outside place

Moving indoors, autumn is here

kitchenwindow

The jungle in the kitchenwindow. Photo:©nini.tjader.2019

It is autumn. Plants have moved indoors from the patio. It is getting colder and we have had some frost nights.

Jungle in the kitchen

kitchenjungle

The kitchen jungle. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

It is a jungle in the kitchen. The figtrees and the pelargonias är in since mid September when the weather started to turn to colder, especially the nights got colder.

Plants in the bedroom

bedroomplants

Plants in the bedroom. Photo:©nini.tjader.2019

In the bedroom I placed the Caliente pelargonia, one Mårbacka pelargonia and the tall Attar of Roses fragrance pelargonia. I hope they will survive the winter there. As always when they get moved indoors lots of leaves are getting yellow and have to be removed. They still bloom though and I will allow them to do so as long as they want. Some people cut down pelargonias when moving them indoors in the autumn. I don’t unless I have to. I rather cut them down in the spring when they need it. The tall Attar of Roses so far is the one not getting yellow leaves. Yet. And it grows and blooms. I will have to cut it down later as it has reached the ceiling.

Jungle in the livingroom

livingroomwindow

Plants in the window in the livingroom. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

It is a bit crowded with plants in the livingwoom-window.… Pelargonias and the largest figtree.

Tomatoplant in the livingroom

Since I shot the above picture, I’ve also moved the large tomato-plant indoors, just inside the door to the outside place (kind of tomato is Tiny Tim) as it is full of flowers and tiny tomatoes. 

tomater

Indoor tomatoes. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

I pluck the tomatoes when they get of size and ripe them on a plate in the kitchen.

tomatoes

Tomatoes ripening indoors. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

No special tricks to get them to ripe. They just lay there on a plate in the warmth of the kitchen and slowly ripe by themselves. Som do all kinds of mumbo-jumbo to get them to ripe. No need for that. Just leave them alone and they will ripe by themselves.

livingroomplants

Plants in the livingroom. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

On the other side of the door to the outside place there are two Mårbacka pelargonias and one Aloe Vera that previously lived in the bedroom.

The patio and the garden

Empty patio. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

The patio is now empty. Not just because I moved all the plants indoors. Well, not all the plants moved indoors. Some, less worth to try to spare over the winter went into the dumpster. But there was another reason too why the entire outside place got emptied. The wooden parts of the house were to get painted.

Painting of the walls. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

So furniture was moved out on the grass to make room for the painters and the scaffoldings.

Walls getting painted. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

So life in garden and outdoors was finished earlier than usual.

Walls getting painted. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

The painting is almost finished now. They are supposed to be done by the coming Tuesday. Then I can go out and move the furniture back to the patio, and check damage on plants in the garden. I’ve done a quick check and it isn’t as bad as it could have been. But some damage there is.

Most of the scaffolding was already gone yesterday. Last time the walls were painted was only five years ago. It needed to be done now to protect the wooden parts. I hope it lasts longer than 5 years this time…

Posted by nini in autumn, bedroom, House plants, indoor plants, kitchen, livingroom, outside place, Plants, Urban Jungle Bloggers, 0 comments

Despite the drought

garden

The garden 2018-06-17 Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

Drought didn’t kill the garden

Despite the drought, the garden is not dead even though the grass is far from green and there are tones of yellowish-brown all over the place. But in time for Midsummer the rain arrived. In 48 hours we had 17+25 mm of rain. Much needed really.

garden

Garden 2018-06-17. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

The black currants (the two large bushes in the middle of the picture above) are coming fine this year again. 

blackcurrants

Black currants. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

The branches of the black currant bushes get heavier and heavier for each day as the berries ripen. Two more weeks I woudl guess before they are ripe enough to be picked. Tasted one of the black ones but it is still extremely sour.

bird, foodstation

Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

The foodstation for the birds is now closed for the season. No more seeds for a while. For a couple of days the birds were confused and kept coming and they cleaned under the foodstation in the grass. But there are fewer and fewer birds each day that passes. I miss having there to look at, but I simply cannot afford feeding them the year around. It gets quite expensive. And during the sumemr season they should be able to find food themselves. Or it the worms and insects on the plants…

hollyhocks

The hollyhocks will soon bloom. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

