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!

Cow Manure & Ramson Cod Soup, both very good but not together!

After a few days of drizzly very much needed rain is it great garden weather again!

The other day my village gardenfriend Evy and I went to get Cow Manure! 10 50kg's should be enough for my garden just now.

 I put it in all the Pallet collars, both for Veggies and Flowers plus some where I want to kickstart new growth of the Snowberry hedges at the entrance.

This is October last year when I moved in!

The area around the wet areas where totally neglected and the Nettles where superhigh.

 This is how it looks now, a fantastic untouched Deciduous forest/Lövskog with a rich birdlife.

To the far right I want to create a seating area, as well under the big tree to the left where I now feed the birds.

 The ground just now: Nettles (as well as Thistles & Ground Elder/Kirskål), food for some, but far too much of it for me.

I decided to keep big parts of it covered with Tarpaulin/Presenning the next couple of years to kill it off naturally.

I kept a open alley in the middle where I will have a path later to access the wet areas.

 This is how it looks from the new seating area.

People that know me know that one or two Fika breaks is a part of my gardening pleasure, so today when the sun was shining

My favorite Mug made by Susanne Thurfjell here in the village :D

This photo is taken from the other side of the stream and road. Here did the people have veggies and fruit fields in the old days, and I discovered a lot of Rhubarb plants and two large Black Currant bushes.

I have already re-covered the Rhubarbs, and today I took care of the rest.

 I did not only re-cover Black Currants today, I also digged up one neglected one on the border to my neighbor. Here I instead will plant a mixed hedge (Lilacs, Hansa Roses,..) to protect the Veggies paths from the cold Northeast winds.

 Happy discovery, the Rhubarbs I got from Evy and planted in the fall start to show it's beauty :D

 Another happy discovery, it  grows a lot of White Forrest Anemone/Vitsippa by the hedge at my entrance. As well as we like it at our cottage, I love it here as well :D

Inside my house up in the flower room does the Amaryllis come up for the season. I have been buying ready bulbs for Christmas and also bulbs in Amsterdam. When bloomed out I have put them in a pile in a wide pot and kept them outside in the summers, now they have a normal flowering season, not Christmas :D

 I took seeds from one of them last year, put them in soil a month ago and now I have a small Amaryllis leaf coming up :D

 Soon time to put this Danish braided Willow/Pil in the soil.

 My little Maple tree is still alive, as well as the Maple seeds I put in the pot

Since we have A LOT of Ramson/Ramslök did I include it in tonights dinner, a soup/stew with:

Ramson, Cod, Potatoes, Broccoli, Chili, Ginger, Selleri, Saffron & Crème Fraiche

Bon Apetite, Per!

Slow sunny sunday & Favorite Pelargoniums

Today it was sunny and bright, but still pretty cold, so in order to take care of my own cold I decided not to dig vegetable beds as planned, but prepare the pallet collars for them instead.

Sunny view over to the neighbor, they have the same little barn building as I, and two beautiful Larch trees/Lärkträd that hasn't got their needles yet.

At my one and only vegetable bed, so far, have the Red Garlic Rossi di Sulmona survived 3 surprise snowstorms so far this spring

On the top floor in my little barn did I prepare 4 more pallet collars with Cold pressed Linseed oil for the coming vegetable beds

Inside my house, up in the flower room with skylights, does it grow rapidly of seeds, bulbs, cuttings and others, such a pleasure to check in there every day. I still keeping the heat pretty low up there.

On the photo under supervision of my Chilean Tomte; Fuchsias, Pelargoniums, Hollyhocks, Ornäs Birches, Maple, Peones,.......

Can not help experiment with Bonsais, a remain from compact living with a balcony.

These are Maples, the "larger" one from the Lilac hedge at our cottage and the new small ones from Maple seeds I found around the garden a couple of weeks ago.

I have a few favorites among my many Pelargoniums

This is a "Pelargonium Carnosium"

When it comes to my favorites, I also make sure they get special pots that fits their peronality, to this one I got a cool black pot with spikes around the adge from Turbin Konsthantverk in Wij Gardens Ockelbo

Well I also got the Pelargonium from very special people a few years ago, the Pelargonuim experts Margareta & Mats Asplund at Pelargonfönstret in Örbyhus, very close to here. Love them and their personalities :D

My other favorite is this Suckulent "Pelargonium Cotyledonis" from ERA gardens, I have two from them

The personal pot for this one I found here in the village Lövstabruk at Hantverkets Hus by Susanne Thurfjell, in nice matte black with the old "L", that in the old days where stamped on the Iron made here.

Since it was sunny, even if coolish, did I grab my camera and ventured out in our village (to get the pot above), found that the Snowdrops still going since a month!

Hope You all had a great Sunday!

Per!

Snow´s gone and it's Spring again

The mini winter is over and with +10C the snow quickly disappear!

Time to start up the garden slowly but surely, and it's all so fun this the 1st spring in my garden :D

Up in the Geranium Hotel on the top floor it's soon time to take cuttings, but I will wait another week!

The little garden gnome I bought in Chile for 15years ago posing amoung the Geraniums!

A little Maple tree I digged out from the Lilac hedge at the cottage survived the winter indoors and shooting beautiful lime green leafs

My 1 meter high Mårbacka Geranium will give a lot of cuttings this year

Down in the kitchen it was time to put the 1st seeds in soil and I started with Franchis Peperone "Padron" from Gourmet Garage, Chilipepper "Piment dÉspelette" that is supposed to be able to grown outside, Hollyhock/Stockros "Chaters Double" for the south facade towards the road, Eryngium "Miss Willmott's Ghost" and Large Verbena.

Plus some seeds I got from my red Amaryllis and also from the Flock Tulips/Flocktulpan at the cottage

Out in the garden I discover more and more Snow Drops everywhere, in the Woodland, in the hedges and here and there in the lawns, so beautiful.

On the other side of the stream is the 1st bud on the Lilac showing

 And the water is on full power with all the melting snow.

Time to take away the protecting leafs from the new flowerbeds and make space for all the bulbs to see the daylight.

I cheated and bought some ready flowers in a flowershop to get a teaser of what's coming, here some Narcissus put together with some moss and branches from the forrest. I put it in a big pot for outside.

In my livingroom I have some colourful Tulips to match the art on the walls

And today I found some funky shaped Birch/Björk branches that I put in my favorite vase from Finland, for my diningroom!

Until next time, enjoy!

Per!