• winter

    Climate Envy

    I follow a few garden firms and garden magazines on facebook. Some of them have nice updates and link to good sites, but this time of the year they can be a bit annoying. The culprit this time around was gardenersworld. They linked to “tasks of the week” and it was PLANTING bare root roses… yeah, maybe in three months time around here. Ilmastokateus Seuraan muutamaa puutarhayritystä, muita puutarhatekijöitä ja puutarhalehteä Facebookin kautta. Muutamilla on ihan hyviä postauksia ja ne linkittävät kiinnostaviin saitteihin, mutta tähän aikaan vuodesta ne voivat myös olla hiukan ärsyttäviä. Tällä kertaa syyllisenä oli gardenersworld. Ne linkittivät ”viikon puutarhatehtäviin”, ja heillä se tarkoitti paljasjuuristen ruusujen ISTUTTAMISTA… jep,…

  • shopping

    What I Also Wanted to Get

    Ordering plants from Jürgen Peters yesterday I was also severely tempted to get a nice posse of Auriculas. However, I showed some restraint and I decided to wait another year or so until I could think of a nice place for these showy small plants. A few years ago I explored the student/budget way of getting a nice collection of Auriculas. I bought a packet of seed and raised those plants but they were a bit of a disappointment. Out of the packet that was supposed to give a fairly diverse collection of Auriculas, all of the plants looked more or less like the ones I snapped below. Primula Auricula-hybrids:…

  • shopping,  woodland

    The Danger of Free Time

      Having the flu and having time off this time of the year means a certain danger of succumbing to on-line shopping. I’m not talking about clothes shopping, though some of my friends would probably assume otherwise, but seed and plant shopping. For the first time in a few years I’ve had time to read seed catalogues thoroughly and also time to browse some old favourite suppliers. I usually make some purchases together with my mother (my main garden influencer) and then I’ve participated in large co-orders that some gardening societies make. The Finnish Rhododendron Society  usually orders from some large suppliers every year, I’ve participated a few times, though…

  • shopping

    I’m Hoping to Grow

    From left to right, top row: Antirrhinum ‘Opus Plum Blossom’ (PoD), Thunbergia alata ‘African Sunset’  (PoD), Thunbergia alata ‘Blushing Susie’ (T&M), Thunbergia alata ‘African Sunset’ (T&M), Antirrhinum ‘Cinnamon Bronze’ (PoD). Middle, left to right: Maurandya ‘Bridal Bouquet’ (PW), Aquilegia ‘Green Apples’ (PW), Cobaea scandens var. alba (PoD), Digitalis lanata ‘Cafe Creme’  (PoD). Bottom row, from left to right: Aquilegia ‘Black Barlow’ (PW), Meconopsis wallichii (PW), Meconopsis betonicifolia ‘Alba’ (PW), Cosmos ‘Collarette White’ (PoD) and Asarina procumbens (PW). Pictures form the supplier’s pages. I was thinking of renewing my aquilegias a bit, I love them and they are easy to raise, but unfortunately they are quite short lived. I’m thinking of getting at…

  • shopping

    Seed Catalogues 2011

    I’m trying to keep my seed sowing within a reasonable range this year. I’ve made an inventory of old seeds that should still be viable, and I’m only ordering a sensible (in my mind) amount this year. I’m also trying to weed out (pun intended) the frugal and in the long run not so smart purchases, i.e. I’m going to buy plants or bulbs of certain plants that would be difficult and slow to raise from seed anyway. To keep things within limits this year, I’m only getting seeds from commercial sources as seed exchanges and seed lists from garden societies have the ability to make anyone go over the…