“They have sprouted up despite spring frosts”

Colorful and persistent marigolds seem to have become “rooted” in Ukrainian culture on the archetypal level even. It was these flowers that we used as a gift to our readers: Den marked its 20th anniversary by issuing Treasure Chests, which comprised a bag of marigold seeds each. These seeds are not ordinary ones either, as they have been gathered in Nahuievychi, the location of Ivan Franko Homestead and Museum. Moreover, the seeds come from a jubilee crop, harvested when Ukraine celebrated the 160th birth anniversary of the illustrious genius. Every seedbag carries the inscription “We’ll sow – they’ll sprout!” which has been Den’s motto for the past two decades.

It has been incredibly rewarding to observe how a physical and mental “Franko marigold space” has been emerging in Ukraine and abroad through the implementation of our idea. This spring, the seeds were planted in most diverse regions, ranging from the east of Ukraine, particularly Mariupol, Donetsk oblast, where the planting was a true holiday for nursery-kindergarten No. 130 “Perlynka” and frontline city of Svatove, Luhansk oblast, to Lviv, where it was overseen by Ivan Franko Literary Memorial Museum. Now, a reader of Den posted a photo on Facebook proving that the Nahuievychi marigolds had sprouted up in a Rivne courtyard as well.

“I teach technical subjects at the National University of Water Management and Natural Resources Use,” Anatolii Nechydiuk told us. “I read Den constantly and do not even remember when I first discovered it for myself, as it was so long ago. I like everything in the newspaper, down to the last column. I feel grateful to Den for its selfless, titanic work. I like very much the allegory of ‘spreading the intellectual space’ by planting these special marigolds, as it is symbolic and real. I learned about the marigold seeds from Larysa Ivshyna herself in Lviv, at a book forum held there in September past year. The idea captivated me; I bought a Den’s Treasure Chest and sowed the seeds in my courtyard in Rivne once warm weather settled in this year. They were failing to sprout up for a long time, and then cold returned and I thought that the seeds were done for. And then, despite everything, our Ukrainian life force won! The seeds have sprouted up despite the early spring frosts, and we are nourishing them now! I wanted to share my joy with you, so took photos and posted them on Facebook. I am grateful to Den’s team for supporting us, readers, with truthful information and interesting historical studies and urging us to think and create.”