All is Good

After the marathon of holidays (Easter, a few Birthdays and Mother’s Day, oh and the Royal Wedding) it is time to finally start enjoying spring and everything it brings.


The weather was improving pretty quickly: we’ve had some days that were perfect for a relaxing walk or a few hours in an outside café and even enough sun to get sunburned! Yet today we woke up to the strangest thing ever – frosts (I guess it happens every year, but it still always makes me think: how is that possible?). Frosts in May! I’m keeping my fingers crossed this doesn’t last as the trees are about to bloom and these conditions would simply kill the crops we are planning to get in the autumn.


While the cats are acting as solar panels, their fur heating up to about 40C, I’m hoping that soon I will be able to start transferring my seedlings to the garden. At the moment nearly every window in the house is blocked by trays, pots and boxes containing all kinds of green matter (the other windows are blocked by cats of course), so as you can imagine it is a bit messy.


Still – all is good. I can no longer imagine that we had big piles of snow and it was getting dark very early in the evenings. The first flowers are out and it’s definitely the prettiest time of the year (hmm… could argue of course, but lets just say it is).

A Change in Scenery

I haven’t posted for such a long time that I’ve been feeling guilty for not updating the photos – the snow and ice are gone and spring is finally here! (Although I think I should mention that we were back in winter wonderland this morning. It lasted just a few hours as the sun did its job, eventually…).

Fur coats can be hung in the wardrobes and hats and scarves can stay – the wind is still a bit chilly these days. But even though the dull and lifeless garden hasn't started waking up, it's time to sow seeds - tomatoes, paprikas, basil, stevia and loads of flowers. I'm afraid every year aesthetics wins over the practical and edible.

Sowing is one thing - just lay them out pretty and wait for the result, but when the seedlings start coming up I'm facing a bigger problem - they need to be put into separate pots. If you saw how many of my precious flowers have already appeared, you'd know why I am panicking... but this massive plant migration will certainly need a separate post!

Well, it seems that lots is happening at the moment: everything's going well at work (fingers crossed it stays that way or it can get even better, I won't mind), there have been many positive changes that are leading us closer and closer towards our dreams coming true, so it's not only my green fingers that have been busy - my mind has been engaged all this time too. That's why in my opinion I deserve a holiday or at least a few days of cat life...

When you think about it it's - have something nice to eat and then take a nap... another nap and some more tasty food... Although to tell the truth spring has changed their routines as well. They seem more eager to go outside and if you listened to some of the determined meows, you'd think they're stressed even more than we are!

Ah, everything's ok, so no more complaining. Just hope that spring can cheer us all up and remember - the more you sow, the prettier your garden (even if you are a vegetable and not a flower person).

The Magnolia Project

I always thought that November is a month to slow down. It starts with the All Saints’ Day when we remember our dead relatives and friends by lighting candles on their graves and later on, after changing the clocks, the days just seem to get really short. The weather more and more often plays some nasty tricks - even if the Sun's shining in the morning, it doesn't mean that you won't get soaked in the afternoon (but as everything's done in the garden, there's no need to stay outdoors). So when it gets dark (every evening at about 5pm) or when it's raining (looks like every day) it seems like a good time to go into hibernation.

Well, I'd gladly shut myself at home and try to figure out what to start with, but there's work and other responsibilities... I moan a bit and carry on and it doesn't look like it's the right time to slow down. I can see myself being very busy till Christmas, which is good in a way - the more you do, the more gets done.

I'm carving pumpkins for the first time in my life for our also first ever Bonfire Night, knitting my own dog (how could I resist after seeing these cute things: http://dog-milk.com/best-in-show-knit-your-own-dog/?), planning my trip to London and playing with the latest obsessive idea - my Magnolia Project.

