Flower report 1st week in July

As You all know, this is the first summer in my garden, so all my flowers are new. That also means that my excitement over flowers blooming for the first time maybe is a bit naive, but so genuine!

After a pretty cold start of the summer is now the full summer heat on and my garden surprise me every morning.

Nothing is nicer than have that first stroll around checking on everything before sitting down with the first cup of coffee.

You know those bulbs You buy at the airport in Amsterdam?

You never know if they are going to actually grow in your climate but You for sure want them to.

Well, half of the ones I bought and planted have shown some life and first out is this delicate beautiful Anemone "The Bride"

Some Columbine/Akleja still hanging around

I love this Loosestrife/Fackelblomster and so do the Bees

It goes very well with all the different Salvias I have, I'm somehow obssesed wth Salvia.

 Here "Sensation Rose" Salvia

July 2nd is "The Day of the Rose" in Sweden, and my beautiful Danish climbing Rose Ilse Krohn decided to be my first Rose to bloom in my garden, and to do it on the Day of Roses

 Ilse Krohn loves it against my granite wall facing south and have a lot of promising buds :D

Yesterday did also my all time favorite Canadian Rose bush "Louise Bugnet" bloom as a tribute to Canada Day

I have a potted Danish Rose that also are on it's way to bloom. It has no name and are one of theese You can buy i a grocery store here, I love the pink/green blush colour

As a rookie some mistakes have to be done!

One I made is to plant this "Six Hills Giant" Nepeta in the pallet collars along the west wall, it's certainly giant haha. It has to be moved for next year so it doesn't sufficate the Peonies and climbing Roses there!

From our cottage by the Baltic did I take this  Betonica and it's already loving it in my garden. Only with stunning two spires for this year.

Talking about Spires, I just got some Neighbor Envy. I looked over the hedge yesterday and what!!!!

A 3 (THREE) meter high Delphinium/Praktriddarsporre was towering along his south barn wall!!!

 Mine is about 1/2 meter, so far ;)

From the Lövstabruks Trädgårdsmästeri did I get some classics the other day, Thank You Josephina!

One is the Lövstadahlia that grows in the park in front of the Manor House

A very old kind of Tagethes 

Some Iris Germanica still surprice me now and then

I got some Sweet Williams/Borstnejlikor from my gardenfriend Evy in the fall and are so grateful they turned to these colours and not the ones with the sharp rings around the edge. These fits better in my garden. 

Since I have been keeping most of my Pelargoniums outside in the cold and rain have they been holding back a bit, but now they are compact, low and start to give some spectacular flowers

Here "Francis James"

 and "Tierp" a old sort from our county which is my favorite (well, one of them)

Well thats my report for now, but every day is a different day with a lot of small pleasant surprises!
This being one, Bees that escaped briefly from a nearby hive before taken back to their home, fascinating!

Now its time to get out there in the sun again (photo taken from my guestroom on the second floor)

Have a Fantastic Day, Per!

Lupines everywhere & first Salad harvest

Just now there is Lupines everywhere around, and I also have a few in my garden but plan to have a small field of them together with Poppies, Digitalis and others next year.

Lövstabruks Manor House Park

Along the forrest roads

With The Early Bumblebee/Ängshumla in my garden

Yep, pretty much everywhere, it's a invasive flower in our landscape, but oh so beautiful

Excited over that I'm able to harvest my first greens from my garden (beside Rhubarbs), this is Salat and Spinache that I just topped with Basil infused Olive Oil, mmmh

The salad to the right is a mix from Gourmetgarage and to the left is the Spinache, somewhat nibbled on by Venisons, but I put in more seeds and hope for more.

Borlotto Beans, also from Gourmetgarage

Beet root, massacred by the neighbor cats, also here I put down more seeds :(

My Red Garlic Rossi di Sulmona from Gourmetgarage planted in the fall as the first veggies in my garden, so excited to see how they turn out. I have never had Garlic before and Anna at Goutmetgarage have been a patient supplier answering all my novice questions, like it was a heart surgery I was performing :D

My Potatoes growing quickly and to the right Red Onions

I have planted several Irises, what the neighbor cats haven't killed, some of the frostnights did, but there is still 7 kinds that survived, but only one blooming so far this year, and like a Paparazzi I did attack it from all angles and in all lights

But I also have wild Irises along my stream and in my Wood/Wetland in the back of the property

Most of my flowers are choosen to support the Bee & Bumblebee populations, but also for photography!

The Great Globe Thistle/Bolltistel, a long time photo favorite I got last fall from my friend Ann-Cathrin start to have beautiful green buds before they turn magnificent purple

And with that do I end today!

Have a great day, Per!

Busy days and noisy neighbors in my garden

It has been amazing sunny days for over a week now and yesterday it was 20C in the shadow, and balmy in the sun. A pleasure to work in the garden wearing a T-shirt :D

This is also when eating and other normal things coming second, when one loose track of time in the garden, specially since it gets lighter and lighter here in Uppland, now the sun is up at 4:53, down 20:38, loooove it!

That also means that everything else is waking up early as well, this morning I heard a constant noise trhough my bedroom window which was intriguing

(remember I moved here in October, all this is new to me)

The sound came from the huge old Maple at my entrance that just started flowering, and it must have been millions of Bee's and Bumble Bee's, wonderful :D

Over the road and by my stream stand a old tree that my neighbors told me that Seagulls usually nesting in, and Oh Yeah they do, the noise from them when protecting the nests (2 of them) is incredible, but somewhat comforting for me coming from the Baltic coast growing up with this noise.

In my garden that had nothing, digging is the daily shore. But it's great to start see how my plan works to get some basic structure. Off course some changes in the plan are done now and then.

A small hedge of Raspberries "Preussen" are planted north of the veggie garden to somewhat protect from northern winds

 My plan is to have a straight line from the Apple tree Signe Tillisch to the house through the Veggie garden, with the Raspberrie hedge, then the Pallet collars to the left and it will be open beds to the right (just now only Black currants and Rhubarbs there). On the east I will plant a Blackcurrant hedge (saw one at my friend Evy's house here in the village and liked it).

In the "Formal" garden next to the house did I dig a 10 meter long flower bed the other day, a lot of Slag stone (the backside living in a old Ironworks village), and roots from the Snowberry hedge.

Here I will have mostly flowers attracting Bees & Bumble bees, that can take the constant sun here.

In the center of the square lawn did I plant a little Finnish Cherry tree: Rauhala

I changed my mind with the Pallet collars I put by the barnwall corner to protect from winds. My plan was to have Tomatoes, Chili and other plants in them because of the all day sun, BUT when it was raining a night a couple of weeks ago did I see that the water from the rooftiles went straight down in them, not good.

So I took away the long ones, and kept one. I planted a lovely little Lilac "Josée" that only will be 1,5 meter high, and are extremely fragant. Around the base did I pland Isops that I got from my friend Evy, they are called the Lavendel of north and suppose to be able to take our winters:

It will be fantastic to sit here with a cup of coffee

So what did I do with the left over pallet collars?

I re-digged the whole shadowbed by the house and extended it :D

My Magnolia "George Henry Kern" have it's first flower bud. It's in a pot, and I'm still debating with myself if I dare to plant it in the protected entrance garden, or keep it in a pot.

Oh well, I guess it will take a lot of Fika/coffee breaks pondering that, but now I'm off out in the garden again!

Have a Great Sunday, Per!