Strolling through the St Andreas park not possible this year

The popular Cham Garden Days, which usually take place on the Mother's Day weekend, have been cancelled this year. The reason for this is the redesign of the park.

Rhododendrons, magnolias and flowers will soon be blooming in the grounds of the St Andreas Castle in Cham. They are also what attract between 1,500 and 2,500 children and adults to the park every year during the Garden Days on Mother's Day weekend (10th - 11th May). But not this year, as the popular event, with guided tours, catering and concerts, has been cancelled.

The garden days have always been organised by Cham Tourism and the St. Andreas Foundation. Sara Hübscher, President of Cham Tourism, regrets that they cannot take place this year: ‘The decision was made by the St. Andreas Foundation. We would have loved to organise this popular event.’ The feedback she has received about the cancellation is that people accept the reason - even though some people were already looking forward to the Garden Days.

Human resources needed for reorganisation
Cham Tourism explains the cancellation on its website and Instagram by stating that staff resources are needed this year for the redesign of the park.

According to the St. Andreas Foundation, the changing weather conditions pose a challenge for staff planning for the Garden Days, because the visitor numbers fluctuate greatly depending on the weather. and they have generally risen sharply in recent years. ‘This makes it difficult to organise enough helpers to serve drinks, for example,’ says the foundation. The local businesses that provide the food also face the same challenges.

The park will soon be open to visitors again  
There are always interesting guided tours on the Garden Days, such as this one by historian Bruno Birrer    Photos: Mathias Blattmann
The former gravel area will soon provide space for numerous hedges and shrubs    Photo: zvg/Stiftung St. Andreas

New hedges to promote biodiversity
The foundation announced its plans for the redesign in a recent statement: biodiversity is to be promoted and more climate-resistant species are to be planted. The 67,000 square metre park, which was created around 120 years ago by garden designer Otto Froebel, is to become ‘a living example of sustainable garden conservation’.

To achieve this goal, the gravelled area, for example, will be redesigned. A total of 25 new shrub species and 100 different perennials are to be planted in this area. In addition, the thuja hedges are to be replaced by more resistant yew bushes.

The foundation also states that the cotoneaster trees on the castle slope will be replaced by 30 different species of wild roses, ferns and rosemary, and new wildflower meadows will also be created. The aim is to create more habitat for insects and birds in the park. All of these measures required a great deal of commitment and dedication from the gardeners. ‘Due to this extensive work, the park will unfortunately not be open to the public this spring,’ says the foundation.

Garden days will take place again
Both the St. Andreas Foundation and Cham Tourism would like the public to be able to admire the flowers and trees in the park again in the future. The foundation adds: ‘Our aim is to ensure that the Garden Days can take place again in a modified form. To this end, we are working with our partners to gather new ideas.’

If you still want to do something pleasant on Mother's Day this year, you could always treat yourself to a trip on Lake Zug on the MS Schwan, according to Cham Tourism.

For more information (in German):  https://cham-tourismus.ch/home