Lingonrundan Påsk - för tidigt för trädgården

 

Busy times preparing a garden

 

Normally this is always the most busy time of the year in the garden, April and May. You have some advantage when you start weeding early, of course it is easier to weed when plants are still small. Beside of that, next weeks we will have the famous midgets and horseflies over here, they make it impossible to work outside. But most important reason we are very busy tight now, is that we will join the next lingonrundan in Västra Småland on the 4th and 5th of June 2022 (from 10-15 o'clock). You can visit our open garden in the beautiful scenery near the lake Flyxen, have some fika outside on a cosy place somewhere in our garden or buy some plants.

So we need to finish a lot of things to be ready the beginning of June. We are preparing the garden to be good looking, with a lot of flowers and without to much weeds or to high grass. We have been creative with pallets and branches.We have been growing a lot of seeds and small plants for selling.

We are very happy with the result. The garden is nearly ready now. The last week we can start baking cakes. We hope to see you beginning of June, so you can see it yourself, you're welcome 😉

Sjöbygget Sowing Season

Enjoy the view from our balcony in spring in this Småland area, it is so beautiful. At the left side we see often the cranes grazing and eating. It happens we wake up with their sound very early in the morning (the sound which you can not miss actually). They told us they often nest at the other side of the lake Flyxen. It is not a very big lake, but a very friendly one. Nice lake to walk or skate on in wintertime. Or take the boat to fish or to swim privately in Summertime.

Some of the growing seedlings

We are preparing for a new garden season, also planning to start up our trädgårdscafé finally. After some years of delay cause by Corona. Some weeks ago we started sowing a lot of plants, to sell in the växtloppis in summertime. They are growing fast and looking good. But they are still inside because it is too cold outside (actually it is -7 early in the morning, so the ground is still frozen 😳...). They are in one of the coolest rooms right now. Next step is to the greenhouse outside (when the forst is gone), what we are building on this moment. 

My new greenhouse

Working to prepare the lane around the veranda

Another thing we have to finish is our sheltered outdoor terrace, where you can pick the sun as well be out of the wind. We need to higher up the ground, prepare the lane and the wood needs to be finished and painted. Meanwhile I'm so happy to see more and more plants wake up after wintertime, like this Helleborus beneith. It looks so fresh and full of energy. 

A Helleborus starting to flower

In between these jobs I have been working on my newest project: making a bitch of branches. I found a picture on internet, a picture of a woman sculpture totally made out of branches. I really like to create it myself. I will keep you informed when it is finished. Hope to see you next time. For now a good evening from Sweden. Like they say in Sweden: Vi ses ✋!

Start of my gardening season

 

Of course, my thoughts are with the people in Ukraine fighting and suffering for freedom 💙💛. But there is so little we can do, accept praying an hoping for the best 🙏. Meanwhile I'm very happy to have a hobby to loose myself in, to take away my thoughts away for a while. I hope every one can find a way to handle this. 

Actually my new gardening season just started. It's still cold outside, but beautiful weather. Frosty in the nights. Blue skies, lots of sun and a frosty ground special in de shadow. Still very long shadows, the sun isn't that high yet. In two weeks we reach the summer half year with more light. We live in the Swedish climate zone 4-5, even in the south, in the middle of Småland. It can take till May before we get rid of the frost and really have spring temperatures. Sometimes we have some nice spring like days, mostly it changes all of a sudden into summertime beginning of May without a real spring feeling. 

We started cleaning up the left leaves from autumn (when the snow came in so suddenly and unexpected) and some souvenirs such as branches everywhere from the winter storms. Only some weeks to go and the garden will look totally fresh green like if there was no winter at all, a fresh full grown flowering garden. Unbelievable, there's so much power in natures DNA.

Now it's time to prepare, to give plants the best start ever. Today we have been cutting the willow tree too, it needs to be done every 2-3 years. We can use the branches to create a sculpture. We started cutting back old parts of grasses and plants. I prepared the beds outside for seeding in some weeks. Same time a tried to weed already a little, but actually it is still too cold for your fingers. 

