Amaryllis

Can it be too early to have Christmas flowers? Is it nearly the time? Or am I a bit ahead of the season this year?

Once again I was weak and could not resist the temptation. This seems to happen to me too often.

Saw the bulbs in a shop and ended up having winter’s first two amaryllises at home.

I am fond of large and spectacular flowers. Something that cannot go unnoticed. This makes amaryllis a perfect choice for me. Large, luscious blooms that are full of color.

Now I am just trying to resist the urge to buy some more.

PS. Do not water amaryllis too often. It just ends up growing a long stem.

flower, gardening

Sonata Carmine

Sonata Carmine The nights have been cold and the temperature has gone below the freezing point several times.

Nearly all the flowers are gone and nature is displaying autumn colors. The trees are starting to be bare from leaves and the lake has gotten a thin layer of ice on it in the mornings.

Usually it is gray and rainy but not this year. It has been a beautiful autumn here in the north. Clear and sunny days. Simply perfect weather for the season.

To my surprise my Sonata Carmines are still alive and blooming in the balcony. I did not expect this to happen but I must admit that I am delighted.

I am growing fonder of cosmos every year. I guess I need to start looking for new varieties.

PS. The summers up here in the north are a bit too short for the Sonata variety of cosmos.

flower, gardening

White Maverick

White Maverick Some of us are just tougher than the others and do not seem to care about the coolness.

Having a balcony high up seems to have its benefits. When you look down to the ground in the morning you can see the whiteness of the frost but it does not reach up to the balcony. If the frost manages to sneak higher it does not get as cold as on the ground level.

This usually gives the geraniums an additional month to bloom.

The Mavericks are still blooming and in this weather the blooms last long. The colors remain striking and it almost seems that the pelargoniums are having the time of their life.

With some luck they will make it to December. Incredibly resistant to the cold nights and low temperatures.

PS. Grew Nanos and Mavericks this year and it made me realize the huge difference between the different varieties of geranium. Nanos remained tiny and Mavericks filled the balcony with massive leafs. Both made beautiful flowers and did well in the pots they had.

gardening

Hungarian Yellow Wax

Hungarian Yellow Wax I was certain that I was going to harvest yellow chilies this year! But was I wrong in my belief.

I bought Hungarian Yellow Wax seeds two years ago. Last year every thing went well. The plants grew nicely and I ended having tasty red chilies in the autumn.

Not exactly what I expected to end up with but just thought that silly me. Must have taken the seeds from a wrong package.

This year everything went well. The chilies grew green and were turning yellow when I left for a vacation.

When returning I had a plant full of red chilies waiting for me at home. This time I was sure that I had taken the correct seeds. I was about to blame the store from which I bought the seeds.

PS. After a short moment with Google I found out that Hungarian Yellow Wax chili peppers turn red when ripe.

flower, gardening

Magnus

Magnus came to my life a year and half ago. His roots are in North America. A friend who looks modest in the spring but who shows its beauty late in the autumn.

We met by an accident. I was just spending an evening in the web when I noticed him. I knew immediately that he is the one I have been looking for. A missing piece.

There is something simple in Magnus’s. Tall and lean. A child-like shape of flowers.

For a coneflower Magnus is very typical. Not sophisticated nor fancy. Something you recognize to be a coneflower the minute you lay your eyes on him.

PS. Magnus has turned out to be very hardy. He does not mind the winters we have. Met him in http://www.viherpeukalot.fi.

flower, gardening

Teddy Bear

Teddy Bear The first frost will come any day now. It has not yet shown itself but you can feel it in the air. It will wipe out the flowers still standing and make us wait seven long months before it will be warm enough for the first spring flowers to bloom.

Our summers are short but full of light. Long days make everything grow fast. Like each day was their last and there would not be tomorrow.

Then comes the winter an endless feeling time period for a gardener. Nothing to do but wait and hope for an early spring.

On this sunny and beautiful autumn day I walked outside saying goodbyes to the few flowers still trying to bloom. Teddy Bear was still standing proudly. This year the summer was too cool for it. Barely it was able to open its flowers on time but there was not enough time for it to produce any seeds for the forthcoming spring.

Luckily I still have some left so I can enjoy its beauty next year as well.

PS. Teddy Bear is one of my favorites. Short but always creating an outstanding show for the audience.

flower, gardening

Casa Blanca

I do not know what it is with the lilies. It seems that I managed to buy many new varieties in the spring without even realizing what I was doing.

I guess it is that they last several years and are easy to maintain. They come in so many different forms and colors. You simply never going to have enough of them.

Casa Blanca was the one who made the largest blooms this summer. It sure is a successful cross between speciosum lily of China and auratum lily of Japan.

Now have them in my balcony but going to take them to the summer cottage before the first frost.

PS. Bought the bulbs from Amsterdam Tulip Museum and regret that I only bought two. Should have taken a larger amount.

flower, gardening

Red Flavour

As long as I can remember my grandmother has always had tiger lilies. Orange ones under the window. Those lilies must have been there more than 60 years. In the same spot and blooming each year.

She is now long gone but still some of the lilies grow each year reminding me of her and all the summers I spent in the farm as a child.

So many good memories. So many happy summers.

When I saw a red variant of the lily, Red Flavour, I simply had to have it. Just to continue the tradition but also to add a flavour of my own to it.

Now the red ones are blooming for the first time. Hope that they bring joy to someone when I am long gone.

PS. Bought the Red Flavours from http://www.viherpeukalot.fi.

flower, gardening

Pieton

It seems that I got a bit too exited in the spring. When I look into my balcony I just wonder how have I managed to squeeze all these plants in it. Now that everything has grown to full size it is a lot.

Well it was a long winter, and a long wait. So I may forgive myself over doing all the planting.

Anyway I am now on a two week vacation and my sister has promised to water the flowers. From the experience I can say that I will have less plants when I return. Not that she does not do her job but some of the pots I have are simply too small to have a long dry period.

It is autumn already up here in the north and less than a month to go for the first frost. It is inevitable that I must let my flowers go, eventually. Just want to prolong the goodbyes.

While I say the farewells to them I enjoy the bright colors of the Pietons. A lily which I planted way too late in June to the last empty pot I still happened to have, which I simply could not leave empty and unused.

PS. This lily seems to enjoy the direct sunlight and does not bloom well in a shade.

flower, gardening

Ruby F1

Now that I have found the sunflowers again I wanted to try a new color. The ones I have cultivate earlier have always been yellow.

I ended up choosing a red variant called Ruby. The summer was cool so I did not expect much from my experiment but in the end it turned out that the Rubies did not mind. Enjoying the constant rains we had.

They grew to be strong and tall and even started to bloom late July which is early here in the north. My reliable Teddy Bears have not even started yet and it will be September before they start their show.

I think I will see red sunflowers next year as well! I was so happy with the results.

When the bud opens the color is red but it slowly fades to orange. They are beautiful to watch in the evening light which really highlights their colors.

PS. Bought my seeds from Stockmann and each seed germinated.

Gardening in the North

This blog is about gardening in the north.

Category Archives: gardening

Amaryllis

Sonata Carmine

White Maverick

Hungarian Yellow Wax

Magnus

Teddy Bear

Casa Blanca

Red Flavour

Pieton

Ruby F1