Marija Golja decorates the beautiful garden of Kendov Dvorec with great dedication and love.                                                                                                                                                                                      

I COME TO LIFE AGAIN IN THE SPRING

Helena Pregelj // Photos: Robert Zabukovec

Under the mighty canopy of linden, chestnut, walnut, old apple trees that surround Kendov Dvorec, listening to the birds singing and looking at the ancient granary, time passes slowly. Guests often describe the garden as a piece of paradise in which they can calm down and reconnect with nature. When looking at blooming peonies, hydrangeas, roses, many people ask: “Do you have your own gardener?” We are proud to say that the beauty of the garden is taken care of by Micka, an indispensable member of the Kendov Dvorec team, who turned 82 this year.

Marija Golja, Micka for colleagues and friends, was born in May, when nature is full of life. Maybe that’s why she’s looking forward to the end of winter.

“When I complain about something in the winter, my daughter Simona always tells me that everything will be different, that I will come to life again when spring comes,” she says with a smile.

Micka started working at Kendov Dvorec in 1996. She first helped clean and decorate the rooms, but soon took care of the flowers that adorn the garden, terraces and windows of the former Kenda farm. She says the change was very welcome as she feels much better outdoors than indoors.

“I couldn’t work for only one year because I was pretty badly injured,” she recalls. “But even then, Simona and Milka came to look for me, they sat me there under a linden tree and from there I gave them instructions on what to plant in pots and where to put them.”

Micka is very fond of hydrangeas, which bloom in many colors in summer. In the spring, she likes the white deutzia bushes that grow behind Kendov Dvorec. She loves all flowers, she says, and working in the garden also means a lot to her. She lives close by, so she comes to Kendov Dvorec on foot, almost every day for two hours, unless it’s raining.

Her devotion to plants is felt at every step. She managed to arrange one of the most beautiful gardens in Slovenia, but perhaps the most beautiful thing is that she manages to bring her love of flowers and nature closer to others – colleagues and guests from all over the world.