At the same time we started to sow inside. I started with some early seeds, such as tomatoes, night beauties, Gazania, Gaura (Sommarljus), Petunia and Akleja. Around ten days later, they will germinate because of the warmth. Time to move them from my mini greenhouse to a cooler place in the house and saw a new round in the greenhouse. A lot of seeds cannot wait to grow...

So proud on the first seedlings...💚

Spring is coming soon: Crocus time in Småland Sweden

The landscape is still looking like after winter, its very brown. Just now there is a warning for "grassbrandrisk"(grassfire risk). But the garden is already wakening up very quick. When you look carefully you see things coming out again. Also the deer in my neighborhood noticed. So we had to make some protect for the fresh leafs coming out. Already for weeks we hope spring will come soon. Every week we think next week will be less cold, less winter. We managed the biggest part from winter, the last steps are always most difficult. It challenges your patience again. But maybe next week?

We have seen already the snowdrops coming through the wintercover. We took it off last week in the total garden. We did some pruning of bushes and trees. We planted some now trees. We checked of the plants had survived the severe winter temperatures for some weeks. It looks like most of the plants managed to get through, except those in the barn. We'll be sure next weeks. We were lucky because we had a lot of snow (it isolates), it good have been worse. 

It's Crocus time now in Småland, but they will be finished soon. We wait for some more sun and higher temperatures. It's getting better but feeling cold. We will wait for the yellow Påskliljor (Narcis), Blåsippa (Hepatica) and Vitsippa (Anemone)..... It's Eastern soon, have very cosy days together with your beloved ones.  It will be spring one day too!

Last year this time  we were very busy with repairing the garden after the sewer disaster.... I'm very happy that's far behind now 😇

Grandma's Swedish Early Spring flowers

Early spring it starts in our garden with wild Crocus and some later (Mars/April) with "svenska sippor". That means vit sippa (Forest-Anemone) , blå sippa (Hepatica) och vårlök (Ornithogalum), as you can see above. I'm always very happy to find some Hepatica's in our garden. Because it was so grown over, you wouldn't believe they were still growing. I'm making a little more place for them now, I protect them against the strong spreading and killing Sevenleafs. But it is getting better and better, after some years.

Fritillaria Meleagris

Viola Odorata

Some of my favorites are Fritelaria Meleagris, (Kungsängsliljor in Swedish, Lapwingflower in english) the brown and the white one, I really like them. They are so beautiful and so vulnerable. And they actually are. I think we had a hair hiking around (we live in the Swedish woods) which really liked this ones too. I was lucky I discovered in time, so I could save the other ones from being eaten. But they will flower next year. They need to stand in an wet area, best is in the gras.

Spanish Hyacint

Myosotis - Don't forget me

The spring flowers start every year again, no matter what. It makes me very happy. Nature just going on. No matter what i do or think. I try to create within the nature. A little going by the flow, what is nature bringing me. What is possible here? Which ground, is it sandy or clay? How much light they need? What about moisture? And then try to combinatie with colors, flowering times, leaf sorts, structure... It is like making a painting. In the grandma's style with a special touch of me.

Soon the other Spring flower will come...

Dreaming about plants

Today we have the perfect time to dream about gardening. When you have the Corona virus moving around and the weather is not as good as last weeks. T too bad for getting out and do some garden jobs outside. So today I made a small garden design for my neighbors. Just a circle of plants in the middel of a nature garden in Småland Sweden. A beautiful, flowery spot the year around without too much maintenance. With plants who can stand heavy hot sun from the south but also severe winter days in Swedish zon 5, so hardy as well. (oeps Sweden has its own numbers in climate zones, warmest is 1 and coldest is 8)

I love new creations in the garden, like painting with plants. I love to see nature growing, it makes me happy. It is always going on, no matter what happens. Whole my life I felt the connection with gardening and plants. My father told me all the latin plant names, as if they were Dutch common names. I got used to it. But it also filled my heart with pleasure. I can forget everything, working hard to maintain or just dream how to make it look better.

