Autumn impressions from Småland

After this tropical week here in Småland, we went upp north to Dalarna for some days. It was very cold, we winter already 😳. Back home it's like autumn again. It feels we didn't have summer at all. It can be very friendly sunny, but also very stormy, cold and windy. Don't forget the rain. It has been raining soooo much, the level in the lake is quit high again. 

When you think there is nothing happening at this moment, because the open garden is closed.... You're wrong. It's busy season again. Hands on. It keeps going as long as the weather is ok. That means the daily temperature is above 7 degrees (everything keep growing) and there's no endless rain.

I have the feeling I've been cutting the grass by hand endless. The outside parts and totally in the back of the garden. It takes about 3-4 hours, depending on the highs and wetness. I'm happy I had some help from Herbie (Herman officially). But he's get little older already, sometimes behaving like a crazy old man. That means he's more quick getting out of battery and not finding his home anymore. Or taking his own way sometimes in the opposite direction he needs to go. Or missing the guiding cable continuously so we have to help him getting back home. But we are still happy for working everyday and hope he will keep on moving. 

For now I need to make a totally round in the garden for cleaning up from weeds. When I don't do it before winter it will develop quicker as the "show" plants and it will be more and more difficult to get it away. In the end the weeds will kill the plants. When I have enough time left (and the plants can root before frost is coming in) I can start splitting the plants to make the groups of sorts some bigger. In the end it should be totally filled upp like a painting, where the weeds don't get a chance any more. 

When I started this garden at first I started making places free from weeds because the garden was totally overgrown. After that I started planting with the first plants and find a place where they were doing well. Some plants had to move several times, till you could see they liked it over there. It took a while, because the ground and circumstances are very different in my garden. The back is very acid and wet (special in autumn and winter). The front is sandy, dry and very sunny, special in spring (the plants burn easily). In the middle you will find heavy chalky clay. 

Another jobb I had to do was cutting back the wild raspberries in the back. They liked the rain so much that they started invading the garden in the back, at the compost site. When you only cut them down it will stimulate them to make even more new shoots. So I tried to get them out as far as possible. Around the compost place it was groing like crazy anyway, good food and lot's of water 😅. When I have to run inside for the rain I can organize my seeds which I have been collecting last weeks. They have been drying now and will go inside before frost comes too.

I already moved my two varieties of French Geraniums inside, they don't like the wet weather at all. In Sweden they call it English Pelargon but only because they once got them from England. I think that's the same reason why we call them French. Originally they come from Afrika. But guess what, they start flowering again now. I took some cuttings in early spring, I sold some of them in summer and they are doing so well. The funny thing is, I really like them. But I was a little afraid of buying them: in The Netherlands they say when you are getting old and you only will sitt behind the Geraniums because you start doing nothing anymore. But don't worry, it's the opposite right now. Sometimes I walk 5 km a day while working i'm my garden and I can ensure you, you won't need a gym anymore. Only a yoga session for cooling down the painful muscles 😂. 

Some months ago I told you already. We have been chasing the hare(s) a lot. She was really provocating us. Eating the young plants who just came out, destroying my gladiolas or cutting the all buttons of new flowers build up for this year, even on my terrace. We surrounded the garden with extra chicken-wire twice. We had often extra inspections of all places she could go under the fence and locked it directly. We closed the entry gates extra and made extra fences to protect the vulnerable plants she loved the most. It was really cat and mouse game, driving me crazy. I've been to an enthusiastic garden neighbor lately in the middle of the woods. She didn't have any fence att all, but no problems with hares (only some badgers scraping in the grass) and a garden full of flowers. Even the ones who had been eaten at my place. We couldn't understand why.

During summer something changed. In the end of July a youngster was born again. We were very happy it was outside of our garden, this time.... in our neighbors garden. Maybe this could make the difference? We think so, because they always return to the places they are born.... or she grew too thick and she couldn't manage go under the fence anymore. We didn't see her anymore and didn't find any damage anymore since August. A big relief for now! Let's see what happens next year, I think we have to close the gates before the youngsters are born. For now I hope last week will be the last time of cutting the grass and will go on picking weeds, when the today rain will finish in time....

By the way: we closed the plantmarket at the roadside now for this season (växtloppis är stängt också nu). We like to see you back next spring.