It has been so exciting! We started our open garden (or tea garden they say in the Netherlands 😉) beginning of June. Of course it was a challenge to fix everything in time. For me it was the first time to open up, so we needed to organize a basic outfit, such as coffee cups, a water can with communal water, enough chairs and tasty cakes but also a tiptop garden. Which actually ment some extra work. Most of them we managed so we could open.
We had some special events like the Lingonställen in the beginning of June 2022. It's a network of (mostly) small companies in the region of West Småland. The garden was perfect, the weather was too special on those two days. Though it had been raining a lot before (not so nice when you want to prepare). The only challenge left was the hare, who had been eating much more as last year. Last year we had some big Campanula's left (1 meter high) but this time they didn't come up at all because the hare was cutting the flowers like gras, same for all the Asters and Salvias. So we tried to protect a lot of plants with chicken wires and took away this irons just before the weekend. We were so happy we could welcome of a lot of people from the neighborhood as well from the Lingonstallen network.
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The garden was at it best around Midsommar. It was a big oasis of Daisies (Prästkragor), Columbines (Aquileias) and some left over Campanulas (Stor Blå Klockar). But of course, then we didn't open our garden but had nice time with nice food, beautiful summer weather and good friends around us.
After the first openings we decided to have a växtloppis (sort of selling of small self grown plants) outside of the garden which is opened every day. People can have a look, take the plants they want to buy and pay digital.
Normally the Tusen Garden event takes place around the last weekend of June. Because of Midsommar had took place a little later, beginning of July. It's an event of opened garden in total Sweden, from north to south. We had very nice garden weather again, not too warm not too rainy.
The Land Open Garden half of July was successful too. We were very happy surprised so much people found our garden. There were not that much gardens in this area to make a combination, only in the direction of Värnamo. A lot of Swedish families made a day trip to this part of the region in their holiday time.
In between we had several private openings too, without any supporting network. Of course, little less visitors but good days too. I like to meet people and have a talk about gardening, the old school building or the regions history. Some families have been living in this neighborhood for a long time.
It stays a challenge to manage nature 😜. They often say having a garden, is facing real life. With ups and downs, always something to solve or some extra challenge. It can be too dry, too wet or wild animals kill the plants you nourished for months without flowering this year.
And of course we are very dependent on dry weather, but till now only one weekend was very rainy but the positive side was, I ended up gardening and having fun for myself.
By the way, this summer season isn't over yet....so when you haven't been here, take your chance now!
Hope to see you...
Greetings from Brün