And you know what? We want to make it our future!

Corona brown in the green garden

Everything you give attention is growing. So its up to you, your choice...

My advice? Go out and get some energy. Go out in your garden and pay attention to the small things you see... See the plants changing, coming out. Starting up for a new season. You will see things you have never seen before, all though they were there. Green is the new energy (as I said before see: green is the new energy).
You will be out of your head after half an hour, having no more worries for a while. Losing the feelings of fear. It works for me. Sometimes a go out with a head full of problems about future. But I know also, I can not influence it right now, maybe later I can. For now a try to be as mindful as possible. On this moment we can not (travel for) work. So we stay at home. We only can wait and see for some weeks or months.



That's why we started gardening fulltime. Every day. It gives a lot of satisfaction.
It's good to see nature is going on as if nothing special has happened. The spring is coming now in Sweden. We see the plants growing. The bulbs we planted last autumn. We see the birds we have never seen before. At the same time we try to create a new garden, our garden. When we go inside, a little tired, feeling the hard physical work in your body. We like to see the results of the work of today. Last weeks the weather has been wonderful, really sunny days. When you are outside whole day, like we, you get a very healthy sun brown face... The so called Corona Brown look 😂




I just started to pick and celebrate each day. Thankful for the things around me right now. I'm sure, there will be better times again. Take care of each other with love where ever you are.

Big hugs from Sweden

Signs of spring in Småland Sweden

Sundet, lots of water

Let's hope spring will come soon in Sweden. It has been a very long and wet winter. There is too much water. The corona disease is getting around and causes a lot of fear and pain. Suddenly we feel very vulnerable ... We never thought that's possible. We feel confrontated with ourselves and mother Nature. But we have to believe we will come trough. We can trust ourselves. We are strong people, we will manage. We will find out not every thing is that important as we thought it should be. It will be alright one day. A little more sun and warmth form Nature would help a lot. Just try to see the small signs of nature in the circle of live. Everything will be back after some time. Today I saw the first cranes again, they from Africa and Spain. They are around the corner in my garden at the lake. It means the spring will come soon 😊

Lake side Vidöstern

After the storm last week...

First Crocus this week

Glad Påsk från Småland / Happy Easter from Småland

Today I decorated my home with some Easter branches. It is really looking good! They think that habit is from the bibles history. When Jesus came into Jerusalem they strew palm leafs on the roads and the people had palm leafs in their hands. In Sweden they take in Birch or Willow branches  and they decorate them with eggs and feathers.
Today Easter in Sweden is a mix form old and new, popular belief and religion. But in the first it is spring celebration day with family and friends. Every one has holiday, travels a lot and have a good meal together.
Easter Eve is the most important day with Easter, just like Christmas Eve. The celebrating is interwoven med big Easter eggs filled with sweeties and Easter food with a lot off eggs. I  wish you a Happy Easter!

***

Idag pyntade jag mitt huset med Påskris. Det ser jättefint ut! Man tror att Påskris kommer från Jesu intåg i Jerusalem då man strödde palmkvistar på vägen och hade palmkvistar i händerna. I Sverige tar vi in björkris eller sälg och dekorerar riset med ägg och fjäder.

Idag är Påsken i Sverige en blandning av gammalt och nytt, av folktro och religion. Men framförallt är påsken en vår högtid man firar med familj eller vänner. Då vi är lediga från jobbet, reser mycket och äter gott. 

Att Påskafton i Sverige kommit att bli den stora ”firardagen” under Påsken kan troligen ses som en parallell till Julafton. Påskafton förknippas i Sverige ofta med Påskägg fyllt med godis och Påskmat med ägg. Jag önskar er en glad Påsk!

Redo att åka kvast? Ready to travel broom?

