Marketanpuisto, part deux

Myself, Mr Thumb and younger daughter S went to Marketanpuisto together. Everybody played Pokémon Go, and I and Mr Thumb admired plants.

Bonsai birches!

This looks just really great, the rhythm is good and somehow the plants showcase each other. 

I'm thinking of filling the sunny side of the fence with peonies in the future. These were awesome.

Grey alder with tufty leaves (alnus incana f. angustissima, hapsuharmaaleppä). Love it!

This just looks really good. Much better in real life than in the pic :/

New stuff

I'm on my way out to buy some more plants. It's really hard to stick to the plan of sitting out the first year and watching the garden develop! For example, this bit:

None of these are my favourite plants and the whole spot is just a mess! I don't know how to tidy up the monster flowerbed on the right, since it's got three or four plants mixed together (some might be milkweed, but I like milkweed so I'm letting them be, especially since I'm not sure). As far as the bushes on the right (that I can't ID just now and can't be bothered to google, though it's a really common plant) are concerned, they're really not my ideal plants. I'd like to dig up the lot and replace them with something a bit more, well, less bushy.
But for now I'm just going to stick to buying a few pots and things and plopping flowers in them. For example, a square planter with legs filled with bright colours would go great in the corner of the front yard where grass tends not to grow:

By the way, is anyone able to identify that bush in the foreground? It shows no signs of flowering and every sign of not being pruned earlier. I'm thinking that eventually we could dig that up and have a big planter with a kitchen garden full of herbs there.

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.