Fair-y frenzy

I did think I'd spend more than two hours at the Helsinki Spring Fair. It was my first time, and it was interesting but rather different from what I expected. I thought there'd be more stuff for small-time gardeners, tools and such, and opportunities to buy e.g. soil, border stones, yard carpentry work and so on at a discount. I expected a heavy presence by Plantagen and Bauhaus, selling houseplant gear, garden furniture, and decorative features. Instead, it was mostly manufacturers' booths featuring power tools, outdoor jacuzzis, entire log cottages, and presentation pieces showing entire small (extremely fake) gardens of unimaginative design. There were half a dozen booths where you could buy plants, and they were very crowded. Flower shops sold tulips, scillas, daffodils and other typical spring plants at prices higher than your average supermarket.
Mr Thumb and I had a good time, though, even though we're not in the market for a jacuzzi larger than our bathroom and sauna combined, or a stone patio, or a robot lawnmower. We looked at solar panels for the cottage (... and I'll talk more about that later!), found out that there are incinerating toilets with the heart-breaking brand name of Cinderella, and laughed our arses off at those jacuzzis. I mean really, one of them was fake marble! :D  I'm sorry now I didn't take a picture.

Nice plants, nice water feature (which to Mr Thum looked
like a mortar shell), nowhere to buy such water features.

This one I want. This is awesome. 

This might be a nice thing to put in the middle
of the lawn in the back yard.

This is what the turf bricks that make up the
flowerbed now falling apart must have
looked like when brand new. 

Mr Thumb bought me tulips, once I had gently hinted that I
wanted some. I subtly said: "Buy me some of those tulips."

Bulbs, roots, things... I may have lost it a bit.
Also, I have no idea at this point what it was I bought :D 

I'll leave you to simmer in anticipation a bit longer, waiting for the post about that cottage...

More spring greenery

This spring is very different from last year. A year ago I was still waiting for the snows to melt, and after they did I had to clear the flowerbeds of a layer of slimy brown plant matter. This year, I'm busy wondering if the greenery that the melting snows reveal will just carry on from where it left off in the autumn, seeing as it looks completely alive!

The front yard is still covered in snow, though.

But in the back yard, everything is pushing up through the soil.

I'm astonished to find that these things survived the winter!
They're potted hydrangeas I was given last year and planted
"temporarily" just to see what would happen.

Woodsquill (Scilla siberica, idänsinililja).

Daylilies.

Daffodils.

Crocuses are cropping up all over the lawn
because hey, that's where I planted them!

The skunk currant (lamoherukka) is putting forth leaves.

Yesterday I very inexpertly trimmed two crabapple trees, but left the sourcherry alone because we returned Mr Thumb's dad's handy extensible trimmers and I couldn't reach the branches.

Life will out

It's spring! All the things are sprouting!

Tulips!

Daylilies!

More tulips!

Peonies and even more tulips!

Even more even more tulips! And... uh.. um.

Hydrangeas / hortensiat

If you want a big bush, prune lightly in early spring or in the autumn after flowering, just removing  the wilted flowers; this gives smaller flowers but encourages growth. For larger flowers, prune more strongly, e.g., half the annual growth.

When young, water regularly and do not let dry out. Older plants only need extra water in very dry conditions (such as the summer of 2018).

The best time to move it is in the autumn after the leaves have fallen.

(More info in Finnish)

Planting peonies

I'm considering alternating phlox and peonies for the mostly-sunny flowerbed, so noting down related stuff here.

Plant peonies in the early autumn and it'll flower in the spring. Weed and clean the bed well. Do the same in the spring and maybe put some sand on top, so the surface stays well-ventilated. Here's more about planting: https://www.meillakotona.fi/artikkelit/istuta-pioni-oikein-ja-se-kukkii-jo-ensi-kesana.

Plant the phlox on the spring. Divide the roots with a sharp knife and replant at a distance of 35-40 cm. More: https://www.meillakotona.fi/artikkelit/syysleimu-on-todellinen-perennakaunotar-nain-takaat-pitkaan-kestavan-kukkaloiston.

Awkward growths

And while we're on the subject of fails... I'm not sure that this really is one, and in any case it's not mine \o/  :D but something needs to happen with that crabapple tree. The way the tree has been pruned has the tree full of awkward angles and tangles.

