Gardening in the North

This blog is about gardening in the north.

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  • 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

  • Casa Blanca

    Casa BlancaI 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.

    Casa Blanca

  • Red Flavour

    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.

    Red Flavour

  • Pieton

    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.

    Pieton

  • Ruby F1

    Ruby F1Now 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.

    Ruby F1

  • Sonata Pink Blush

    Sonata Pink BlushI have always admired my mom’s cosmos flowers. She plants the seeds in the spring and collects them in the autumn. The seeds are originally from her dear old friend.

    Her cosmos grows quickly and blooms heavily with many different colors. The variety is quick to grow and is used to the short summers we have.

    This year I wanted to try a different and a bit shorter variety of cosmos. So I picked a dwarf variety of cosmos called Sonata Pink Blush.

    I have to admit that it is no match to my mom’s. For Sonata series our summer is a bit too short. The blooming starts mid-August which too late for my taste. Compared to my mom’s cosmos which starts to bloom already in July.

    Though Pink Blush is beautiful. Green with glorious pink flowers. I guess it would just need a warmer summer.

    PS. Bough the seeds from http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com and was happy with the quality and the delivery.

    Sonata Pink Blush

  • Dahlia

    Dahlia

    Unexpectedly something went right. The dahlia tubers I planted in the spring looked pathetic. I was so sure that they will not grow. They were dry and tiny.

    Not quite sure what happened. Was it the new flower bed I made? Was it the cold and rainy summer we had? Was it my mom’s cats who decided that this new bed was the best litter box they have ever seen? I was so mad at them. I did not even use any fertilizer. Did not see the point after I saw what the cats did.

    Anyway the end result was stunning blooms – size of my head. The smell they have is so sweet. I have never managed to grow so beautiful dahlias!

    PS. Bought the last tubers from a local grocery store. Sometimes you just get lucky.

    Dahlia

  • Sweet Rosy

    Sweet RosySweet Rosy is my first double lily. Never tried to grow them before.

    I planted two bulbs to a pot in my balcony early April and finally they are starting to bloom. Just love the structure and complexity of the bloom itself.

    My plan is to move the bulbs to the summer cottage in the autumn and see if they are able to make it through the winter. I bought the bulbs from Amsterdam so do not know if they survive the cold season up here in the north.

    PS. I bought my bulbs from the Amsterdam Tulip Museum http://www.amsterdamtulipmuseum.com. They mentioned that these bulbs are also available in http://www.fluwel.eu in Europe and in http://www.colorblends.com in the US.

    Sweet Rosy

  • Lollypop

    Lollypop

    This year the Lollypop lilies were the first ones to bloom. I planted them in the spring and they seem to enjoy the cool summer weather.

    Lilies are easy and do not need much attention. Perfect flowers for summer cottage where you cannot be all the time. They tolerate the cold winters and are reliable bloomers.

    This year I planted many new varieties and all of them seem to do well.

    Now I am just waiting the others to start their show. Unfortunately it will be another three weeks before I can visit the cottage again.

    PS. Bought the Lollypops from http://www.viherpeukalot.fi.

    Lollypop

  • Geranium

    Nano PinkMy Nano Pink pelargoniums finally stated to bloom!

    I planted the seeds in November. I was so sure that blooming would start early in the summer. But was I wrong.

    The summer here in the north has been coolest one during this century and this has delayed the plants. My geraniums have grown slowly like everything else this summer.

    Pelargoniums tolerate cold well and that is why I moved the seedlings to the balcony in May which was too early. Cold slowed their growth.

    But everything is now well and I can enjoy the bright pink blooms.

    Nano is a very small geranium variety. My plants are only 6 inches tall which makes them perfect for my balcony.

    PS. I bought the seeds from http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com and each one of them germinated.

    Nano Pink