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Summer Light
Summer finally came along, and the garden shows some of its best sides. You could be mistaken and think I mostly have a white flowering garden based on some recent posts, but actually, I’m quite fond of colors, they just don’t show themselves that much at this time of the year. The Azaleas aren’t behaving themselves and most aren’t flowering this year. Kesä tuli vihdoinkin ja puutarha näyttää parhaita puoliaan. Voisi luulla että minulla on enimmäkseen valkoisesti kukkiva puutarha joidenkin viime aikaisten postausten perusteella, mutta oikeastaan pidän paljon väreistä, ne eivät vain näy niin selkeästi tähän aikaan vuodesta. Atsaleatkin niskoittelevat ja eivät suurimmilta osin kuki tänä vuonna. Det blev äntligen…
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My Magnificent Magnolia
The picture above is my entry for the Picture This Contest on Gardening Gone Wild. I have Right Click inabled here, so THIS is a link to a downloadable picture. Magnolias are border line hardy in my neck of the woods, so this Magnolia kobus var. borealis that I bought in Sweden and planted in 2002 is a particular darling of mine. This year it is flowering with around a hundred flowers and it smells deliciously. While I took this picture I could hear the sound of a hundred thousand hockey fans celebrating (in the very very far distance) the Finnish Ice Hockey World Championship gold at the market square…
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Spring Sprint
Magnolia kobus var. borealis There is still a little snow behind my house, but even so: Spring has arrived! Taloni takana on vielä hiukan lunta, mutta siitä huolimatta: Kevät on täällä! Det finns ännu en aning snö bakom mitt hus, men trots det kan man säga att: Våren är här! Narcissus triandrus ‘Katie Heath’ Erythronium ‘Pagoda’ Plagiorhegma dubium – varjonäkki – presidentsippa Sanguinaria canadensis ‘Multiplex’ I got both the Sanguinaria canadensis ‘Multiplex’ and the Plagiorhegma dubium from a sweet old lady who was also an expert gardener back in 2004. She passed on a few years later and her garden has since been lost. I always remember her fondly when “her”…
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Photographing Snowdrops
The snowdrop season has not quite arrived here yet, but statistically it should be here soon. About a meter of snow still puts a damper on the snowdrops arrival. I have not kept an exact chronicle on their arrival each year but I can see from my picture folders that in 2005 I have the first pictures of snowdrops from March 26th, in 2006 they are from April 16th, in 2007 already on March 13th of, in 2008 March 10th(!) and in 2009 they flowered at least on the April 19th. Last year work kept me so busy that I did not get a chance to photograph them at all. Snowdrops…
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Hellebores
One of the first things that brighten up the new season is the Hellebores. Some years, they even brighten up the winter. A few years ago I managed to plant one in January and two years ago one actually flowered on January 25th. That’s not going to happen this year. Before the snow came I did see that some of the Helleborus nigers had a few buds, but then the snow came in spades and now I’m just hoping that they will survive for a few months. I’ve bought most of my Hellebores as plants, but I’ve also managed to raise one plant from seed. They are a bit…