I love these trees. We've got a few in our garden, but I'd love to have even more. Greedy? You wouldn't think so after seeing their blooms in spring! At the moment they aren't a pretty sight - leafless sprigs, but I have found lots of orange seeds. After some research on the net I'm trying to follow the instructions:

Gather seeds from magnolia pods just before the pods open. Seeds will be covered with a reddish orange coating. Soak in tepid water for 24 hours to remove the coating. Remove from water and squeeze the pulp in your hands to force the glossy black seeds out of the pulp. Wash in warm water to remove any flesh or residue from the coating.

Plant your seeds to a depth of 1/2 inch in a tray of potting mixture of two parts peat moss, one part all-purpose potting soil and one part sand. Water thoroughly and cover the container with plastic wrap to maintain moisture.

This part is done. This is what remains:

Set in a warm location to germinate. Monitor closely. Keeping the soil evenly moist, but avoiding soggy soil. Open the plastic daily to provide air circulation and to stabilize moisture. Seedlings emerge in 4 to 6 weeks.

I hope they will emerge. As I would love to finish my project off with:

Removing the plastic wrap and placing seedlings in a sunny window. Planting in individual pots once seedlings have developed the second set of leaves. And planting outside in the spring after all danger of frost has passed.
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P.S. Photos of Magnolias for this post will appear as soon as (or better IF) the first seedlings appear.

P.P.S. I loved our first ever Bonfire Night. We've even got the neighbours wondering what all of this was about.

Cold Weather Alterations

We’ve had our first frosts. The neighbours’ roof turned white and the ground for the first time, after the rain we’ve had, felt hard. I could almost see a smile on the dogs face – huskies would always choose winter over summer.

We’ve also had our first cold victims in the family. Their runny noses and sore throats remind me that it’s time to start putting on warmer clothes (even gloves!). Occasionally we might get the sun out, but this doesn’t mean that the wind’s not cold. I don’t like all this, but at the same time I know that it will get worse…

The last of the crops is being dragged into the house, everything neatly put into the freezer or jars. We might as well be giant squirrels, getting ready for the cold period! It certainly feels that way, especially when I’m picking walnuts :)

Even the cuisine is being altered and adjusted to the weather outside. We drink more hot tea and cook more thick soups. And while the other part of the world is saving their pumpkins for Halloween, I gladly chop them up and bang them into a pan.

This one came from our garden. I love the colours and the sweet scent of melons that filled the kitchen when I cut it open. Back in spring I got a few little plants from a friend of mine, who told me that the seeds were ridiculously expensive. I wonder why, as even the little pumpkin was full of them! (I would gladly share them with a keen gardener.)

Anyway, the soup might not be as fancy as the one cooked by Jamie Oliver, but it tastes really nice. All you need is some meat, for making stock, the usual soup spices (I put pepper corns, bay leaves and salt), carrots, pumpkin, potatoes and a stem of celery. Cook vegetables till they’re soft and then, using a blender, turn everything into a puree. Of course don’t forget to take out pepper corns and bay leaves before you do that.

Right. The sun is out! It's one of these rare moments, so I'd better jump into my wellies and do something useful outside.

Shades of Green

With a “to do in the garden” list ticking like a time bomb I’m taking photos of the indoor plants. I must be going mad! I should be outside: digging, planting, gathering, covering etc. But to tell the truth once you are woken up by a pouring rain and, after taking the dog out, realise that your back lawn has turned into a swamp, there’s not enough motivation for everything mentioned above.

At the moment the sky is clear, but it’s so unpleasantly damp outside… I’d rather be scraping everything indoors - till the door knobs shine! I’m only joking. The day like today is for snuggling up cozily with a good book, for sipping hot tea, for enjoying an interesting film… Oh, and then the sun comes out and I feel so guilty – there’re so many plants that need repotting, so that when the winter comes they can ornate our rooms with those perfect shades of green.

