flower, gardening

Peaches and Cream

The warm days are now over up here in the north and a cold water front has arrived. Time to take it easy and listen the rain in the warmth of a fireplace.

Luckily I managed to do most of the things before the bad weather and the garden is now in decent condition. Though it will be very modest this year and I am going to stick with the varieties that are familiar to me and easy to tend.

Before the rain started I managed to capture photos of the blooming Peaches and Cream (Narcissus ‘Peaches and Cream’). It did well when it comes to wintering and is now at its best.

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flower, gardening

Ice Follies

This year’s first thunderstorm came early and took me by surprise. Not that strong yet but cooled the air and gave some rain.

The past few days have been nice, warm and summer like. Perfect for gardening and all the spring activities. I sure have plenty to do even though decided to take it easy this year.

Managed to get a week off from work and now in the summer cottage. Seems that I am not the only one in a hurry to complete all the tasks. Most of the birds have already arrived and the nesting season has began. Just love to watch the hustle in the birdhouses.

The daffodil season is at its best. The Ice Follies (Narcissus ‘Ice Follies’) are blooming nicely and the variety has proven to be a good reliable choice.

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flower, gardening

Verbena

I am getting more and more fond of Common Garden Verbenas (Verbena hortensis). They have so many colors available in the stores nowadays.

The flower is extremely drought tolerant and therefore very suitable for the summer cottage since I am not always there to water.

I planted this individual to the driest and sunniest spot and it still made it blooming beautifully.

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flower, gardening

Origami Red and White

Another good year for the Origami Red and White (Aquilegia caerulea ‘Origami Red and White’).

For some reason the variety seems to like to grow up here in the north.

This year the blooming season for the columbines will be short. After a long period of cool weather a two week heatwave hit us and made the flowers to bloom quickly.

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flower, gardening

May Queen

Summer finally found its way to north. Past few days we have been enjoying 30 degrees Celsius temperatures.

The May Queen (Leucanthemum vulgare ‘May Queen’) finally started to bloom. Nearly a month later than usually.

Oxeye Daisy is a is a native flower to the area and therefore very easy to grow. Though the variety May Queen has been grown from a seed and has a bit bigger blooms.

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flower, gardening

Chatelaine

I do not know why but I lost half of my lupines last winter which was a surprise because they are usually very hardy.

To my delight The Chatelaine (Lupinus ‘The Chatelaine’) started to bloom in the new spot that it was planted this spring.

I am still trying to find more colors. Lupines are so easy flowers for the summer cottage.

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gardening

Snowball

Today is the longest day of the year up here in the north. The night is only a bit longer than four hours. In other words lots of light available for the plants.

The snowball bush (Viburnum opulus) is at its best and full of flowers.

The Snowball is a very decorative shrub blooming with huge green flowers which turn gradually to brilliant white as the season progresses.

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flower, gardening

Snowdrop Windflower

It has been quite cool start of the summer up here in the north. Not many warm days yet.

Spending a week in the summer cottage and still need to burn wood in the fireplace to stay warm during the nights.

The Snowdrop Windflowers (Anemone sylvestris) are blooming now. A bit beaten by the wind and rain but still beautiful.

If the plant likes the place it will spread rapidly and has a very large root network.

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flower, gardening

Strike

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.

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