The name of our collection Aeizoon comes from the ancient Greek word for Sempervivum species.
                There is no particular reason for that, beside the fact that our Serbian translation ·Čuvarkuće· sounded too familiar. In the beginning, we didn't raise too much attention among people when we used the Serbian name for the plants. In our language, this same word has several other meanings and it is used much more to mean these other things. Also, people rarely knew that there are other kinds of this plant species beside Sempervivum tectorum, a plant most of us inherited from our grandmothers.

              The mysterious name of our collection received a bigger attention from many people who were surprised to discover something completely new for them and fell in love with the plants at first sight. We also noticed something very interesting. Most of this attention and interest came from men – who were never interested into the plant world before.  Today, we have six of them visiting our collection regularly and who had also became small collectors themselves.


          Our garden is located in the center of the city of Zaječar in eastern Serbia and takes a modest area of 250m². This space has already became too small for all ours more than 300 plants.

               We usually spend all our free time visiting the surrounding mountains in the region (Rtanj, Stol, Tupižnica, Stara planina) and collecting rare and endangered species. After some time and in this way, we created a refuge for keeping and growing the plants. In essence of all our activities is our intention to protect and grow many of engendered species and plant them back to some of the areas from which they are disappearing or already had disappeared.

               Aeizoon collection has a central role in our activities and attempts to protect this micronic part of our environment. Today, all material gains the collection brings go back for its keeping, buying pots and new species of Sempervivum plants.

                  Our special thanks goes to our two girls, Vesna and Irena, on all their support and understanding, as well as to Čika Sreti Kokar from Boljevci. We are also particularly greatful to several role-modells who directly or indirectly showed us how to love Semperviums: Andre Smit, Hans Jorg Gensch, Martin Haberer, Volkmar Schara, Erwin Geiger, Horst Diehm, Cornelis Versteeg, Gerard Dumont, Manuel Werner, Howard and Sally Wills.

   

        Olivera and Nebojša

 

At Babin Zub / Stara Planina