Fruit Picking

A new relaxation project involves the activity of picking fruits in an orchard close to capital Bucharest

Ana-Maria Cononovici, 04.06.2024, 14:00

Being deeply invested with their urban life, people often forget how much joy several hours in nature can bring, mainly when specific activities, such as fruit picking, are included. Thus, several initiatives of this kind, have recently been created, such as the one known as “Beautiful Orchard”, which is only 20 kilometers from the capital city Bucharest.

Dana Banciu, initiator of the aforementioned project, told us more:

Dana Banciu: “There is a story behind this orchard, which has over 400 fruit trees and a surface of 12 thousand square meters. At the end of 2019 we decided to open this orchard to visitors. We were inspired in this project by our daughter, who is now 15 years old and who during kindergarten and later in school used to invite her classmates here to pick cherries and other fruits. And whenever they came here, they wouldn’t leave soon and this happened also with our relatives, who came here to celebrate various events and liked it here so much that they nearly forgot to leave. It’s practically a place in the middle of nature and we like to make kids love nature so and for this reason we are welcoming them whenever they come as part of various school and kindergarten activities.”

It’s all about living together, living in harmony with nature as our host wants to emphasize.

Dana Banciu: “Behind the orchard, there lies a beautiful little hardwood forest and we invite our visitors whenever they come here to let their guards down and enjoy everything nature has to offer and take a hike through that little forest. The forest is six-seven meters from our orchard and I would describe a hike around it as purely magic as you almost forget about the everyday troubles of life and what future may bring about. And this is how the magic of this place works!”

Dana Banciu has also talked to us about the types of events their orchard can host:

Dana Banciu: “The events we host here are either anniversaries, parties, various weekend events, workshops, and practically any type of event, which can be held in nature. The events we stage on weekdays, include school trips, when we provide tours of our orchard, telling the kids about the way we are taking care of the fruit trees here, their development, the role played by the leaves and pollinators, like the bees for instance. We tell them about the role played by oxygen and the global warming. And while in the forest we are trying to connect with nature by means of our senses, we hug a tree for instance. We also have an ‘open doors’ day when we place invitations on our facebook page for families to come here and enjoy a picnic, a hike through the forest I mentioned before, a couple of hours of relaxation in nature”

But how do children feel when they come here?

Dana Banciu: “When children come here, they never get bored, you know. We are often asked by parents and teachers if they need to hire an entertainer or something. But here in this orchard, children never get bored, although this is no playground as we have already specified in our presentations. Although we have a couple of swings here and there, this is far from being a playground. However, whenever they come here, children are completely fascinated, you know. They leave the place with rosy cheeks and sweating because they have been given the chance of getting involved in various activities undergoing in an unstructured area. They are facing a lot of positive challenges here and you need not tell them what to do. They are free to roam the place and they don’t get bored at all, but on the contrary, they learn things. Like I said, all children are fascinated when they get here.” 

But besides hikes and other events the most tempting thing in an orchard is fruit picking.

So, Dana Banciu has made an invitation.

Dana Banciu: “Our orchard is a season orchard with over 400 fruit trees and the first to ripen here are the cherries. Next come the apricots, apples, pears, quinces and grapes, because we also have a vineyard here. So our visitors can pick fruits and eat as much as they can. And if they like a certain type and want to take them home we can sell them some. And if it’s a good year, and we have plenty of fruits here, we launch an invitation to fruit picking. “

From spring until late autumn, people can come here, or to other places like this, to enjoy a day like they used to in their grandparents’ orchards in the countryside.

(bill)