Yes, one branch is supporting the other while passing over and under itself.

The tree is also full of dead twigs, even quite large ones, as you can see.

Too late to do anything about it before next spring (although I did cut off some really annoying and ugly dangly things), but I'm thinking quite a lot of it needs to come off.

EDIT: Madam Guru pointed out that my information was in error and that it is, in fact, okay to prune the crabapple in late summer. Yay! Pics will be coming up soon, no doubt.

Learning experience

Telecommuting today! It was too hot to sit outside working, but I took breaks to water the hydrangeas (which, to my mild surprise, are still alive) and to just sit and have coffee and pulla. I'm beginning to relax about the yard; so what if the lawn isn't perfect and I don't know the name of every single plant? I'm going to make all the mistakes anyway, I might as well get as much enjoyment in between the facepalms as I can.

In the evening I drove my younger daughter S to meet a friend and took the chance to visit Marketanpuisto, a huge showcase garden for companies and a nice destination for a day trip. Even somewhat pressed for time it was an educational visit. When you look up plants online the pictures are always idealised, showing someone's gorgeous specimen at the height of the growing season. Going to Marketanpuisto in springtime, even this late, shows the reality.

Plants don't always look very alive in spring, I'm beginning to realise.

I think this might be our hedge!

I found many familiar plants, including two of our evergreens and several options for what those bushes next to the deck might be. The primary result, though, was that I now have a wish list a mile long...

What a totally gorgeous leaf <3

 

Now these are what I want for that vague nook in our garden, but I can't find them anywhere. ... And when I say anywhere I mean Plantagen, the only gardening shop where I'm anywhere near my comfort zone.

This is so lovely, I adore the drooping branches. I want this to grow on my grave. And there should be a little stone bench and a bird bath.

 

Look at that colour! Lovely golden green.

Love the little bobbles!

How's this for a life goal, then? :D

The park also displays lots of building materials and garden features, as well as different types of plant arrangements.

I plan to go back, hopefully with Madam Guru, a bit later in summer. My wish list will likely not get shorter.

Hedge fun

The Internets told me that spring cleaning a hedge involved clearing out all the dead leaves and twigs from inside it. It took hours, but it was hugely therapeutic!

Here's the mess I started with. Also squirrels <3

I mean seriously.

Guess which side is done!

I hope my tetanus shot is still valid...

Here's the result (sadly without squirrels).

The hedge is so happy! I could swear these weren't there when I started.

Mr Thumb, who got to carry off all the dead stuff, is also happy. I hope.

Things that I learned:

• Get gloves that cover your arms. Ouch.
• When poking in the undercroft fluffing up dead stuff, keep your mouth shut.
• There's always good slapstick potential with a rake and a garden hose.

Spring cleaning continues

 I'm still not entirely well after overdoing things in the garden and losing my voice entirely on Monday, but, well. I was going to go for a nice little walk, peeked into the yard, thought "I'll just rake the lawn while I'm here" and ninety minutes later I'd cleaned the whole place and put in fertiliser. Oops.

Who can stay away from all this green!

I'm thinking of putting up proper trellises, cutting down the vines entirely and letting them regrow with more support. Is it too late for that this year?

Look how tidy! 

Even the front yard is looking nicer.

Cleaning frenzy!

I got the sunnier flowerbeds cleaned and dead stuff removed today, and the yard is looking much nicer. Clipped off a few rose stalks that had snuck to our side of the fence from the neighbour's big bushes and, in a reverse procedure, trimmed the pachysandra before it could spread all the way to the public footpath just outside the fence. The lawn is dotted with holes I dug with the "dandelion drill" to exterminate the pesky things; I've got to say that if there's only one plant you reliably recognise and know how to deal with, it helps if it's dandelions!

Like zombies, the first flowers are beginning to push through the soil.

Today's efforts were hampered by a cough and a sore throat, which I'm studiously ignoring. Not quite sure if it's a great idea, but hey, at least I got some stuff done.

Panorama of the yard in its current state. Yes, that's snow.

I was watching a UK gardening show that cheerfully stated: "Our growing season is from April to November, by mid-April you should definitely be getting the first crops." Felt like giving them the finger. Our front yard's still full of snow, and everything will be dead by the end of September.