The hollyhocks were not affected by the drought. They will soon bloom. They do not grow in the exact same place as last years though. They have “moved”. And they grow in an awkward place in the flowerbed just at the entrance to my outside place. They are healthier this year though than last. Fewer bugs on them. They seem to have liked all the sun and warmth we’ve had.

hollyhocks, flowerbed

The flowerbed at the entrance to my outside place. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

The digitalis are fewer this year than last and they are blooming just now.

digitalis

Digitalis. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

The digitalis are also not at all that high as last year. Probably also caused by the drought. Watering flowerbeds and bushes by the garden hose makes them survive, but it is not enough in the long run. The drought lasted about five weeks.

whitebluebell

White bluebell. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

The bluebells are blooming now. Bothe the white ones and the blue ones. The white one has moved about 50 cm since last year. Probably by seed. The original one is gone.

bluebells

Large bluebells. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

bluebells

Small bluebells. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

Both the large and the small bluebells are blooming. The large ones are much fewer this year than last. Partly because I actively removed a lot of the large ones in the autumn. Partly because of the drought I would guess. There are more of the small ones though.

wine

Wine. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

One plant that also loved the sun, warmth and drought is the wine. Last year we hade two flowers on it. This year several. Hoping there will also become grapes of them. Beacause the high summer kind of began already around may 5th you forget that it is still only June and most of the summer in front of us yet. It is early days yet for the greenery.

moreheimbeauty

Helenium Moerheim Beauty. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

Everything is early in development, and everything bloom out very fast with the warmth we’ve had. I cannot remember that the Helenium Moerheim Beauty has started to bloom this early before.Its flwoers are just starting to open up.

lambsear, bigear

Lambsear “Big Ear”. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

The lambsear “Big Ear” is also just starting to bloom. After the rain I had to steady it by hanging it on the lilac bush branches as it was very wet and heavy. When it dried it stood by itself again.

lambsear, lilac

Lambsear at the foot of the lilac. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

The lambsear grows at the foot of the lilac, which had plenty of flowers this year. Because of the drought, the flowers on the lilc only lasted about a week though. The bush to the left of it ( a goatsbeard) still looks the same even though the flowers are finished. Both bushes have reached their max-height for the season. The lambsears are still growing and there will be more than those two flowers on them.

lavender

Lavender. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

Also the lavender has thrived from the drought, warmth and sun. Despite not cutting it in the spring or last autumn, it is larger than ever to the joy of the bumblebees and bees.

acanthus

Acanthus. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

Also the acanthus will bloom this year and has obviously liked the warmth, sun and drought. It hasn’t done that since the year it was planted (which I think is 3 years ago). The flower is slowly growing and I hope it makes it and opens up. Had forgotten how the flower looks so had to google it. The plant itself is now three plants. I move the original one a couple of years ago because it was at a bad location in the flowerbed. But apparently I forgot a part of it because last year they were two plants. It also has spred by roots (I guessI because this year Iäve seen a tiny third plant as well, just between the two larger ones. If the other large one will bloom this year or not still remains to be seen.

beachroses

Beach roses in the backgarden. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

In the backgarden the beachroses have grown a lot since I cut them down to about 15 cm in height some time in April. Despite the drought and the fact that they have gotten no water or rain at all except for the rains around Midsummer they have grewn a lot and their flowers are now starting to come too.

rosebush

The rosebush.. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

Our rosebush (probably a Chloris it is said), a rose with almost no thorns and a fragrance which is heavenly, had lots of flowers this year. They lasted just one week and are all gone now. For a change it didn’t have any lice this year. Thanks to the drought Id guess.

hosta, funkia

The hostas behind my outside place. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

The hostas along the plank of my outside place do not like drought and warm weath and sun. But these one grow along the fence behind outside place and are in the shadow most of the day. I’ve watered them thoroughly all along the dry period. The all green one is larger than ever, the one with white edges is also bigger than usual. Tehy will soon bloom. Iäve spied the flowerbuds under their leaves.

