Welcome to Villa Emilia (My Woodland Garden), a photography blog with a slant towards gardening and nature. An amateur gardener and photographer, I hope to share beautiful moments with you through pictures. Let me know if you like them! ❤

Thank you for your visit.

31.5.2017

:) & :(



Calibrachoa 'Candy Bouquet'?



This post is about the gardener's joys and agonies. :) 

The weather in Eastern Finland has been cold and only on Sunday we finally got some rain. Summer is just around the corner though, and the summer annuals have been bought and planted.






Kylläpä se kevät edistyy hitaasti! Täällä on ollut kylmää ja kuivaa. Onneksi sunnuntaina vihdoin satoi. Ensimmäiset kukkijat availevat nuppujaan. Koivujen lehdet ovat hiirenkorvilla ja vuoden kaunein aika on melkein käsillä.



Rhododendron 'Haaga'






Tämä tuoksukurjenpolvi on suosikkini. Sen lehdet olivat pysyneet vihreinä katolta pudonneen lumen alla. Kun iso, kova lumikasa vihdoin suli, lehdet melkein pomppasivat pystyyn ja alkoivat kasvaa. :)

Jänisten/rusakkojen takia olen joutunut suojaamaan houkuttelevimmat kasvit verkolla.



Geranium macrorrhizum 'Spessart'



But why so many plants are caged behind the chicken wire? :)



Paeonia lactiflora 'Sarah Bernhardt'


I was lucky to photograph these crocuses. On the following day, most of the flowers had been eaten:






He wasn't the culprit this time, because also these plants had been protected with the fencing. Do birds eat crocus flowers?



They look so innocent...


... but this was a primula:







This was a potted gazania (an old photo):






And this was a clustered bellflower, before protecting all of them with a fence:













The young green leaves are so beautiful...







Aquilegia x cultorum



Tomaatintaimet kukkivat kasvihuoneessa:



Solanum lycopersicum 'Sungold'



Suomen Ruususeuran sivulla on paljon tietoa ja ihania kuvia 'Sävel'-ruususta:






Tämä on valmiina ostettu istutus. Lumoavat värit, eikö olekin?







Sutera cordata






In winter, it would be lovely to hibernate away until spring, and in summer it would be lovely to stay awake all night. :)  Early in the morning (at half past two, to be precise) it looks like this when you look towards the north:





Ensimmäinen (lue: ainoa) kuva jonka olen onnistunut saamaan kimalaisesta. Minulla oli niille baarikin (SLL:n ohjeet täällä) avattuna, mutta ei tullut asiakkaita. Onneksi nyt on jo kukkia. ♥






Blogiystävä Teresa on kokeillut kuparista etanateippiä taistelussa lehtokotiloita vastaan. Täällä Itä-Suomessa kotiloita ei (vielä) ole, mutta niiden tuhovoima on tullut tutuksi muualla. Olut ei taida toimia niiden torjunnassa, mutta etikan sanotaan olevan hyvä tapa tappaa ne nopeasti ja mahdollisimman kivuttomasti.

Aiheesta tuli mieleen tämä lehtileike, joka nauratti minua Marimekon plagiaattikohun aikaan (2013). Virpi Salmi (yksi suosikkikolumnisteistani) oli "inspiroitunut" joistakin tunnetuista teoksista ja esitteli Me naiset -lehden sivulla hyviä tuoteideoita. :) Muutkin olivat hauskoja, mutta vain tämän puutarha-aiheisen leikkasin talteen.






♥!

50 kommenttia:

  1. Great shots, Sara. I am happy to say that our garden is now doing well.

    VastaaPoista
  2. Linnut syövät krookuksen kukkia, meillä varsinkin varpuset

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Jaa-a, olisi kiinnostavaa joskus aamuhämärissä nähdä kuka se niitä kukkasia oikein mussuttaa. Joku, joka mahtuu 4 cm reiästä läpi... :)

      Poista
  3. Ounou. Kova kohtalo sun kukilla.. Ovat selvästikin syötävän ihania! Meillä naakat paiskovat kukkasipuleita, mutten tiedä, syövätkö. Kaiketi etsivät muuta ruokaa sipulien joukosta.

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Kyllä tosiaan joskus harmittaa! Onneksi täällä ei ole vielä niitä kotiloita... eikä peuroja. :)

      Poista
  4. Very nice Sara! Love all your photos but tomato ... yes, very nice. My one hasn't flowers yet. Still waiting for it.

