Ratiboř

The celebration of the beauty of flowers this year was in memory of the beginnings of gardeners in the Czech Republic 60 years ago and the founding of the gardening organization in Ratiboř. The founding members were invited to the opening ceremony of the flower exhibition and representatives of the territorial association of gardeners from Vsetín also attended.

This year we celebrate 45 years since the foundation of the ZO ČZS in Ratiboř. There were many fruit growers in our village and the gardens bloomed from spring to winter. The Union of Gardeners was founded in January 1972 and had 37 members. The founder was Mr. Josef Nosálek and the first chairman was Mr. Jan Machala. The first flower exhibition took place in the same year under the name "The First Ratiboř Summer". Then followed others.

Gardening has undergone many changes since then. Previously, it was mainly about supplying the family with vegetables and fruit. Today, gardens have turned into a relaxing living area. Nevertheless, people are slowly returning to at least a small kitchen garden. After all, the taste of home-grown strawberries, peas or tomatoes is irreplaceable, and the herbs from your own garden and the beautiful red apples make both the grower and the family happy.

Much has happened and changed in the 45 years of our organisation. Flowers have been grown, fruit trees have been planted and the village has been greened up. Flower, fruit and vegetable exhibitions were organized. Public spaces were landscaped. Training courses on growing fruit and herbs were held. Potato seedlings were imported from the breeding institute. Trips were made to the towers, Nitra in Slovakia and so on. The gardeners did all this with love and dedication in their spare time.

Jan Machala, Emil Hlinský, Jan Mikšík and currently Anna Gerlíková were the chairmen of our organization. Jan Mikšík has been the longest serving chairman for 34 years. He was awarded an Honorary Recognition and a Certificate of Appreciation for this long-standing activity. Mr. Jan Machala was a great grower of flowers and breeder of marigolds. The other great flower lover and grower was the recently deceased Mr. Josef Nosálek. A memorial exhibition was dedicated to these two precious men. Our thanks go to all our predecessors who contributed to the development of gardening in Ratiboř, and to all the current members who continue their work.

Since 2010, 6 flower shows have been held, dominated by marigolds. These were not only exhibitions of the beautiful marigolds of our growers, but also exhibitions of products of local artists and natives of Ratibor. The exhibitions lasted for two days, attracted visitors from near and far and were closed with a concert of Bells in the church with the participation of guests from the USA. The exhibitions organized by the gardeners in cooperation with the OU and the Evangelical Church enriched the cultural life of the village. For this active and developing activity our gardening organization was awarded the Gold Medal.

The legacy of the gardener Mr. Josef Nosalek to future generations:

There are moments in our lives that we all remember. The meadows full of fragrance and colourful flowers, the wise cantors who patiently introduced us to the life of plants and directed our speeches to seize every flower that attracted our attention with its colour and fragrance. How they prevented us from picking or even destroying plants unnecessarily, how they tried to explain to us that a flower, like any living organism, reacts to mistreatment and has its own special expression to indicate its pain to man. The flower makes man's environment more pleasant, enhances his rest in nature or in his home, and thus contributes to the consolidation of his health and the regeneration of his strength. It will be up to our youth to make our villages and towns bloom and smell of roses, forests green and everyone living in a healthy nature in an over-technicalized age.

A small summary of the Gladiolus exhibition on August 19-20, 2017 in numbers:
Number of visitors - 760, Number of vases of gladioli on display - 193.

On behalf of the Gardeners' Association
Anna Gerlíková