honeysuckle

Honeysuckle. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

My two old honeysuckle are blooming a lot and have also grewn a lot this year. I have two kinds of honeysuckle. One is the regular pink and white one, the other one is this orange one. Both started their life on the balcony of my previous flat where they were until I move here in October 2009 and planted them on the corner of the high plank of my outside place. Two years ago they looked really poorly and I gut them down a lot, both of them. They came back fine last year and this year even more. Do not look too close on them though…

lice, honeysuckle

Lice on the honeysuckle. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

Particularly the pink and white one has lots of lice. The orange one not so bad. There is no pint in even trying to get rid of the lice. They stay where they are and do not move on to other plants and even though they look like in the above picture, they do not seem to harm the plant itself.

Another plant that has thrived this spring is the wild wine (parthenocissus) which got a new bow all for itself. The plant itself I’ve had on the corner of my outside place for some years and it hasn’t really grown that good until this year. It really likes the airiness of the rose-bow. Have to get up on a ladder to tuck in the new branches soon though…

I wish this summer still brings more sun and warmth. Despite the drought we’ve had.

wildwine, parthenocissus

Wild wine, parthenocissus. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

Posted by nini in Garden, Garden and Nature, greenery, outside place, 0 comments

Between the rains…

garden, gardenentrance

Entrance from the garden. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Between the rains I check the garden for the latest developments. Autumn is here and it is a busy time. The garden has to be closed down and the patio emptied of pots and other stuff.

patio, autumn

The patio preparing for winter. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The color are changing out there and there is not much left to take care of.

patio, winter, autumn

The patio preparing for winter. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

It starts to look empty on the patio. I haven’t covered anything up yet, and the carpets are still there, soaking wet after the rains lately. Pots on wall and floor and other spots are either gone for waste or indoors. Other stuff is slowly moved from here to the storage on the other side of the house.

rain, raingauge

Rain. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

So, any work out there has to be done between the rains. We had 33 mm of rain the last couple of days. Emptied the rain-gauge yesterday and it has rained another 5 mm since.

sweetpeas

Sweetpeas on the patio. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The sweetpeas on the patio are still in bloom and sprouting new flowerbuds. It was NOT a good ide to plant them together with the cobea in the same pot. It just looks messy. I will never do that again. On another note, I will never again grow sweet peas. They have a nice smell and the flowers are interesting if looking really close on them, but… too much work to get them from pea to flower and in the end, how they grow just looks messy.

cobea, cobeaflowers

Cobea in bloom. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The cobea, which the sweet peas share a large pot with, is in bloom and has lots of flower buds still not opened. It is a pity that it blooms so late in the year. But this year, at least it blooms. Other years it didn’t even get that far. It is an annual plant so new plant has to be planted every year if you want it. You cannot plant it until end of Mya, beginning of June as it is very sensitive to frost nights. Planting it that late is one of the causes for it blooming so late. It grows a lot in one season though. It has never been this big previous years. This year it has thrown itself over the plank and down on the other side and onto the wall there as well.

cobea, climbinghortensia

Cobea mixed with climbing hortensia. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The leaves of the climbing hortensia at the backside of the tall plank on the patio are getting more yellow for each day and will soon fall off. The dark green leaves mixed with them is the cobea form the patio.

cobea

Cobea on the wall.. Photo. ©nini.tjader.2017

The cobea is also climbing on the wall and is presently at the top of my bedroom window. Look closely for the flower buds all along its loop.

cobea, cobeaflowers

Cobea flowers 2017-10-09. Photo ©nini.tjader.2017

The cobea flowers on the backside of the patio-plank are pale… There has been a shortage of light and sunshine the last week so they havenät yet developed their darkblue color. They look very strange this pale…

cobea, cobeaflower

Cobea flower. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Fascinating flower…

honeysuckle

Honeysuckle on the bow. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The honeysuckles (two old ones) have grown a lot this year and are climbing the bow as they should. The sundriven lamp there I will take down soon. No point of having it there when there is no sun as it doesn’t charge then and doesn’t have enough power to light up when it gets dark. The smaller sunöcharged lamps in the garden I took into storage last week as they too had stopped lighting up.

