Summer atmosphere in the Castle Garden

A green sanctuary where plants, people, and flavors live in harmony

Summer abundance of colors, flavors, and scents

Each season has its own charm, but the Castle Garden at Otočec truly comes into full bloom in summer, when it becomes a lush green oasis – a vibrant, fragrant garden full of life, a promise of abundance. The beds are covered with juicy leaves of thriving lettuce, zucchinis and pumpkins are growing fuller, potatoes, cabbage, onions, and beetroot are ripening, while strawberries already tempt with their red sweetness. This is how it looks here as early as mid-June! Tomatoes and peppers are still on their way, while among the greenery the beautiful curly kale and delicate aromatic fennel are already beginning to show off.

The garden is created by people with heart

All this abundance is cared for by dedicated members of the castle gardening team – including Andrejka, Jure and Tamara, active retirees, who spend many of their days in the garden with great enthusiasm, gardening knowledge, and a sense of harmony with nature. Their dedication is visible – and you can taste it too.

From garden to plate or cooperation with the castle kitchen

Everything that grows in this garden finds its way onto the plates prepared in the kitchens of the Grad and Šport hotels in Otočec. Chefs Elvis, Dejan and Đorđe coordinate planting with the gardeners and come daily to collect fresh ingredients. "This direct contact with the vegetables allows us to jointly ensure the quality and freshness that form the foundation of every dish," says Đorđe.

Natural solutions for various challenges

In the garden, (almost) nothing grows by chance. If it does—like a delicate tomato seedling that settled among the asparagus—it is moved at the right time to a more suitable place, among other nightshade plants. The gardeners carefully practice crop rotation, consider good plant companions, and experiment with natural methods of pest control. They avoid snail invasions by reducing the use of mulch that provides shelter, use wood ash and algae-based sprays, and most of all—simply their hands. With patient attention. Nature has its own rhythm, and they listen to it.

Flowers brighten every corner of the garden

Along the wooden fence, roses bloom abundantly, accompanied by gladioli, sunflowers, coneflowers, borage, chamomile, asters … Among vegetables and herbs, countless other flowering plants grow, whose names we may not even know. Their blossoms add a special, magical touch to the garden. This year, elder has also bloomed for the first time by the raspberry bushes—a small but meaningful promise for the future.

Herbs add flavor to life and also heal

The herb corner in the Castle Garden is a world of its own. Fragrant lemon balm, mint, sage, tarragon, savory, rue, milk thistle, basil, thyme, as well as rosemary, calendula, nasturtiums and wood sorrel – all of these are also part of the culinary experience at Otočec, either as flavor ingredients or as decoration.

Raised beds for a little extra speed

This year as well, the plants for the raised beds were selected together with the culinary team – here mini carrots, spinach, parsley, beetroot, and strawberries ripen a bit faster, enriching the menus of both island restaurants.

Seasonal treasures for grateful guests

This year, our gardeners are especially proud of the asparagus harvest. Although the season has already ended, asparagus from the Castle Garden enriched the plates of grateful guests who appreciate what is truly valuable – dishes prepared here and now from local, seasonal ingredients.

Sometimes, however, a simple bowl of fresh salad is enough – crisp, fragrant, with a taste that cannot be bought …

A garden for the soul

The Castle Garden is not just a source of food. It is also a place of gatherings, knowledge sharing, observation, peace, and quiet inspiration. Gardeners learn something new every day and are happy to share it with visitors, who enjoy coming for a walk or a chat. To lie down on a deck chair and listen to birds singing or to the hum of bees and bumblebees. To marvel at beauty without a care – and above all, to enjoy.

From the gardening chronicle of the Castle Garden

May 8

In the garden, all beds are now covered with compost (except the first one on the left from the entrance, where lettuce is growing).

The seedlings are developing well; we hope this continues after the rain. Tomorrow we will check for pests; if there is no rain, we will need to spray with algae-based solutions.

We discussed with the chefs that a new bay laurel should be planted, as the current one has no aroma. The sage did not survive the winter; since it will be widely used, we will plant new ones.

We might add a few more seedlings to the three covered zucchinis. They will be available very soon, and last year they also grew very well even when planted later.

Once it gets a bit warmer, we will plant tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. Pumpkins and cucumbers will have to wait a little longer. It’s not too cold for us, but the seedlings should not go into such cold soil.

All the planted flowers are growing nicely.

May 16

We were diligent and successful! The garden will now become more beautiful every day.

Yesterday we also planted the remaining lettuce and basil. On the small bed next to the asparagus, beetroot and carrots have been sown. Parsley and flower seeds – sunflowers, asters … – were sown again.

All the tomatoes are tied up, and the peppers have been hilled up due to the wind.

June 18

The good news is that the garden is in good condition; the bad news is that the garden fence was damaged in one spot. Jure noticed this yesterday afternoon and temporarily repaired it.

The vegetables are thriving, especially tomatoes and pumpkins. The cabbage has ripened. Elvis and Dejan have already been informed; otherwise, lettuce and zucchinis are used continuously – they are harvested daily.

We have sown lettuce and endive again, but the spinach has bolted due to the heat. However, new spinach has already been sown in two stages.

We are watering, cleaning, and spraying plants with seaweed as needed; the larvae on the potatoes have disappeared.

The peppers have recovered, the eggplants look good, as do the cucumbers.

However, the raspberries are not doing well. We will loosen the soil …