Designer: Borut Benedejcic
Contractor: Hortikultura Sezana

This garden represents the entrance and courtyard of a typical farmhouse in the Slovenian Karst region.

Pay attention to elements: stone well, stone bases, floor and roof slates, made by man and in role to decorate garden through winter time when there is an absence of plants.

The design demonstrates the traditional Karst rural life which is a perfect example of a symbiotic partnership between nature and man, which is so pertinent these days.

Natural and sustainable gardening is presented which although only part of a small area, has significance for the wider environment. It is about connection and balance between plants and man-made items created throughout history.

Pepa’s Karst garden is a peaceful place, ideal for relaxing after a hard day’s work on the farm, and enjoying the view through the surrounding flower meadows.

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Its aim is to increase awareness of the need to protect and preserve the Karst natural and cultural heritage and to recognise Karst plateau as an example of landscape where gardening is expressed through stone cutting art and combined with plants adjusted to poor circumstances.



ABOUT THE KARST
Once upon a time there was a land so special and unique, sometimes hard and unfriendly but also mysterious and fascinating. A land of secrets, stones and meadows and dark history, yet with a bright future. A land where humble opportunities give richness to inspiration and innovation and a land where man is its best friend.



ABOUT THE ARCHITECTURE
A Karst village is curdled together, built in a way that provides the water supply and saves energy. The rain water, collected by the village roofs, is taken through drain pipes and channels and stored in the stone well every house has in its courtyard. House walls are thick and made of limestone. Windows are small, to moderate the heat of Summer and Winter cold. Stone, the main building material, is natural and local and in through its use the artistic talent of the Karst stonemasons is expressed.



ABOUT KARST PEOPLE
Village people follow the well tested paths. Karst people are farmers. The householder grows vines. In the cellar cut in the stone under the house they store Teran, the treasured red wine. In the past each family had a cow or two, a few sheep, a pig, some hens. They produced enough for big families to survive. And some more to sell for goods they did not have. It was mainly vegetables on the menu. The Burja helped to dry pork meat and make the delicious wind-dried ham prosciutto for festive meals.
People helped each other and worked as a team. Many men worked as stonecutters.



ABOUT PEPA
In the stone house at the end of the village lives Pepa. She lives by the rules of nature and of tradition. She lives with respect and awareness of future generations. Pepa knows well that nature’s gifts are necessary for surviving in the stony landscape. She is humble and modest, educated by hard work and a lifetime’s experiences from many generations. Her attitude is rewarded with rich harvests and many joyful and colourful moments.



ABOUT THE LANDSCAPE
The landscape of the Karst is rich in cultural and biotic diversity. The Karst plateau lies at a crossing of Mediterranean and Pre-Alpine climates which provides rainy springs, hot dry summers and windy winters. Burja (pronounced Boor-ya), the strong cold wind, is born from these circumstances. And always, in the Karst, is the beautiful view to the Adriatic Sea. Karst people made their landscape. They collected stones from the land and put them into walls around their fields of the useful land they created and maintained.



MESSAGE
It is winter time. Pepa sits by the open fire-place and tells stories. Stories about her youth. She remembers… She does not yearn to be young again. She is happy with her life. But she wishes for all who will come after her to have the same opportunity she had. She wishes the landscape to be cherished, the heritage to be protected. She wishes we respect nature and traditions as she did.
She wishes for all of us to have time to tell stories about the Karst and its beauty.



Garden design: Borut Benedejčič
Contractor: Hortikultura Sežana d.o.o., www.hortikultura.si
Story by: Tanja Godnič
Photos: Samo Onič, Borut Hočevar, Jožica Zafred, Damjana Jakše