Grassland orchards

Grassland orchards which we can also call environmental orchards or tall tree orchards are an integral and recognizable part of the landscape of the Kupa Valley. In a protected area, they provide significant living area for many flora and fauna species. Today, these orchards are increasingly valued also because of their esthetical value in landscaping design. They grant irreplaceable sceneries in nature during all seasons, being most noticeable in spring when flowering. Their great value lies also in the fact the most wide-spread sorts here are the old, original or domesticated Croatian sorts. They are in fact our natural heritage and represent the creative work of our ancestors.

By the term grassland orchards we generally mean a group of fruit trees under which there is a grass covered area, which is maintained by mowing it or by grazing livestock there. In these orchards we find mainly very tall lush trees. Such fruit trees, whether of a single sort or of several sorts planted in groups, are grafted on vigorous rootstock, that is seeds.