Spring has finally arrived! We have had many sunny days and snow is starting to melt away. Nothing is growing outside yet but not that long wait anymore.
Managed to spent a long weekend in the Netherlands and visit Keukenhof. Spent few hours in the garden and returned back home my bags full of bulbs.
Bought yet another daffodil, Accent, to brighten my day.
Enjoying the long Easter weekend and the beautiful weather we have. Days are now bright and full of light because of the snow cover and increasing day light time.
Have had time to take long walks and see friends. To cook good food and enjoy peaceful dinners.
Inside the Easter flowers are blooming. Daffodils are my favorites during this time of the year. Still more than a month before we can see any of them outside.
No signs of spring yet up here in the north. Days are getting longer and I am getting more and more impatient. Still two more months to go before you can plant something outside.
That does not seem to stop me from planting everything possible inside. Chilies have germinated and so have the coleus seeds. Yesterday found some herb seedlings and failed to resist the temptation. Hope that did not buy them too early. There is simply not enough daylight available yet.
A pot of crocuses found its way to my flat today. Usually do not buy them because the central heating makes them bloom in seconds. Now I am storing them between the window glasses where it is cooler. Hopefully not too cold, already managed to freeze to death a pot of daffodils.
Slowly running out off space inside. Planted some ornamental brassicas to day and now trying to figure out a where to put them and hoping for an early spring this year.
The first dahlia just started to bloom. I have been waiting for this. They always add color to the autumn garden.
It has been rainy but it seems to suite the dahlias well. They are growing strong after a slow start.
Do not have that many varieties this year. There is always a limit how much you can and have time to plant each year.
It is time for the marigolds to start blooming. Only have color orange this year.
Up here in the north marigolds are one of the most reliable annual bloomers. Not that sensitive to cold and can take different kind of weather without suffering too much.
I think I will have yellow ones next year just for a change.
First cosmos flowers are starting to bloom. The ones I have gotten from my mom always go first. The others follow a month later in August.
I have been trying to find an early blooming variety with no luck. Simply because the summers are so short up here in the north.
This far I have not had any luck. My luck might change this year. A new variety is already making buds. We will see.
If I have no success then I just give up and continue with the one from mom. One variety is enough if it is a good one like I now have.
Bought the seeds for this poppy simply because it looked a bit unusual. Turned out that it is a beautiful one and surprisingly easy to grow.
The combination of white and read is quite striking. Also the shape of the flower is not regular.
Have been waiting and waiting for it to start blooming and now hoping that the heavy showers don’t ruin it.
Well that was false hope. Two hours after the photo was taken a hailstorm struck and all the blooming Danish flags were gone. Luckily there are still some where the buds are not open so not all hope is lost.
Many and plenty! For some reason aquilegias have always been one of my favorites. Cannot have enough of them.
This year I have managed to have five more varieties to bloom and I am happy. After several trials even Nora Barlow has started to bloom for the first time.
The challenge is that I have planted so many varieties that I am not quite sure what do I have.
Well the main thing is that they look beautiful.
A newcomer to my flowerbed. I am surprised how easy it was to grow and even though the summer has been cold the flowers are doing well. I guess the name just suggested that it is for a warmer climate.
They do though seem to have an ability to predict the weather. If it is going to be cold or rainy the flowers close themselves a way ahead. It is always good to have a weather station of your own.
I already ordered two new colors for the next year. If everything goes well I will have white and red ones to accompany the orange.
Now I am just waiting my other new experiments to bloom.
Beaten by the heavy summer rains but still blooming nicely. Baby blue eyes is very reliable and one of the early bloomers when it comes to the annuals.
It seem that some of the seeds made it through the winter since I have flowers growing in places I did not expect.
Simply adore the color blue the blooms have. Like the summer sky at its best.
Gardening in the North 