honeysuckle

Honeysuckle 2017-10-09. Photo. ©nini.tjader.2017

The old orange honeysuckle has a new flower… in October… 

echinacea

Echinacea. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The echinacea at the outside of the patio is looking really tired after the rains and are more or less finished for the season. There happened to be a couple of minutes of sunshgine yesterday when I shot these pictures, but it was just a couple of minutes… Rains resumed later in the day.

echinacea

Echinacea. Finished for the season. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The echinacea flower is interesting even when wilted. Before the top of it dries (how can it dry in these rains?) it is really hard. When mature and dry and ready to spread its seeds it all falls apart.

anemonehupehensis

Anemone hupehensis. Photo. ©nini.tjader.2017

The double anemone hupehensis (höstanemon in Swedish) in the same flower bed is still opening flowers. It is always late in the season and this year it is taller and generally larger than ever before. I hope it continues like that also next year.

hosta

Hosta. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Also the hostas are changing colors in the autumn. Big as they are they will wilt down totally and disappear. And (hopefully) come back next year. They always start over from scratch.

virginiacreeper

Virginia Creeper. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The Virginia Creeper is also changing colors and the leaves are starting to fall off. Iäve had it for at least 3-4 years by now but it started to really grow just this year. I am confident that it will continue like this also next year.

orpine, kärleksört

Orpine. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The orpine at the flowerbed by the entrance to the patio is at its most beautiful state just now and has opened theri flowers. A bit late this year actually… The bumblebees and bees and all theri relatives are missing out on the flowers. Most of them have retired by now.

amelanchieralnifolia

Amelanchier alnifolia Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The Amelanchier alnifolia, which we planted in replacement of the mirabelle tree which was cut down in October 2015, has come along just fine. The birdfeeder has new food waiting for the birds. Some of the birds are back, but not many yet as it hasn’t been all that cold yet. Wet, but not cold. I have taken away a lot of the messy plants in the flowerbed on this side of the bush. What is left will be left over winter and then we will see what comes up next year.

flow3erbed, birdfeeders, birdfood

Flowerbed along the plank. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The flowers in the flowerbeds along the plank are still in bloom.

flowerbed

Flowerbed. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The dark plant in this flowerbed (which I’ve forgotten the name of)  will probably have to be reduced and partly moved elsewhere or it will kill the astilbes.

flowerbed

Flowerbed. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The above flowerbed was created this summer. The plants there, three alumroots/heuchera and some other plants, are coming along just fine. We moved them all from another flowerbed.

There is a lot wilting down in the garden presently. But two large pots I’ve kept in the garden, the red basil for the bumblebees that are still awake, and the giant verbena which both still have lots of lilac flowers. Not all is dead yet, but soon will be.

garden

Part of the garden 2017-10-09. Photo: ©ninil.tjader.2017

 

Posted by nini in Flowers, Garden, greenery, Outside, outside place, 0 comments

Tropicool

tropicool, patio

Tropicool corner on my patio. Photo ©nini,tjader.2017

The summer challenge of Urban Jungle Bloggers is “Tropicool”. As many of my plants are outdoors over the so called warm (?) season, I choose to have my tropicool place outdoors as well, on the patio.

tropicool

Tropicool corner on my patio. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

So I take a couple of step out to come to that space. There I can sit under the big figtree (which has lost almost all its leaves at the top of the old branches and not produced new ones yet).  It is a pretty protected area even on overcast days, surrounded by pelargonia-plants, the fig trees and my olivetree, to add to the the tropical illusion. It is a nice place to sit and read, pretty cool, and you can hear the wind-chime on the wall.

tropicool, patio

The tropicool corneer on my patio. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

It is a perfect place to sit and read a book. To take time off from gardening and other tasks.

tropicool, patio

The tropicool corner of my patio.Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

From here I can see all my plantpots that are out on the patio and keep an eye on how they feel and how they develop outdoors. The arrangement on the trellis on the wall is not optimal. A cobea and lots of sweet peas are fighting for the space. They both live in the same large pot. I should have had only one of them… either the cobea or the sweet peas. The sweet peas are not yet in bloom. I await their fragrance when it will bloom, which will be soon. It is the first time I succeeded to get sweet peas to grow. The cobea blooms much later, if at all, usually by September. The cobea is a fantastic climber and can reach 3 meters in height during one summer.

