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

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.

flower, gardening

Sonata Pink Blush

I 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.

flower, gardening

Geranium

My 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.

flower, gardening

Baby Blue Eyes

Each year it is fun try something new. You never know how the new comers will do and how they will turn out to be.

This year I sowed some Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila Menziesii) seeds. I just saw them on a web site and decided to give them a try. Originally my idea was to grow them in a terrarium but ended up planting them outside.

I got lucky. My babies started to bloom in the beginning of July. The summer has been cool but they did not seem to mind.

The flowers themselves are small but the color is so beautiful and blooms many.

I guess I need to buy these seeds for the next summer as well.

PS. Bought the seeds from http://www.seedaholic.com. Just love the name of the site.

flower, gardening

Cosmos

Cosmos One of my mom’s favorite flowers is cosmos. Originally she got the seeds from an old and a dear friend of hers. After that we have had them blooming every year. They have never failed her no matter what kind of summer we have had.

The colors of cosmos are many and also I have grown fond of them. We have decided that next spring we will try a new variety called Sonata Pink Blush. It should bloom early and be a bit shorter and steadier compared to the one we currently grow.

PS. You can collect the cosmos seeds in the autumn. I do not think that my mother has ever bought the seeds. She has just harvested them each year.

gardening

California Wonder

Last winter I started early. I was determined to grow peppers of my own. I had never tried that before.

I planted the seeds and watched them grow. The first flowers came and soon I had my first pepper growing. I decided to keep only one and gave the others to my friends.

Peppers are delegate creatures. They do not tolerate cold and when I moved the plant to my balcony for more light the end result was bruised leaves. Well, actually I never wanted to have a pepper in my bedroom but there it is. Safe from winds and getting all the attention it demands. Temperamental, as my plant really is, it only produces on pepper at the time. But the fruits are sweet and worth the effort.

PS. Peppers consume high amounts of water and require fertilizing. Large pot makes your life easier.

gardening

Crocuses

There are still many things to do before the winter arrives. One of the matters is to find suitable spring flowers for the next year. Options are many and it is hard not to buy everything possible.

I wondered around in a shop and saw what I was looking for. Shelves after shelves of bulbs waiting for planting. I knew what I wanted. I went directly to the crocuses. I wanted something that blooms early right after the snow is gone. Something colorful to wipe away all the whiteness.

Crocuses are reliable. You can always count on them. Usually the blooms only last few days but on those days you appreciate all the bright colors. After few weeks you forget your early friends as other plants conquer the garden hiding the tiny crocus leaves. But you remember your forgotten friends again next year when they are there delighting your spring.

I admit that when I returned home and went online I bought few other bulbs. Just to be sure that I have enough things to wait for.

PS. I bought my crocuses from Stockmann. They usually have good offers for their regular customers.

gardening

Avocados

Some salt and a drop of lemon juice. Avocados are so good. I simply enjoy the soft greasy taste of them. And since there is a seed size of a golf ball, naturally I have to try to grow one.

Internet is full of instruction how to get the seed germinate. I spent fee minutes watching how to do it and now I have my first one making roots.

It will be fun watching what I end up having. I live far too north to ever harvest avocados from my tiny little tree but it will be fun seeing it grow.

PS. I like to buy my avocados from Stockmann. Theirs are usually the best ones you can find in the city.

gardening

Pelargonium

I was not able to resist the temptation. I saw a package of pelargonium seeds in the store. It was December and the darkest time of the year. But still the best time to try to grow pelargoniums for the next summer.

I knew that my apartment with its merciless central heating was way too hot and dry for my experiment. Pelargoniums like a bit cooler and moist growing environment. Anyway I decided to give it a try.

Pelargoniums are survivors. The can take the most relentless hot summer days and tolerate the bite of first frosts. They just keep on blooming where only few flowers make it.

To my big surprise everything went well. All the seeds germinated and each little seedling made it through the winter with the help of my grow light. In the spring I was able place them in to my balcony and enjoy watching them to flourish. Now it is early September and with a bit of luck I can still enjoy their blooms for two more months.

PS. This winter I think I will saw the seeds already in November to ensure that they start blooming a bit earlier. And I guess I will try few more colors since there are so many available.

Gardening in the North

This blog is about gardening in the north.

Tag Archives: seeds

Teddy Bear

Ruby F1

Sonata Pink Blush

Geranium

Baby Blue Eyes

Cosmos

California Wonder

Crocuses

Avocados

Pelargonium