“Repotting” is only one, but a very important item from my non existent list. Well, the list is real; it’s just that it’s not on paper, YET. It’s in my head, getting bigger and bigger constantly. I’m so scared of forgetting something that I can feel how the list is turning into a monster. I need to get in control. Definitely. All I need is a pen and paper…

And while I'm writing this it started to rain AGAIN - looking out of the window I’m considering putting “build an arch” as number one. This time I’m not joking. I've just found out that the forecast is like that for another 4 days. I guess the garden and my plants will have to wait after all...

In the last photo – leaves of my fragile pomegranates that have been grown from seeds. They have sprung so much, but at the same time look so thin and week. I’m really not sure how to turn them into proper trees.

Flower Profiles

We’ve been blessed with weather this weekend – it’s been sunny and warm (lets forget the short interval of rain early in the morning). Even knowing that there’s so much to do in the garden, I was fooled into thinking that all of these jobs can wait. I must have thought that the summer was back. I know it’s not, but still keep my fingers crossed that the weather stays warm right to the Indian summer in the beginning of October. Meanwhile everything’s fine – we haven’t had the first frosts and the flowers are holding on.

Here are the most stunning ones:

This was the first summer I grew zinnias. I was very lucky to see them in bloom as there was a time, when my mum wanted to get rid of them thinking they were weeds. I’m glad I managed to convince her that we should wait a bit longer… Now I’m sure I will be growing them again as their colours are so bright!

Zinnia is a genus of 20 species of annual and perennial plants of family Asteraceae, originally from scrub and dry grassland in an area stretching from the American Southwest to South America, but primarily Mexico, and notable for their solitary long-stemmed flowers that come in a variety of bright colors.

Their flowers have a range of appearances, from a single row of petals, to a dome shape, with the colors white, chartreuse, yellow, orange, red, purple, and lilac. They seem to be especially favored by butterflies.

Zinnias are popular garden flowers, usually grown from seed, and preferably in fertile, humus-rich, and well-drained soil, in an area with full sun. They will reseed themselves each year. Over 100 cultivars have been produced since selective breeding started in the 19th century.

Dahlias can be very pretty indeed, but the main downfall with them is that they need to be removed from the soil before winter. This can be annoying, but there’s also the storage problem – ours are kept in boxes in the cellar, we cover them in peat. And here’s the next bad thing – such boxes attract naughty cats…

Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, perennia plants native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. There are at least 36 species of dahlia. Dahlia hybrids are commonly grown as garden plants. The Aztecs gathered and cultivated the dahlia for food, ceremonies, as well as decorative purposes, and the long woody stem of one variety was used for small pipes.

I’m really impressed with begonias, they’ve been blooming on my window for nearly three months! And although, like dahlias, they have to be removed from the soil and kept warm and dry in winter, I think it’s worth the hassle.

With over 1,500 species, Begonia is one of the ten largest angiosperm genera. The species are terrestrial herbs or undershrubs and occur in subtropical and tropical moist climates, in South and Central America, Africa and southern Asia. Terrestrial species in the wild are commonly upright-stemmed, rhizomatous, or tuberous.

Because of their sometimes showy flowers of white, pink, scarlet or yellow color and often attractively marked leaves, many species and innumerable hybrids and cultivars are cultivated. The genus is unusual in that species throughout the genus, even those coming from different continents, can frequently be hybridized with each other, and this has led to an enormous number of cultivars.

Most begonias are easily propagated by division or from stem cuttings. In addition, many can be propagated from leaf cuttings or even sections of leaves, particularly the members of the rhizomatous and rex groups.

Before the Rain

I don’t think any of the plants or insects knew what was coming…

Just before the storm hit it was quite hot (+31C), like on a normal summer day. Yes, it might have been a bit windy, but we needed that breeze, otherwise it would have been unbearable.

After a while the sky started turning grey and we could hear thunder in the background. I did a sensible thing (for a change) – got all the washing in. Usually I’m brave and leave it till the last minute, but this time I think I wouldn’t have cared if the washing got soaked. Huge rain drops started pouring for the sky, as if someone had just emptied an enormous bucket!