Notice the small figtree in middle front?

figtree, tropicool, patio

Small figtree in the tropicool corner. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

This is the cutting from the larger figtree that I cut off early spring and placed in a bottle of water. It got roots pretty fast and got planted in a pot then. It is developing fine and it likes being outdoors, sprouting new leaves at every branch. I wish the larger figtree would get new leaves soon too…

tropicool, patio

The tropicoolcorner at the patio. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Only the cut off  branch of the larger figtree has fresh leaves. But they all came when the figtree was still indoors. The other leaves are getting yellow falling off one by one. I know, that is normal in our climate, but still… Please grow new leaves before autumn comes when the tree go indoors again!

patio, garden

The patio with view to the garden. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

From the tropicool corner I can look out into the garden. I have plants in pots out there as well. The sofa is the most protected space at the patio, as the up-stairs neighbours balcony protects it.

My patio can be really tropical on sunny days and temperature can reach +38C near to the wall. The tropicool corner does not get that hot. If it does you have to leave the patio for the garden…

tropicool, patio

The tropicool corner of my patio. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

I really should have moved that hose under the chair and the mover at right front before I shot this picture… They don’t belong in this styling…

tropicool, patio

At the patio. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

I even have plants on the top of the sofa at the patio. From left a small carnation with a divine fragrance, then my ginkgo biloba which has come alive again against all odds. Then two rosemary plants that over winter are indoors. They have both bloomed. The one to the right started blooming in winter and has still not stopped blooming. The bumble-bees love it. I cut both regularly when I need rosemary with my food.

tropicool, patio, tomatoes

On the patio. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

On the table is a tomato-plant that comes from seeds from a slice of tomato bought at the supermarket. Recently, it has grown a lot and flowers have now appeared. There will hopefully also be tomatoes on it… On its right is a myrtle tree that blooms on and off. On the railing is a smaller tomato-plant with cocktail-tomatoes which I bought ready-grown. When a tomato is ripe there, I pick it and eat as a snack. To its right are two kinds of thyme which I had to move to pots because they got all grown over by my peppermint and mint in the garden.

tropicool, patio, pots

At the entrance to the patio. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

At the entrance/exit to/from the patio and garden I have a pot of red and white flowers called cape marguerites. The white ones are presently on the other side and not seen in the picture. They bloom until the frost takes them some time in October. Just outside are two pots of red yemenite basil which I have each summer for the sake of the bumble-bees. It can of course also be used as regular basil and eaten. But the flowers are nice and the bumble-bees love them so I don’t cut them off to have in salads. Behind them is a large pot with giant verbena. 

livingroom, tropicool

In the livingroom. Photo, ©nini.tjader.2017

We’ve not had the best weather this summer. Rain, thunder, hail, and sometimes sunny. A day can begin sunny and then the rains and clouds come. And it being sunny is no guarantee for tropical weather or hot temperatures. Slightly warmer… but not tropical. There are few days in Sweden that you can consider the weather to be tropical. This corner (above) in the livingroom is the most tropical I can produce indoors. But it is also a nice place when the weather is uninviting to go outdoors.

Or I can spend time in the kitchen which always is a bit tropical when it comes to plants…

ktichen, kitchenwindows, tropicool

Tropicool in the kitchen. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Posted by nini in House plants, outside place, tropicool, Urban Jungle Bloggers, 0 comments

New flowerbed

flowerbeds

New flowerbed has been added along the fence, June 2017. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

New flowerbed has been created.

Late last year we created two new flowerbeds along the fence, That turned out well. Already then we thought we might create a third flowerbed, as there were enough space for it and it looks nice with plants along the fence. Just looking at the fence isn’t all that exciting. Both I and my neighbour can see those flowerbeds from our flats. So last week I started digging.

flowerbed

Digging for new flowerbed. Photo. ©nini.tjader.2017

The worst with digging for a new flowerbed is to get the grass off. That is hard work.

