The Garden Update

It was raining on Thursday and Friday. Good. The garden needed a good watering and I needed some rest! This first weeding and clearing the garden in Spring is always the most demanding; maintain it after is easy. The most of the plants reached the final size and have flower buds. Iris sibirica, the Siberian iris, and Iris barbata or bearded irises are in full bloom.

I have several cultivars of Siberian irises in mixed borders. 

In front of the borders, silver foliage and white flowers make a good combination. Here are Stachys byzantina and Cerastium tomentosum (Snow-in-Summer).

Saturday was cloudy but the rain stopped. I went into fields to pick up some Elder flowers. Elder grows in natural hedges along the roads and fields and the river banks. Each year I make Elder syrup. It is quite easy to make. My recipe requires 44 big inflorescence of  Elder, seven liters of water, the juice of 5 lemons, 3 - 4 kg of sugar and 100 g of citric acid (the crystallized citric acid can be bought in shops).

Cut off the stalks and put the flowers into 3 l of water and leave it overnight. Do not wash the flowers because you need the pollen.

The next day, drain it through the clean clothe, add lemon juice and citric acid. Add another 4 l of water and sugar. Some people dissolve the sugar over heath, but I only stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves completely. Actually, I add citric acid and sugar to taste. 

The syrup can be made of berries as well but be careful to pick up the right ones! There is also herbaceous Dane-worth that looks like Elder and has the same type of black berries. These may cause diarrhoea. 

Mid-May Bloomers

Clematis in full bloom.

Paeonia 'Rubra Plena', an old sort of peony.

Verbena in a hanging basket enhances the terrace.

Herbs on the terrace: sage, rosemary...

California poppy folds the petals over night.

Cactus

It is so lovely that I don't want to waist the words describing it's beauty...

In the Veg Garden

Warm weather and the reasonable amounts of rain do the miracle for the ornamental and vegetable garden as well. My broad bean is doing well and developed the first flowers. Once the ground is warm and wet, I put the straw mulch around it. 

The dwarf and climbing beans popped out in just a few days. This is the dwarf bean with purple pods called 'Amethyst'. I am curious to see it. 

Garlic, planted in Autumn last year and lettuce are growing nicely. It is great having ones own vegetable in the garden. The garlic from supermarkets is imported from, (where else!?) China! When you cooked it or put it into salads it turns green!

And, finally, I expect a very good crop of Red Currant this year. It looks great, lots of tiny fruit all over the bushes.

I will certainly make some red currant jelly. I love it's taste in the Christmas cookies.

The Third Flower Show in My Town

Well, the flower show was terrific in spite of the rain that started to fall round noon. I sold almost all of my items and closed my shop at four o'clock in the afternoon. I too wanted to take a proper look around and buy some plants.

I won't share any pictures of the flower diversity displayed on the numerous stands because pretty much we have seen them all. I want to show you some interesting features used as decoration on greens around the flower show. Anything may be a planter, even this old car above. Or, this old bedroom furniture...

...kitchen table...

...recycled light bulbs...

This 'potty' family made everyone smile...

'Old ruined house'

A horse of straw and...

...the real one. Lots of fun for the children.

Rain?

In the rock garden.

I really don't believe my eyes! Everywhere around my town is raining but here! And, some rain would be so nice to the thirsty ground. I am just looking at the black clouds upon the hills in the distance and hearing the thunder... Fresh breeze is coming in through the open window.
I have packed my hipertufa planters for tomorrow's flower show. The show literally takes place behind the fence of my garden - in the town park. At least I don't have to carry my products a long way.




I managed to make some tea light holders as well. I used small flower pots as molds and decorated  the upper side with some pebbles. I think they will look great at the garden table.




The white Bleeding Heart planted last year has the first flowers. The plant is small and tender, looks almost shy among well established plants that surround it. what a lovely white hearts, don't you think so?

Lilac and Yellow

Finally, the garden is getting the color. The lilac is in full bloom. If you could only sense the scent that comes with the wind! In the rock garden, the yellow Alyssum saxatile draws the most attention. This is the cultivar 'Corbeille d'Or', or 'Basket of Gold, the name well deserved.

The plant seeds itself well. In the semi-shade part of my garden the tree peony produces lots of pink flowers.  I just love it. I have another bush in the other part of my garden but the plant is, for so far unknown reason,  slowly dying. I am really devastated because this bush was big and had as many as 30 flowers at once. Cats again? I sow one of the branch scorched...

Laburnum, The Golden Chain has lots of yellow racemes this year.  Just love it!

I really don't know if I have told you the story about black magic in my garden. I do not believe in this stuff, but am aware that there are people who do that. And, yes, it still exists in our modern age. 

Last year, by weeding the central flower bed in my garden, I found the dead chicken buried shallow into the ground. The chicken was fresh and had the head chopped off! I found it on the spot where I stopped weeding the day before and continued that particular day. That's probably how I have discovered it.

I told my story to an old women and she asked immediately if I had found some chicken egg as well! It seems she knew about these things. I was amazed.

I have forgotten all about it but, yesterday I have found the egg hidden into Phlox in my rock garden! I did some trimming and clearing of the Phlox that lost the cushion shape and there it was, the chicken egg under the entangled stems of the Phlox! I could not believe my eyes.

That old women told me I should burn that chicken and the egg. Well, I did not burn the chicken last year, but I will burn this egg. The egg was there the whole winter, it looks old, so it must be buried at the same time as the chicken.

I really have no idea who would have done something like that because I tend to keep a good relationship with people. Maybe is someone jealous with my garden?

Is this a crazy story or what!?

Hypertufa Planters

Last Friday I was busy making the planters of hypertufa. I made lots of planters because I will have my own stand at the flower show next Sunday here where I live. 

I made them in all shapes and sizes, with handles and without, round and rectangular. Because of the very warm weather we have they were dry enough by today to be planted. I mostly used Sempervivums and Sedums, succulent plants that can survive poor growing conditions. I also used some small ferns that grow on the walls and thyme as well. So, here, there are some of my pot gardens.

The plants need some time to establish and fill in the small gaps but even now, it look all good to me!

Ornamental Cherry

My ornamental cherry tree is blooming at the moment. The tree is small. I have planted it in Autumn  2011 and this is the first time the tree has so many flowers.

The cultivar name is 'Royal Burgundy', because of the deep burgundy red foliage. The flowers are set in clusters and have multiple pink colored petals. I wanted the tree with multiple interest, flowers in Spring and red foliage during the whole growing season.

I know, it will take a lot of years to have big cherry tree but I love this one of mine just the way it is now. 

And, this is the big old cherry tree in my mother's friend front yard.

Going Easy Today

What a place to make a nest! I found it in my

other shed where I keep a lawnmower and my bike. I too keep there a couple of wood planks and some tools such as these rakes where some birdie made the nest upon. So cute. The nest is empty but I will leave it to see whether it is from the last season or the this one.

This is my new compost bin. I used four old palettes to make it; simple and easy. My work today was more relaxing, no digging but only tiding up and clearing my potting place. I got a big old wooden table from my mother's friend who is moving into a flat. She also said I can dig up all the plants I want from her garden. I am so happy. Now I have so many space to stack up pots and place water bottles and potting tools. Tomorrow, I will go to get the plants from her garden and sow the flower seeds outdoors.

 

Maybe I find the time to mow the lawn again!