This rain must have whipped the plants badly… and now I’m scared to look how many got broken…

Colours of the “Sleeping” Garden

Once again I’ve been taught a lesson – I need to carry my camera everywhere! If I don’t have it, no doubt I will see something worth documenting!

You could ask “so what did you miss this time?” and I would tell you a story about a crow that panicked loudly and a young black cat, that was very ambitious and brave…

First I heard a crow, I could tell the bird was worried, but couldn’t figure out why. It was sitting at the top of a tree with its friend, both swinging on the week branches… One more glance and I realized it wasn’t another bird! It was a black cat, slowly moving towards its prey. Everything looked so terrifying, just because the branches were very week indeed…

Anyway, the crow wasn’t stupid – it flew off and the cat, being a very agile creature, happily reached the ground. So the story has its happy ending, but I just wish I had some photos to illustrate all this.

No cat and no crow, just some photos I took in the garden. We actually saw some sun today! And I managed to find bright colours in our “sleeping” garden, where the plants are slowly dying off for winter.

SUN?day

It’s nearly the middle of June, but looking out of the window I simply don’t believe it… The calendar must be wrong! It’s cold and miserable and it’s raining cats and dogs…

I woke up to the sound of drops attacking our roof – quite a cosy symphony, while you’re still tucked up in bed, but not as pleasant, when finishing your breakfast, you realise you’re going to be stuck at home.

In the afternoon I decided to be brave and to go outside just too make some photos – the colours look somehow brighter in the rain. I must admit I didn’t want to stay out long: one lap around the garden was more than enough!

Why do English people say it’s raining cats and dogs? Hmm… there must be some explanation… In this weather, we Lithuanians also tend to mention dogs, but we would say that a good owner wouldn’t even leave his dog outside. Mine is certainly indoors, spending her SUNday on a warm carpet.

Week Pumpkins

I finally found time to take my pumpkin plants outside (earlier it was either too cold or I was too busy with other jobs, that needed to be done as soon as possible). They looked so miserable... long and thin stems streching out helplessly... My poor pumpkins have been in tiny containers for too long!

I planted them on the compost heap and prayed for the best....

The next moring I ran into the garden to see if they've survived. Well, what do you think? They still look a bit feeble, but to my mind they will make it! The bright yellow blossoms have opened up and I think (hope) they don't look too bad?

For Garden Lovers

That’s aquilegia (also known as columbine, granny’s bonnet and jack-in-trousers). We’ve had it in our garden for several years, but I never tried to find out more about the plant. It starts flowering in the end of May and its pastel coloured petals immediately attract my attention – they seem so soft and delicate!

A few days ago I went through some old Country Living magazine’s* (hey, isn’t one allowed to look at that beautiful country life they depict and dream?) and found an article on aquilegias. I couldn’t believe my eyes – they can be blue and violet, red and light orange… Oh, and all of those petal shapes… What a variety!

It turned out that the plant comes from north America and that there are about 70 species. They can be tall and short, single and double, with long and short-spurred blooms and in almost every colour. This flower can easily cope with a bit of shade and isn’t very fussy about soil – that’s ideal for an amateur gardener like me. So I decided that I want more aquilegias and as you can imagine was very happy to find this phrase in the article: ‘…[they are] shamelessly fertile’.

All you need is to wait till the plant drops its seeds - tiny black one's, that ripen in small pods. The best time to sow them indoors is March. If you do so they will be ready for bedding out in autumn, but will flower only the next spring.

I don't think that my blog gets a lot of readers (probably just occasional few), but if you are reading this, if you are a keen gardener, if you have other species of aquilegia and if you would like to grow the one I have (oh, so many conditions...) I'm offering you to swap the tiny black seeds and to widen the scope of aquilegias in your garden! Well, if you are interested just leave a comment, so that I could contact you.
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* Country Living, May 2007