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New flowerbed. Digging done. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Next step was to create a border around the new flowerbed and to add fresh nourishment and earth.

flowerbed

New flowerbed. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

To create the border around the flowerbed was no problem as we had collected quite a lot of nice round stones for this purpose not that long ago. We had to go buy fresh earth though. Nourishment (earth with cow-dung) we had half a sack so that was added first. Then the fresh soil. And then plants.

flowerbeds

Plants to be moved. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The next step was to decide which plants to have in the new flowerbed. Two of our alumroots/heuchera had long begged to be moved to a place where they would get more space to grow. They com ein a lot of colors and we have four of them in different colors. Two of them had so far grown just to the right of the lambsears (above). So those two I dug up and moved to the new flowerbed. You see the green one at the back and a purple green one at the front in the picture above. Now the lamb’s ears can spread even more…

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The heuchera gone from the flowerbed. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

It looks perfectly normal without the heuchera here in this flowerbed.

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Heuchera before it was moved. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The above purple alumroot/heuchera also needed to be moved as it was slowly disappearing under the hosta at its side. so I dug that up as well.

flowerbed

Alumroot removed from the flowerbed. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

After the third heuchera was dug up I added some stones at the backside of the flowerbed and some sticks in it as there are plenty of bulbs for springflowers in the ground and I don’t want the cats to dig them up. I also dug up some of the anemone sylvestris that had spread to that same area and moved them as well to the new flowerbed. I also dug up some Japanese anemones (anemone hupehensis) that had disappeared under the largest hosta outside the patio where it would get no light.

flowerbed

The new flowerbed. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

When the planting was done and watering too it looked like in the picture above. The sad plants top the left are  the Japanese anemones. There is space left top the right of them as they have a tendency to spread out if they like the place where they grow. They didn’t like being moved though and leaves immediately wilted. 

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The new flowerb3e3d 2017-06-14. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

One of the alumroots also hung at first after being replanted. It has recovered since though and today looks just as fine as the other two alumroots. The Japanese anemones look very sad though but I think they are still alive. Keeping an eye on them… I will have to cut off the leaves I think, but I will wait a few more days before I do. It might help them recover though.

Three flowerbeds along the fence.

So, now there are three flowerbeds along the fence. Much nicer to look at than just the fence and the grass. The two we created last year are coming along just fine and looks like in the pictures below. All plants in them have been moved from the long flowerbed along the wall of the house, which got too crowded over the years.

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One of the flowerbeds along the fence. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

This one (called number two…) got some new plants this spring, to the left of the left astilbe.

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Flowerbed number two. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

I added two ajuga reptans (with nice blue flowers) that creeps along the earth and spreads. Have to keep an eye on those so they don’t take over the entire flowerbed. If it grows too much, I’ll move some of it to another location. I also added two other plants with yellow flowers which are low and can stand dry and poor circumstance. They have flowers now, but not the entire season.

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Flowerbed number one along the fence. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

In flowerbed number one (closest to my flat) the plants are coming along fine as well. They have grown a lot the last couple of days and have changed quite a lot since I shot this picture. The three green plants at the upper right will become quite tall later in the season. They just now started growing.

Otherwise… everything is growing with an amazing speed and all is green and lush. I love this season. Summer is here.

summergarden

Summergarde, 2017-06-17. Photo. ©nini.tjader.2017

 

 

 

Posted by nini in Flowers, Garden, Garden and Nature, greenery, Outside, outside place, 0 comments

My outside place

outside place

Part of my outside place 2017-05-28. Photo: ©nini,tjader.2017

My outside place can finally be used. The warmth arrived and plants could go outside and everything be arranged.

outside place

My outside place 2017-05-20. Photo:©nini.tjader.2017

My outside place faces west from the wall and south from its entrance from the garden. It gets very hot there in the afternoon. On sunny days it is sunny the whole afternoon until evening when sun disappears behind the higher ground on the other side of the road.

outside place

My outside place from the entrance. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The floors in my outside place are of concrete and not that pleasant to walk on barefoot so I have two outdoor carpets, plastic, on the floor. I think they are already on their third year so they have lasted fine through rain and lousy weather. I take them in over the winter, before the snows begin.

