Daisies in the dry grass. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
Since the beginning of May it has been extremely sunny, warm and dry for being Sweden. I’ve spent a lot of time outdoors, in the sun, gardening and sun-bathing. I love this kind of weather, but it is too dry for the greenery. Grass is now brown-beige instead of green. And all the greenery is developing much too fast. If I hadn’t shot pictures of flowers and bushes and all that grows I would have missed out of what is happening in the garden as it happens so fast this year.
Lambs ear “Big Ear”. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
There has been a lot of watering of the flowerbeds and bushes, but everyone is asked to save the water and not water lawns. My lambs ear plants, “Big Ear”, will bloom this year as well as it did last year. Flowers are on the way.
Two kinds of honeysuckle. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
The two kinds of honeysuckle, one pink and white and one orange, are blooming a lot presently and growing a lot as well. They are both attached to this rose-bow making an opening to the back-garden. Unfortunately these two honey-suckle plants have no fragrance what so ever. But the attract bees and bumblebees and lice anyway. Don’t look too close on it because it is full of greenish lice…
Wild wine. Photo:©nini.tjader.2018
The wild wine on the new rose-bow is growing fine as well and is covering the newest rose-bow more and more. Earlier years it has just crept along the fence of my patio and not really been seen. It likes this much better.
Rose-bows. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
Both rose-bows have a sun-charged lamp at the top of them. Lamp comes from IKEA. Above you can see both bows and the flowers-bed along the outside of my patio.
The climbing hortensia. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
The climbing hortensia on the backside of the highest wall of my patio has more flowers this year than last. Last year it hade two flowers. This year there are about 16 flowers. To the great joy of the bumble-bees and the bees. They are blooming as best just now and the whole wall is sounding from the bumble-bees.
Climbing hortensia. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
It took some six years or so for the climbing hortensia to start blooming. More flowers next year?
We were asked to oil the tree-planks of the patios with a tree-oil with black pigments this years. So all patios are now black. Except for the backside of my high plank as I didn’t want to disturb the climbing hortensia when it blooms. I will do the backside by autumn when leaves start to fall off but before it gets too cold to do the job.
The backgarden. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
The back-garden, outside the windows of a neighbour, is as unkempt as ever. Only I can get to it. I cut the rose-bushes down to around 20 cm of heights in earlier spring, but the bushes are up again, despite the dry weather. You cannot really get rid of those bushes unless you dig them up. That’s what I’ve done in the rest of this area plus together with my neighbour in the front area where the actual garden is. It used to be all thorny bushes everywhere once upon a time.
The trees at the very end of this area that were cut down some years ago are coming up again though… mirabelle-trees.
The box. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
The box in the backgarden is coming along fine. The chives, the dragon, the lemon balm all survived the winter. I’ve planted new parsley (three plants) and new oregano (2 plants). A third oregano is also in the box, moved to there from a flowerbed along the fence. I’ve also planted oregano in two pots on the patio and already cut it down and dried what was in them to make it grow more oregano. Last year I grew too little oregano. It didn’t last the winter so I had to go out and buy dried oregano.
Along the patio. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
On the outside of the aptio I have three long flowerboxes with red pelargonias haning above the flowerbed. The flowerbed under it had nothing but crocus in it in April. Now everything else is coming up and it will soon be blooming there.
Mint and peppermint. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
The mint and peppermint flowerbed is filled to the brim with the growing plants. There will be no shortage of mint this year… So far no bugs on it eating the leaves, But they might still come…
Along the patio towards the backgarden. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
The hostas/funkias at the end of the flowerbed, at the foot of the rose-bow with the two honeysuckles, are just getting larger for each year that passses. Particularly the all green one. The white and green is smaller.
Astilbe. Photo: ©nini-tjader.2018
The three astilbes (2 white, one pink) have flowerbuds and will soon bloom. That is early…
Digitalis. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
The digitalis are coming up along the fence as well. Not as many as last year, but enough to be decorative.
Digitalis. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
The digitalis grow fast. You can almost see them grow from day to day. Which colors they will be this year remains to be seen.
The hostas/funkias. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
Above you can see the hostas/funkias as they presently look. They will still get bigger and later get flowers. The green with white edges IS bigger this year than last, but the all green is huge.
Below is the corner by the entrance from the garden as it presently looks. The hollyhocks are in another position this year (moved themselves), the yellow honeysuckle seem to be dying and its drastically cut down, but everything else in this flowerbed is fine. To keep the flowerbeds and all plants alive there has to be regular watering (evenings) or the dry and warm weather would kill it all. Enough that the grass is not green… No, we are not forbidden to water, but asked to do it wisely and be carful with how the water is used.
I will report from the front garden another day.
By the entrance from the garden. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018
