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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…
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Spring Sprint
Magnolia kobus var. borealis There is still a little snow behind my house, but even so: Spring has arrived! Taloni takana on vielä hiukan lunta, mutta siitä huolimatta: Kevät on täällä! Det finns ännu en aning snö bakom mitt hus, men trots det kan man säga att: Våren är här! Narcissus triandrus ‘Katie Heath’ Erythronium ‘Pagoda’ Plagiorhegma dubium – varjonäkki – presidentsippa Sanguinaria canadensis ‘Multiplex’ I got both the Sanguinaria canadensis ‘Multiplex’ and the Plagiorhegma dubium from a sweet old lady who was also an expert gardener back in 2004. She passed on a few years later and her garden has since been lost. I always remember her fondly when “her”…
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The Imperial Flower
Peonies have been cultivated in China for at least 1500 years, so it’s not surprising that the Chinese can show them off in spectacular ways. Peonies are featured in art, in everyday life and in spectacular plantings. They are probably best celebrated in Luoyang where I visited the famous Peony Festival. The Festival is not one event, but fabulous plantings in several parks with a lot of commercial (I’ve never before seen so much so overt capitalism as in China) activities surrounding them. Even the hospital is peony themed – Sairaalakin on pioniteeman mukainen – T.o.m. sjukhuset följer piontemat Pioneja on kasvatettu Kiinassa ainakin 1500 vuotta, joten ei ole mikään…