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Pink Peace

 

Rose Pink Peace

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.

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flower, gardening

Pixie

Pixie1

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.

Pixie

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flower, gardening

Tulip

Tulip2

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.

Tulip1

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flower, gardening

Cactus

Winter came to the north. It has been freezing outside these past few days. The coldness has crept everywhere and is keeping us as a hostage, forced to stay inside. Cactus

Past few winters have been mild but this one seems to have found itself and is biting us hard. We do not have much snow and low temperatures like we are having now are going to freeze the ground and go deep to the soil. Worried that it will wipe out the most delegate and fragile flowers from the garden.

Nothing we can do but wait for the spring to show us which ones have survived.

Since there is not much to do outside I decided to make an easy terrarium. Just quickly went outside and bought a cactus.

Selecting the one was not difficult. After managing to have few spikes in my fingers ended up selecting the one without them.

My choice seems to be a good one. At least it looks nice and my fingers do not hurt.

PS. Wrapping many layers of paper around the plant helps you to move it even if it is well below the freezing point outside.

Cactus2

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flower, gardening

Amaryllis

AmaryllisCan 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.

Amaryllis

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flower, gardening

Sonata Carmine

Sonata CarmineThe 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.

Sonata Carmine

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White Maverick

White MaverickSome 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.

White Maverick

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Hungarian Yellow Wax

Hungarian Yellow WaxI 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.

Hungarian Yellow Wax

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flower, gardening

Magnus

MagnusMagnus 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.

Magnus

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flower, gardening

Teddy Bear

Teddy BearThe 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.

Teddy Bear

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