Here in Sweden you find the popular belief that all witches come together with their brooms on Maundy Thursday. They fly together to Blåkulla to party with the devil. Blåkulla is a very small island at the west coast of Sweden. The celebrating of Easter starts with Maundy Thursday. The witches believed they got all delicacies, but in real they got frogs, worms and toads.

The story comes from the witch processes in 1600 to the present. The witches became now “old Easter Witches”. They can be children, who are dressed up as witches with broom and soot on their faces. But also woman together laugh about it together, they ask each other when to leave. I like the story very much. Maybe I once was a witch, who knows…

***

I folktron i flera delar av Sverige är Skärtorsdagen (eller Påskafton) den dag då påskkäringarna åker kvasten till Blåkulla för att festa med djävulen. Denna dag påbörjas påskfirandet. Häxorna trodde att de serverades massor av läckerheter, men det var i själva verket grodor, ormar och paddor.
Den bild av häxan blev skapad ur 1600-talets häxprocesser, via romantikens och industrialiseringens tider till idag. Häxan har blivit påskkärring. Det kan vara ett barn utklädd med huckle, kvast och spisrosor på kinderna. Men också kvinnorna skrattar tillsammans och frågar varandra när man ska åka ditt. Jag älskar verkligen denne historia. Kanske jag var Påskkäring förr, vem vet…

Small signs of spring in my garden? / letar efter vårteckner?

No, it is not the time to look for Easter eggs yet. But I’m longing for the spring to come.Where are the first signs from nature in my garden in Småland? I already got some cherry branches inside. Today I saw the first cranes in the meadow beside of the road. They came back form Afrika. That’s a sign of spring. So I went outside looking for spring in my garden…

I gently took away some frost protection. Not everything yet, because it will be cold again this week. There is still snow in the garden, but it is starting to melt away.

Yes, under the frost cover I found some small Galanthus flowers and some Narcissus starting growing. It is a big difference in climate when you think about the Netherlands. They had Galanthus, Narcissus and Crocus already a month ago. Of course, in South of Sweden everything is later. Last year we had already Crocus in this time.  But I don’t see anything yet (end of mars). But ok, it can go quickly now, or not?

***

Nej, det är inget tid att leta efter Påskägg ännu. Men jag länger efter början av våren. Finns det redan förste tecknen från naturen i Småland? Jag fått in körsbärgrenar. Idag såg jag första tranor i ängen bredvid vägen.   De kom tillbaka från Afrika. Det är en vårtecken. Så jag gick ut i min trädgården…

Jag tog bort några grankvistar. Den fungerade som frostskydd. Inte alt ännu, eftersom vi ska ha kyld väder igen denne vecka. Vi har fortfarande snö i trädgården, men tö har börjat också.

Ja, under denne frostskydd jag hittade liten Snödroppar och Påskliljor, som började att växa. Det är en stor skillnad i klimaten med Nederland. De hade sett Snödroppar, Crocus och Påskliljor redan en manad tidigare. Naturlig, är du bor i syd Sverige växter är lit senare. Men sista år vi såg Crocus i sluten av mars. Men inte nu… Men okay, det kan hända snabbt, eller inte?

Trevliga Påskpynt / Easy Easter decoration

The Eastern feeling is around my house. I made some wraths with Narciss and birchbranches and a lovely Eastern bunny. Inside I have also some Narciss, of course Tulips and very nice softcolored egg i birchbranches. I made a picture from the eggs and feathers in the snow, who's still there around my house in Småland. It makes my very happy, to see some colors again after the wintertime. You can easy do it yourself (DIY).

Jag har tatt Påskkänslor inom och utom i mitt huset. Jag gjorde kransor med Påskeliljor och björkris, och en riktig Påskkanin. Inomhuset jag har också Påskliljor, naturlig Tulipanor och fina färgade ägg i björkris. Jag gjorde bild från ägg i snön, som är fortfarande kvar utom mitt hus i Småland. Det gör mig jätteglad, att se lit färg igen efter vinteren 😁. Det är lätt att göra för sig själv.