Most of the lilies (Lilium) are at their best at the moment up here in the north. Love the bright colors they bring to the flowerbeds.
Have bought so many varieties that not quite sure which one is which anymore. The main thing though is that they bloom nicely year after year.
For some reason all the lilies grew quite short this summer. Do not know why but the difference to the previous year is considerable.
This year I am not able to spend much time in the summer cottage and therefore needed to select varieties that tolerate neglecting.
California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica ‘Aurantiaca Orange’) are easy to grow and do not need much watering. They are ideal flowers for those who cannot be in the garden all the time.
I planted the seeds by the lake to the full sun and the poppies are doing well. They just started to bloom and survived the two week long heatwave without a blink. Just love the vivid color they have.
Another good year for the Origami Red and White (Aquilegia caerulea ‘Origami Red and White’).
For some reason the variety seems to like to grow up here in the north.
This year the blooming season for the columbines will be short. After a long period of cool weather a two week heatwave hit us and made the flowers to bloom quickly.
Summer finally found its way to north. Past few days we have been enjoying 30 degrees Celsius temperatures.
The May Queen (Leucanthemum vulgare ‘May Queen’) finally started to bloom. Nearly a month later than usually.
Oxeye Daisy is a is a native flower to the area and therefore very easy to grow. Though the variety May Queen has been grown from a seed and has a bit bigger blooms.
I do not know why but I lost half of my lupines last winter which was a surprise because they are usually very hardy.
To my delight The Chatelaine (Lupinus ‘The Chatelaine’) started to bloom in the new spot that it was planted this spring.
I am still trying to find more colors. Lupines are so easy flowers for the summer cottage.
Today is the longest day of the year up here in the north. The night is only a bit longer than four hours. In other words lots of light available for the plants.
The snowball bush (Viburnum opulus) is at its best and full of flowers.
The Snowball is a very decorative shrub blooming with huge green flowers which turn gradually to brilliant white as the season progresses.
The aquilegia season is here. Most of the varieties are at their best and blooming beautifully.
It took me several years to grow the Bordeaux Barlow (Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata ‘Bordeaux Barlow’) from the seeds but now I have many of them.
Up here in the north it usually takes three years before this variety starts to bloom. Most of the other varieties already bloom during the second season.
It has been quite cool start of the summer up here in the north. Not many warm days yet.
Spending a week in the summer cottage and still need to burn wood in the fireplace to stay warm during the nights.
The Snowdrop Windflowers (Anemone sylvestris) are blooming now. A bit beaten by the wind and rain but still beautiful.
If the plant likes the place it will spread rapidly and has a very large root network.
I still have few pictures in my phone from the spring. Daffodils are now gone and we need to wait the whole year to see them again.
Tahiti (Narcissus ‘Tahiti’) bloomed beautifully in May and managed to take a photo when they were at their best.
Summer has finally arrived to the north. After a cool May we have had quite nice weather up here in the north for change.
I did not even remember planting few Princess Irene tulips (Tulipa ‘Princess Irene’) by the lake.
The color of this variety is quite unique and beautiful. Makes me want to have more of them in the future.
The Princess Irene is quite short Triumph tulip and likes full sun and well drained soil.
Gardening in the North 