Yet another good year for the Monkshood (Aconitum × stoerkianum) which is blooming beautifully.
It has grown here as long as I remember and seems to have adapted to the environment.
You just need to remember that all parts of the plant are very poisonous. In other words you can not plant it close to edibles.
I am usually quite self sufficient when it comes to the Sensation (Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Sensation’) seeds but this spring bought some to ensure that all the color varieties are there.
Cosmos likes the warmth and this summer has been good to them.
Sensation grows and blooms quickly which is good for the short summers we have.
Velouette (Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Velouette’) is a very beautiful cosmos variety.
The warm summer has suited it well and it has started to bloom earlier than usually.
For our short summers the variety is a bit problematic. If we get a cool summer, which we many times do, it has challenges to bloom early enough.
If I had known that petunias (Petunia) will do this well this summer, I would have bought more of them.
It seems that this hot weather suits them and leads to constant blooming.
Maybe next year I will have more but that depends on the colors that will be available. This spring the offering was quite modest.
Up here in the north the days are now long. The sun goes down at 11 PM and comes up at half past 3 AM. We are also enjoying a heatwave temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius.
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are now blooming beautifully. In May I collected some to the freezer and now I am able to enjoy the blooms.
I treat chives as flowers and have it here and there in the flowerbeds. Like their blooms and the taste as well.
The bumblebees are also big fans of chives blooms. In other words a wonderful plant – edible, blooms nicely and is bee friendly.
Something new for the garden. Bought two Nova Zemblas (Rhododendron ‘Nova Zembla’) to the summer cottage.
Fell in love with the bright color they have.
The location is a bit too north for them but decided to give it a try. It usually depends on the amount of snow fall how well they do during the winter. Enough snow protects them from the coldness.
The Flaming flags (Tulipa ‘Flaming flag’) are doing well. This is a third good year in a row for them.
When I bought the bulbs I was not sure how Triumph tulips would do up here in the north but they seem to be just fine.
They are strong and sturdy. Even though the weather has not been ideal for them they still manage to look good and untouched.
Columbine Olympia (Aquilegia ‘Olympia’) also called Lapland’s Aquilegia is always the one that blooms first. Way too earlier than the other aquilegias.
Even though it is a low growing variety it has big blooms and lots of them.
I only have this one plant and have been trying to grow more from the seeds but without success this far.
The Monkshood (Aconitum × stoerkianum) is doing well this summer. It is one of those old flowers that have been grown up here in the north for a long time.
The bumblebees adore the flowers and there is constant buzz among the plants.
Monkshoods protect themselves with a cocktail of poison though. The whole plant is poisonous and a small dose of the root is enough to kill you. In other words not a suitable plant if you have small children playing in the garden.
It has been awhile since I have had any Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus) growing.
It is a native plant for the region and I remember it from the childhood.
Nowadays you can have it in several different colors but the blue one is the original color.
Gardening in the North 