One of the early bloomers is snowdrop windflower. Six were planted last year and only two made it through the winter. Not sure that I will have any next summer.
It is nice to try new flowers but you do not always succeed.
Snowdrop windflower has beautiful white flowers and when they are gone decorative seedcases remain.
It would be nice addition to the garden. Just need to wait and see if it decides to remain here.
Spring came early this year. Normally we can enjoy tulips early June. Purple Prince started to bloom few days ago and it is just mid May!
It is a new variety I bought last year and one of the few survivors!
I can now see that I have lost most of my tulips. The winter was hard on tulips and only a handful of them could take minus 33 degree Celsius we had in January. The thin layer of snow could not give them the protection desperately needed.
Well a good reason to me to shop more in the autumn.
The lake is now free. Liberated from ice and ready for the spring.
The cats are happy. The fishing season has started and they are ready for the fresh fish.
I am thrilled. Finally I can start to plant and grow flowers. My pockets are full of seed packs and I am running around wildly.
The spring came early this year. I have never ever been able to plant anything at this time of the year. It still tries to snow a bit but I do not care.
Only the early Siberian squills are blooming but they are so beautiful and the first promise that others will soon follow.
This spring seems to be all about the daffodils. Each time I go to a store or shop I manage to buy one pot more.
I have been trying to collect different varieties and there are so many available this year.
My plan is to take them all to the summer cottage after the snow is gone. This way I can enjoy them during the forth coming years as well.
Still two more months to go before the spring flowers start to bloom outside. Cannot wait that long! I am getting impatient!
Indoors the firs daffodils are starting to bloom. They brighten my mood and bring me joy.
The weather up here in the north has been grey with plenty of rain. Not something we are used to at this time of the year. Usually we have snow and sunshine but no such luck this time.
Well hope this means that spring will come early! Or am I just wishing this to be true?
PS. Daffodils last over a month if you have the possibility to keep them outside in the cool temperature.
This is now becoming a habit – a spring hyacinth in a pot.
I used to have hyacinths only during the Christmas time. Here in the north it has always been considered a flower for the holiday season.
Now that they have become available also during the spring I always end up buying one.
I know that the strong scent of the flower is too much for most of the people but for some reason I enjoy it. It really fills the apartment with sweet smell of a spring.
Still nearly three more months to go before the first flowers outside start to bloom. I even planted few hyacinths to the summer cottage. Not quite sure if they are going to make it through the winter. Lower than minus 30 Celsius temperatures we had during January might have been too much for them.
PS. Keep hyacinth outside if it is not too cold. It lasts much longer if you do this.
When it comes to irises there are incredible amount of different colors available and most of them are simply stunning.
Alida caught my eye in a local store and it ended up to my home. I simply could not resist those light blue flowers.
Now I am hunting for more. Trying to find different colors from the local shops. Currently have managed to find two.
PS. If you did not plant bulbs in the autumn now is a perfect time to buy them ready planted.
I have always liked roses. There is simply elegance and beauty in them that is hard to beat. This spring I looked into my mom’s garden and found out that the winter had claimed its toll. Everything looked black and dead. During the winter we did not have much snow which would have protected and covered the delegate flowers. First frost came when there was no snow in the ground and the end result was destruction and death.
Living up here in the north makes it a bit challenging to grow roses. There are only few spices that make it year after year. Mothers’ day was coming and I started my search for a perfect rose.
If the rose had been for me selecting the color would have been an easy task. When it comes to roses I simply adore red. It has always been my favorite color among flowers. But this was going to be a gift and I had to abandon my obsession for red. Luckily I know my mom. It had to be pink or purple. Those are the colors for her and there is no doubt in my mind or hers.
I could spend hours and hours in the Internet looking and reading about plants. The usual end result is that I find a dozen plants I want to try and buy. Unfortunately this time was not an exception. After I had selected ten different roses I decided that it is time for a break. In the next morning I viewed the results and knew that I had found the one I was searching.
Pink Peace, what a name for a rose. Pink Peace Hybrid Tea Rose is bread from the Peace Rose. A promise of large flowers was simply too tempting. And what a flowers they were! When the first bloom opened it was the size of my palm and simply perfect. From my mother’s face I could see that I had made the right choice.
But my choice is a risky one. Not sure that we can enjoy the beauty next year. The winter might just be too much for our precious. I guess we just need to wait for the next spring to find out. And I need to prepare myself for a new search for a perfect rose.
PS. I bought the rose from viherpeukalot.fi. The plants came quickly, were vigorous and healthy. In other words I was happy with my choice of provider.
Dreaming of an early spring. While dreaming I have managed to fill the apartment with different kinds of pots. To me it is starting to seem that each time I go to a store I come home with a new pot.
Pixie iris was one of the flowers that managed to sneak in to the flat. Almost unnoticed it settled in.
Never had one and If I succeed growing it I will take it to the summer cottage when the snow is gone.
PS. Most of the spring flowers can take our winter and planting them to a garden guarantees that you can enjoy them year after year.
It is always nice to try something new. Just to see if you succeed or not.
In the autumn I bought few tulip bulbs and planted them to a pot. I left the pot to my balcony and took it in after Christmas. Just before it came too cold outside.
Tulip bulbs do not care if the weather goes below the freezing point. But when in a pot minus 25 Celsius is too much for them. Luckily managed to take them in just before the cold hit the north with its full fury.
After a month I am now able to enjoy the results of my experiment. First blooms have opened. Four months before the ones planted outside are starting their show.
PS. It is simply too warm for the tulips inside. I would take them out but unfortunately it is too cold. Having them outside would make them bloom longer.
Gardening in the North 