Wishing all my readers a very Happy Easter!
Thursday, April 14, 2022
Sunday, March 6, 2022
Harbingers of spring
How the snowdrops look now as of March 5 this year |
How the snowdrops looked on March 16 of last year |
Each year in March, the snowdrops make their appearance. They are the harbingers of spring, and my heart is overjoyed each time I see them. They are hardy flowers, poking up through the remaining snow and dead leaves covering the garden. They precede crocuses and hyacinths which make their appearance in April, closer to Easter.
I love hardy flowers. I love anything that survives a tough environment. In that regard, I'm a fan of berry bushes too, as well as rhododendrons. Raspberry, gooseberry, blackberry, black currant and red currant bushes survive the cold winter and freezing temperatures and bloom like clockwork each year. There is something so heartening about a garden. It gives one something to believe in, especially when it seems that all hope is lost in the world. A garden provides hope. It is a place of renewal. It tells us that we can start again, start over, leave our winter souls behind and embrace the warm sunshine on our faces. I've often wondered what the world would be like without the sun. Life as we know it would end, of course, but I'm sure many people would commit suicide before that eventuality. Who would want to live in perpetual darkness? I suppose there is a good reason that Christ is seen as the light of the world; our souls do not have to live in darkness if we seek him. It seems that more than ever, we need to seek him, since our world is moving toward darkness. I will find him in my garden, that I know.
Friday, April 2, 2021
Thursday, October 8, 2020
A blooming Hoya carnosa
Monday, August 19, 2019
Our garden in mid-August
Here are some photos of the garden that I took yesterday and a few days ago......
Cinderella pumpkins growing happily |
Lavender, gladiolas, dahlias, and Coreopsis flowers |
one of four giant sunflowers |
Cinderella pumpkin patches |
entrance to the garden |
panicle hydrangea |
tomatoes growing on the outdoor tomato plants |
Sunday, June 30, 2019
The garden in June
The tomato plants in the greenhouse are already starting to grow tomatoes, and the pumpkin and summer squash plants are starting to flower and take off. The green bean plants are pushing themselves up out of the soil and starting to grow. The potato and yellow onion plants have been growing well for about a month already, and the carrot plants are showing their green fronds. The dahlias and gladiolas are quite high already; the hollyhocks are also doing well. The lavender and celosia plants are blooming, as are the carnations and Dianthus. The hydrangeas are also blooming, as are the panicled hydrangeas (syrinhortensia in Norwegian--translates to 'lilac-like hydrangeas').
I was in the garden yesterday and took some photos, as I always do, to document the garden's progression from one week to another. Enjoy!
One of three rose bushes that is blooming |
Once a cherry tree, now covered in wild ivy, with coral bell plants and pansies at its base |
Green beans, yellow onions, carrots, and potatoes growing. In the background, pumpkin and zucchini plants, sunflowers, and cornflowers |
Outdoor tomato plants, royal geraniums, different hydrangeas, and my ninebark plant that has grown a lot this year |
Lots of lavender plants, gladiolas, Cock's comb (celosia), carnations, hydrangea, dahlias, lilies, peony, and Dianthus ('pinks') |
Pachysandra planted under the Emperor bush |
Strawberries from the garden--so good! There is nothing quite like them. |
Pansies |
Pansies |
Pansies and coral bells |
Sunday, June 17, 2018
Beautiful plants that I want to plant in my garden
1) Large yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia punctata), called Fagerfredløs in Norwegian. These yellow flowers spread out once planted. Here is a photo:
2) Royal Purple Smoke Bush (Cotinus coggygria), called parykkbusk in Norwegian. The color of this plant is something to behold--royal purple indeed. It's gorgeous and stands out in any garden.
3) Lupine (Lupinus)--this plant comes in so many gorgeous colors. This is the tutti frutti lupine.
4) Allium (Allium giganteum)--another lovely flower, a bit alien-looking, but worth having.
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Update on our garden--July 2017
In the garden itself, the corn plants are growing tall and straight and appear to be quite healthy; ditto for the three different types of pumpkins I planted this year--two French varieties and a Jack-o-Lantern variety. The pumpkins now have vines that are spreading happily in every direction, just like last year. Some of them have produced very small pumpkins already. It remains to be seen how fast the pumpkins will grow and mature. Last year at this time the pumpkins were a bit further along. I also planted three different kinds of string beans--standard green beans, asparagus beans, and dwarf beans. If you ask me, they're all variations on a theme; the type that stands out is the one with a mottled appearance, but otherwise they all taste pretty much the same--good. The snap peas are also doing very well, and have produced a lot of edible pods, also good.
The sunflower plants have grown tall and straight and I hope they'll stay that way as the summer progresses. One never knows, especially if a very windy storm comes along. My flower garden looks lovely--a combination of lavender plants, a butterfly bush, pink and purple Salvia, marigolds, hollyhocks, chrysanthemums, among others--and under the dead cherry tree that is covered in wild ivy, I've planted Heuchera plants (lovely perennials in gold, green and red colors) as well as daisies.
I love watching the garden grow a little bit more for each day that passes. Generally I just love being in the garden. There is always something to do--weeding, transplanting, cutting the grass, pruning, fertilizing, watering, or just puttering. The greenhouse has all the tools and accessories needed for doing all these things. Here are some recent photos from one of the wonderfully sunny days we've had:
corn and string bean plants in background, pumpkin plants in foreground |
pumpkin plants |
Heuchera plants and daisies |
view of the vegetable part of the garden |
view from the garden entrance |
flower garden--lavender, hollyhocks, Salvia--among others |
another view of the garden with hydrangea plant in the background |
Monday, March 27, 2017
Back to the garden II
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
My pumpkin patch and other updates on garden life
It has been very warm in Oslo during the month of July, and that's always good for plant growth. My corn plants are also doing well; ears of corn have formed on at least half of the plants, with pink tassels sprouting out from the top of the cobs. I've noted that the ears of corn do not form on the top part of the corn plant, but rather on the lower part of the plant. It should be an interesting harvest come September/October. The string bean plants have produced many string beans per plant and they taste very good--extra good knowing that they come from the garden. Ditto for the snap pea plants--there are many of them and they taste good.
I've also planted many different kinds of flowers, with the idea of 'filling in the gaps' (not having too many bare patches although there will always be some) in the flower garden. I like the result so far, as do the bumblebees, honeybees and butterflies. I've wandered around the rest of the community garden gathering ideas from other gardeners. Some of the other gardens are just so wild and beautiful--flowers in all colors, sizes and shapes. I'm picking up tips, talking to the other gardeners, watching how things get done, and storing it all away for next year's plantings.
And last but not least, we have a badger in the garden. Where he comes from nobody knows, but he likes to visit the garden at night. I haven't seen him yet, but several other gardeners have. Badgers eat mostly earthworms, but also other insects (just not the brown snails unfortunately--most animals and birds seem to avoid them, understandably in my opinion), roots and some fruits. He won't lack for sustenance in the garden as a whole, that's for sure.
Living a small life
I read a short reflection today that made me think about several things. It said that we cannot shut ourselves away from the problems in the...