• Kitchen garden,  media,  photography,  summer

    Late Summer

    This picture is my entry to Gardening Gone Wild’s Picture This competition for this September. This is a link to the same picture that allows the picture to be saved. I had a hard time picking my entry, I like the picture above, I just wish it would be a bit better technically. Still the dahlias lined up in a fantastic way and the weather was co-operating, so I’m mostly pleased. The picture is a few years old and taken with my old camera. I’ve cropped it a bit and I’ve removed a small bug in Photoshop. It took a few tries to get the light right in the background…

  • photography,  summer

    Lens on Loan

    Clematis ’Caerulea Luxurians’ I had an opportunity to test my photographer friend’s 100mm macro lens. It allows a shallow depth of field, it might have been f 1.6, but say at least f 2.8, I don’t really remember. It was really fun, my own 50mm lens that can manage f 1.4, doesn’t allow me to get quite as close to flowers. Sain lainata valokuvaajaystäväni 100mm macro objektiivia jolla saa otettua syvyysterävyydeltään jopa f 1.6, tai f 2.8 aukon kuvia. En oikein muista tarkalleen mikä se luku oli. Sitä oli kuitenkin hauska testailla, oma 50mm putkeni jonka saa f 1.4 aukolle ei kestä aivan samanlaisia lähietäisyyksiä. Jag fick låna 100mm macro objektiv med…

  • photography,  summer,  woodland

    Summer Light

    Summer finally came along, and the garden shows some of its best sides. You could be mistaken and think I mostly have a white flowering garden based on some recent posts, but actually, I’m quite fond of colors, they just don’t show themselves that much at this time of the year. The Azaleas aren’t behaving themselves and most aren’t flowering this year. Kesä tuli vihdoinkin ja puutarha näyttää parhaita puoliaan. Voisi luulla että minulla on enimmäkseen valkoisesti kukkiva puutarha joidenkin viime aikaisten postausten perusteella, mutta oikeastaan pidän paljon väreistä, ne eivät vain näy niin selkeästi tähän aikaan vuodesta. Atsaleatkin niskoittelevat ja eivät suurimmilta osin kuki tänä vuonna. Det blev äntligen…

  • photography,  spring,  woodland

    My Magnificent Magnolia

      The picture above is my entry for the Picture This Contest on Gardening  Gone Wild. I have Right Click inabled here, so THIS is a link to a downloadable picture. Magnolias are border line hardy in my neck of the woods, so this Magnolia kobus var. borealis that I bought in Sweden and planted in 2002 is a particular darling of mine. This year it is flowering with around a hundred flowers and it smells deliciously. While I took this picture I could hear the sound of a hundred thousand hockey fans celebrating (in the very very far distance) the Finnish Ice Hockey World Championship gold at the market square…

  • books,  media,  photography

    The Best Book Party Ever

    Okay, the only book party I’ve ever been to, but it was for the best book in my gardening life. Two of my fellow graduates from gardening school, Stina Pyrrö (text) and Hanna Marttinen (pictures) have made a beautiful and resourceful book, “Puutarhan vihreä vuosi“,  together that was just recently published. They arranged a launch party and were nice enough to invite me. The pictures, the text and the layout work together in a beautiful way. It’s my hand in the picture touching a ‘White Triumphator’ tulip among Phalaris arundinacea ‘Picta’ in my garden. I love the realness of this book; ordinary things become beautiful when they are genuinely captured. No…