• magazines,  media

    Gardens Illustrated has Gone Commercial

    The new cover in the middle, two old quite un-commercial favorites on each side, the one on the right is from before BBC took over.  Gardens Illustrated has Gone Commercial…. But only in comparison to itself. Gardens Illustrated is another one of my absolute favorite gardening magazines besides Garden Design.  Gardens Illustrated started out in gardening a little before me, my first issue seems to be the 1996/1997 December January issue, nr 23. Within a year of reading it I was a subscriber. I took a break at subscribing at some point, actually because I was annoyed at how un-commercial it was at that point. Even though I’m heavily into gardening…

  • books,  media

    The Garden’s Green Year

    The title of the post is a clumsy translation of a new gardening book by two of my old classmates and good friends from gardening school. I’m very proud of them, Stina Pyrrö, the author, was a reporter even before she came to gardening school and Hanna Marttinen, the photographer, did the same thing I did, i.e. studied some more after gardening school; in her case photography. Hanna is a fantastic photographer as well as one of my best friends and I’ve worked with her both in my day job and doing freelance work. Some of the pictures in the book have been previously published, which is why I’m in…

  • greenhouse,  travel,  winter

    Spring is Approaching

    Or to be more exact it is now possible to tell yourself that spring is approaching, since the sun can feel a bit warm when its shining and it actually shines a bit. I’ve had some heating in my greenhouse this winter. It hasn’t always kept it above freezing, but it looks like it’s been enough for my newest tree peony. It still grows in a pot and I remain hopeful that the Cordylines and at least a few of my Agapanthuses are alive. I fear my Coloacasia is a goner, but perhaps I’ll find a new bulb a the Spring Garden Fair in Helsinki in April. Kevät lähestyy – tai…

  • Kitchen garden

    Waiting for the Growing Season

    I have on today’s agenda to talk about the joys of kitchen gardening and organic growing with members of the media. That is now hardship for me since it is something I really enjoy. I’ve learned to “grow my own” mostly with my mother (pictured transplanting lettuce seedlings) and gardening school of course helped a bit.. Still, I share a kitchen garden with my mother (it is situated between our gardens) and it is with her that we browse the vegetable section of Graines Baumaux’s catalogue while our mouths are watering , and imagine what type of wonderful broccoli or tasty Asian veggies that we are going to try that…

  • travel,  winter

    A Berlin Break

    Florals the Berlin way. Kukkais-Berliiniä. Blommigt på Berlinvis. Going to Berlin had nothing to do with gardens, and that was a good thing because it really wasn’t the most flattering time of year in terms of garden experiences. Berlin has a lot of attractive sides, very stylish buildings and pretty parks, but the more interesting parts of Berlin are the rough and very urban parts with a bit of old east-Berlin architecture thrown in. En lähtenyt Berliiniin puutarha-ajatuksissa ja se oli kyllä hyvä, koska vuodenaika ei imarrellut kaupunkia ja hienoista puutarhakokemuksista oli vähän puutetta. Berliinissä on paljon kaunista, tyylikkäitä rakennuksia ja kauniita puistoja, mutta kiinnostavinta on se rähjäisempi erittäin kaupungistunut Berliini…