientific researches, with the support of the Faculty of Science and Mathematics, the Natural Museum, and Nature Protection Institutes.

Mr Vincek, the old man in grey , with a stick and a white cap, right in the middle of the photo, explaining different plant species to our group.

Out of 400 species in the botanical garden, 90% belong to medicinal plants. Special importance for the continental nothern Montenegro are renewable natural resources – medicinal plants. The ancient tradition, elevation with a great number of sunny days, UV radiation, exposition and soil composition point out to that.

I usually visit the garden from the end of May to the end of June. It is the most favorable period, and also period when we organize most of our multi day tours through Montenegro, where our tourists really enjoy.