It has been cool spring up here in the north and daffodils are still at their best. The late spring means that the tulip season is just about to begin.
The Strikes (Narcissus ‘strike’) have enjoyed the coldness and are blooming by the lake.
I do not have many vacation days this summer which has meant way less plants than normally. The simple reason is that I am not here to water them. Luckily the perennials are there to brighten the flowerbeds.
It is always a bit tricky to grow Dahlias (Dahlia) up here in the north. They would need a longer summer to bloom well.
This year I decided to buy ready grown plants instead of trying to grow them by myself. At least this way I am able to be sure that I can see the blooms.
Found two that I liked from the store and brought them to the summer cottage. They are very different from each other but were the ones that caught my eye.
Siberian Squills (Scilla siberica) are one of my favorite spring flowers.
The color they have is simply striking and they are so easy to grow. They usually spread and form a beautiful blooming blanket.
Still waiting the warmer weather up here in the north. Today the weather has been cool and we even got some snow flakes from the sky.
Happy Mother’s Day day to all moms! It is celebrated up here on the second Sunday of May each year.
Spring is late this year up here in the north but it is slowly getting warmer.
The lake by the summer cottage finally lost its ice cover yesterday. It was fun to watch the ice slowly drift away and clear water to emerge.
Not many flowers bloom yet and not much to see but the Crocuses (Crocus vernus) are starting their show.
I do not have many of them simply because their season is usually very short and I prefer longer blooming spring flowers. They sure are beautiful though.
Yet another daffodil variety to the garden! I was so sure that I already had this one but it turned out that the one I have is a double version of this variety.
Gold Medal (Narcissus ‘Gold Medal’) is a beautiful trumpet daffodil.
I think that I have enough new daffodils for this spring and try to avoid buying more.
It is slowly getting a bit warmer up here in the north. Days are already long but still few weeks before we can start gardening.
Bought a new pot of Garden Grape-hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum) to the balcony and once they have bloomed they end up to the garden.
Enjoy the Easter holidays!
Spring is late this year up here in the north. We still have plenty of snow left and during the nighttime we go below the freezing point.
Hopefully it starts to get warmer soon. It would be nice to start the gardening activities.
Bought one more daffodil variety called Peaches and Cream (Narcissus ‘Peaches and Cream’). The center of the bloom will become darker once the bloom grows older. When opening it is lighter in the beginning.
Found one daffodil variety I do not yet have in the garden. Ice Wings (Narcissus ‘Ice Wings’) is a beautiful white variety.
As a triandrus narcissus, it usually carries multiple flowers on every flowering stem.
I am going to continue my hunt for more varieties but decided that three new ones is enough for this year. Otherwise I end up having the car full when I move them to the summer cottage.
It has been beautiful spring day up here in the north. Have spend it walking in the city center and enjoying a restaurant lunch now that the corona restrictions have been removed.
We still have plenty of snow left and need to wait more than a month before being able to do anything in the garden. This winter was white and cannot remember when we have had this much snow.
Noticed Tete-a-Tete Daffodils (Narcissus‘Tete-a-Tete’) in the nearby grocery store and bought the first daffodils of the year.
I will try to find some new varieties this year and do the same thing I do every year. Once the daffodils have bloomed I will take them to the summer cottage and plant them for the forthcoming springs.
The last of the lilies are now blooming and it will be nearly a year before they start the circle again.
Mount Cook (Lilium‘Mount Cook’) is blooming and I have planted it to a place where fertilizer cannot be used because of the closeness of the lake.
It still seems to be doing well. Natural it will have less blooms and be a bit shorter but the strong smell of this lily is still there.
Gardening in the North 