"But why would I want a yard?"

Before I had a yard of my own, I had no clue why I'd ever want one. I mean, our block of flats had a common yard, free for everyone to hang out in, with swings and jungle gyms for the kids and big swathes of lawn for the adults to lie on blankets and get a tan. Going outside with the kids was a bit of a chore sometimes, to be honest, and I managed to sit or lie outside reading maybe a total of ten times in fourteen years, but still--there's nothing to do outside, I thought.
Now that we have our very own yard, though--how different everything is! I could sit outside all day. On Saturday I fell asleep on the lawn for half an hour, not even on a blanket or anything (I just had to lie down because the grass was so cool and green and, well, oops). On Sunday we grilled yummy food and sat with a friend for hours, talking and feeling peaceful.
I'm so happy we took the chance and moved here.

Hanami

The first bloom, May 19. Finally!

Three days later <3

Tonight.

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.

Beautiful spring

So today I broke out my real camera :)

Bestest time

I'm enjoying myself immensely. Just wanted everyone to know that.

Let me see your identification

We have a map of the garden, some of the plants have come up now and you'd think it would be fairly simple to google each of the plants on the map to identify the actual plants. Well, not doing so great thus far.

EDIT: Help has been received! Thank you Ms Rose Mountain. I've now edited in the actual names of the plants.

Alchemilla (poimulehti) which could go in salads or medicate an upset stomach or menopause(!). That was easy, since Madam Guru already ID'ed that for me.

Cornflower (vuorikaunokki). I recognise it from the pictures, of course, and honestly I'm not too fond of it. Let's see if it manages to change my mind.

Pachysandra (varjoyrtti) had spread. These extras are now removed.

Bleeding heart (pikkusydän). 

 Loosestrife (tarha-alpi), which tends to spread - no kidding, the thing is everywhere. This would be the thing on the map that reads "something yellow that blooms in July".

Peony (pioni), clean up in spring, divide and replant in late summer. This one's on the map, yay.

Cowslip (kevätesikko), also good for salads. When it's done blooming, divide and replant.

Phlox (syysleimu).

Creeping jenny, or moneywort (suikeroalpi), grown for ground cover and needing no care.

Flowering raspberry (tuoksuvatukka) which should produce berries later, unless it's as dead as it looks. It's on the map. The green stuff, though, is ground elder (vuohenputki), basically a weed but also good for salads and for gout and bladder problems!
("Ground elder" makes me think of "mummy brown", actual Egyptian mummies ground to dust for pigment, though I suppose it refers to the plant elder. Which in turn reminds me of the elder wand.)

Skunk currant (lamoherukka). Good ground cover and nice colours in the autumn. Remove dead stuff in early spring.

Daylily (päivänlilja). Flowers briefly. On the map, marked where it should be. Keep well watered.

Pachysandra (varjoyrtti). Do Not Disturb except to remove excess. These were ID'ed earlier and they're on the map, so wheee.

Tulips (which I'm able to recognise all on my own). The blue one is glory-of-the-snow (kevättähti).

There are also supposed to be some awesomely named gay feathers (valkotähkä) here somewhere but I couldn't find any.

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.