Showing posts with label Ball thistles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ball thistles. Show all posts

Mar 31, 2014

A long Spring weekend & changes to Summertime

This weekend have been fantastic, a first real Spring weekend with a lot of sun and generous temperatures, topped with changes to Summertime (the sun now goes up at 6:14 and down at 19:30 here), all good!

I love when I'm in the garden all day long, working in the sun and fresh air, totally forget about time and food, and a nice feeling of satisfied exhaustion in the evening!

Since I already Linseed oiled the Pallet collars for the Veggie patches, it was just to start to dig.

The first box where already down, with the Red Garlic I planted in the fall! 
To the left Black Currant and Rhubarbs!
 Each square meter of soil had about a bucket or more of rocks, mostly Slag stone/Slaggsten since this village lived of Iron production since 16th century it's not a surprice.
The soil is incredible rich being ancient seafloor, hence I just don't cover the ground and put the collar on top of it which is the usual way. I wan't to use this soil, and check out the Earth worms/Daggmaskar, loads and loads of them, Fantastic :D 
The Saturday was just incredible!
 Done! I placed them with 80cm in between, exact the mesurement of a collar so IF I wan't I can put one more between them

The only breaks for "food" was besides the regular "Fika" breaks with coffe, a cold powerdrink (Broccoli, Spinache, Ginger, Chili, Cucumber & Apple), I usually just use what I have at home.

 The Black Currant "Polar Ribes" I planted in October coming strong
 The Ball Thistles I got from Ann-Cathrin (see Oct 2013) start to wake up with small fussy green leaves.

So, digging those Veggie pats, what to do with the removed lawn?
I added another 30cm to the front lawn (former graveled parking)
On the north side on my barn it's a naked big soil patch where the former renter had covered with Tarpaulin/Presenning to protect the ground from car parts.
Here it's shadow until 4 or 5ish in the afternoon, so yet another place good for shadow plants (which I LOVE).
 I decided to keep the area next to the wall free, plant a few Ferns against the rock wall & a climbing Hydrangea to cover the old electric cabinett (not in use). I also have my leaf composts here against the wooden wall.
 So I made a meter wide path with the lawn bits and kept the larger part open for a shadow garden plus a few trees and bushes.
The water falling freely from the rooftiles and I put all the Slag stone where the water lands.
Maybe I will have to put a stone path there later, but that's the day!

It's not all hard work, it's also important to enjoy the small sensations popping up here and there in the garden :D
My favorite little Tulip Tarda/Flocktulpaner
And here something where I enjoyed the color and shape of the leaf

I also oiled some smaller Black Pallet Collars, here I placed 3 on eachother, two larger and one smaller, where I will plant a Climbing Hydrangea to cover the electric unused cabinetts and somewhat the kitchen/Veggie Compost.
In the lover collar will I plant something bushy and hanging.
I put the compost here nere to the house since it's a warm compost for year around use, good when I need to shovel the snow in the winter.
As some of You remember from October, I planted a Lilac here that I brought from our summer cottage, I took it away to place it somewhere else.
 Towards the south part of the barn did I put the collars a little bit larger and 3 storey high for full sun, but also to create some room feeling of the former laaaarge gravelled parking
Here on the south side it will be a nice corner in the sun for coffee breaks/Fika.
In the boxes will I have Tomatoes, Chili, Paprika and Herbs, very close to the house/kitchen


Many beautiful hours outside will be continued inside where I have branches of Japanese Cherry bought in Stockholm when I worked there earlier in the week!

Hope Your Spring is as beautiful, Per!




Oct 14, 2013

Friends & Frost

So there it goes, we had the 1st frost this night, 2 days earlier than expected.
Lucky me, I'm travelling on wednesday so I prepared the flowerbeds this weekend already, Spruce twigs for the Roses and Maple Leafs for all flowerbeds, today I put on one more layer.

It could be a expensive experience to create a new garden without friends!
I already got Rhubarbs/Rabarber, Brush Carnations/Bortsnejlikor & Columbines/Akleja from my village flower friend Evy (Thanks)!
Yesterday my friend Ann-Cathrin came the whole way from Vendel here in Uppland with some big plants of  Ball Thistles/Bolltistel (Thanks)!
And today my parents came here with Bulbs of Grape Hyacinth/Pärlhyacint (Thanks) :D

I also ordered Red Garlic Rossi di Sulmona from my friend Anna on Gourmetgarage in Denmark :D

Woke up to this beautiful view of frost and mist around my stream :D



Luckily I started to cover the new flowerbeds already this weekend




The bulbs of Grape Hyacinth from my parents I put in the entrance garden in the hole where I plan to plant a smaller tree in the future.

Tha Ball thistles I got from Ann-Cathrin I did put along the border to the neighbor, they will be big and bushy (hopefully) and be a part of a natural border in the future.

Digging those holes along the border resultet in a fun discovery, I came upon one of those garbage holes they had in the old days. The time before garbage trucks and sorting, the house & farmowners just digged a whole or used a hollow part of the property to throw down what couldn't be used.
I found porcelain and handmade crooked nails :)

Have a great day/evening, Per!