outside place

Part of my outside place. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Just outside the door I have this black wooden bench – which has cushions when weather permits – which I bought at Ikea the very first spring I lived in this flat, 2010. It is placed toward the wall and has cover from the upstairs neighbours balcony when it rains. Convenient… 

pots

Pots Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The top of the sofa has a small ledge where I can place various pots when needed. The naked plant in the middle of the picture is my ginkgo biloba plant… I am still unsure if it still is alive or not. Meanwhile it lives outdoors on the top of the sofa where it is warm and it gets as much light as possible. Still waiting for it to come alive again… it might, they say. To the left of it is a fragranced pelargonia from last year that survived the winter indoors. To the left of that a bought tomato-plant. I gave up on growing tomatoes from seed… At the right are seed-sown sweet peas that are coming along just fine. They will be planted in my large pot in the corner of the outside place when I get the plant they will live together with. That plant is still not available in shops. Too early yet.

outside place

Hanging plants at my outside place. Photo:©nini.tjader.2017

Just at the entrance from the garden to my outside place I’ve hung two pots on the railing. The one to the left is a red basil, the one to the right is a lavender. Just inside are white and red “stjärnöga”, Osteospermum. They last and bloom until the first frost some time in October if you frequently cut off flowers that are done.

Pots

Pots on the table. Photo:©nini.tjader.2017

On the table in my outside place I have two pots. The one to the left is a rosemary, which has bloomed also indoors for a long time by now. I keep cutting it, as I use it with oven-baked cleft potatoes regularly.  The one to the right is a myrtle. It has buds, but I am still waiting for it to bloom. Bought it at the garden fair this spring and it has been indoors until recently.

outside place

Part of my outside place.Photop: ©nini.tjader.2017

This corner of my outside place isn’t quite ready yet. The large black pot still have to get its plants. I am waiting for the climbing cobea to arrive in stores. It will live there in the corner and grow upwards on the trellis on the wall (it can grow upto 3 meters in one season). I haven’t had a cobea for the last two years. It is time for it again. It will live together with the seed-grown sweet peas that are ready for planting. My olivetree is outdoors as well now. You see it on the right in this picture.

wildpelargonia

Australian wild pelargonia. Photo:©nini.tjader.2017

On the high wall at the outside place hangs an Australian wild pelargonia which I bought at the garden-fair this spring. I will get whitish-pink flowers later on that smell like candy. I have never succeeded to save one of these over winter indoors so have bought a new one each year. Might try again. Oh. I got myself a wind-chime to hang outside. Got it from Ikea. I like the sound of it.

outside place

Plant under umbrella. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

I recently moved my figtree outdoors to the outside place. For the first couple of days I let it live under the umbrella, to protect it from the strong spring sun. Didn’t want to do the same mistake I did last year when the strong spring sun burned some of the leaves and made them fall off.

figtree

The figtree on my outside place. Photo:©nini.tjader.2017

The figtree is now out from under the umbrella. Haven’t seen any sun-damage so far even though the sun has been pretty strong the last week.

outside place

My outside place from outside. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Along the railing of my outside place are three boxes with three bright red pelargonias in each one of them. As I live on the groundfloor I can have the boxes on the outside and even water them from the outside. Very convenient.

olivetree

The olivetree. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

My olivetree – which used to be small and compact… – has also moved outdoors and seems to like it. It is no longer small an compact. I cut off all dead parts of it in the spring, but not the long new ones. Still hesitating if to cut it more or not.

poppies

Poppies. Photo. ©nini.tjader.2017

Just outside the outside place the poppies have started to bloom. Just yesterday I removed a lot of poppies as they spread a bit too much. They are nice, but I won’t let them spread too much. Hard to take photos of though because it was a bit windy just then.

The day before yesterday friend Ulla and I spent some time on the outside place eating home-made (by me) frozen strawberry cheesecake with a glass of cold white wine (wine is Inycon, I really recommend it) in the sun.

My favourite season has finally arrived. May there be more days like these this summer.

outside place

Ulla on my outside place. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Posted by nini in House plants, Outside, outside place, Plants, 0 comments