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Aritha!
      Growing tomatoes has been going well this year... so far. :)

      Poista
  5. Such pretty flowers, my friend, but oh, I am so sorry about your plants being eaten! We have deer that like to eat our flowers so I can understand your frustration.

    Hugs and joy to you!

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Stephanie!
      We are very happy not to have deer (yet). :)
      Big hugs!

      Poista
  6. Your photos are just gorgeous, dear Sara! It can be sad when insects and/or animals eat the flowers and plants in gardens. I hope you are having a great week. Warm hugs! :)

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Linda!
      Why do they always need to eat the most special and rare plants? :)
      Big hugs!

      Poista
  7. Do you have wild boar up there! I think there would be even more of a mess however!

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. A good question, Simon! We don't have them yet, but the population is re-establishing in Finland. Who wants them back? Only the hunters.

      Poista
  8. Lovey photos of all the flowers and plants. I hope the fence keeps the animals from eating the flowers and plants. Have a blessed day. Madeline

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Madeline!
      I hope so too. :)
      Blessings!

      Poista
  9. Bad, bad bunny!!!!!!

    Beautiful photos. Hope your weather does warm up soon. And make all those flowers happy.

    Ahhhh yes, in Finland, you have summer long days, and winter short ones.

    Do you decorate with lots of white walls, to "hoard" the light? :-)

    Luna Crone

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Luna!
      I think traditionally almost all the colours have been used, but the modern Scandinavian decor seems to use much white. When I will paint again our walls, there will definitely be more white colour here. :)

      Poista
  10. Hej Sara!

    Aj aj så trist med växterna. Jag är djurvän och det är du också vad jag förstår men ledsna blir vi ändå när vi väntat så länge på att få se plantorna titta fram. Det är många utmaningar vi tvingas möta med våra trädgårdar, klimatet är numera så nyckfullt och naturen blir förvirrad. Vi har det torrt, jättetorrt och grundvattnet ligger långt under det normala så det blir en kamp mot vädret också.

    Och jag säger det igen, alldeles fantastiska bilder!

    Kram!

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Kiitos, Gunilla!
      Kyllä se harmittaa, kun ne osaavat syödä juuri niitä kasveja joita ei pitäisi. :)
      Toivottavasti saatte pian sadetta! Puss och kram!

      Poista
  11. So many beautiful, amazing photos, dear Sara! The flower with the bumblebee, the lovely composition of the special coloured little flowers, the rabbit, the crocuses... I love them all! :-) We had to use bird netting, because the blackbirds pick out the seeds and the plants... Big hugs! :-)

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, dear Edit!
      At least blackbirds have a wonderful song. We have lots of fieldfares (Turdus pilaris). They are awfully bothersome. :)
      Have a great weekend!

      Poista
  12. Hienoja kuvia ja vilahti siellä ainakin yksi karvakorvakin seassa :) Erikoinen väri petuniassa (?) ja lumihiutaleet ovat kauniisti sävysävyyn.

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Kiitos, Maatuska!
      Miljoonakellolajikkeen nimen pitäisi olla 'Candy Bouquet'. Olin innoissani sen hauskoista väreistä, mutta sitten luin miten kovaa taistelua näiden kukkien "tekijänoikeuksista" käydään... Myös "Million Bells" on oikeastaan rekisteröity tavaramerkki.

      Poista
  13. Niin kaunista! Ihana pupu;-) Lehtokotilot ovat keljuja! Piha on taas sateen jälkeen täynnä nilviäisiä;-(

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Kiitos, Anne!
      Pupu on söpö, mutta sen takia piha on täynnä kanaverkkotötteröitä. :)

      Poista
  14. Hello Sara,

    I'm so sorry about your plants. It's not nice when they are eaten by animals.
    Beautiful, beautiful photos!

    Halaus! :)

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Marit!
      By now I have protected with a fence almost all the "delicious" plants. :)
      Klem! :)

      Poista
  15. Oh Sara, it is discouraging when plants and flowers are eaten by animals. So sorry, and I hope the fencing keeps others away. We have had a cold wet spring too. We really need some sunshine!

    VastaaPoista
  16. It's always nice to see the rabbits on the trail, but they run away much too fast before I can get a picture of them. Your flowers are so pretty, especially the purple ones that look like daisies. Some of the green plants in your area are very interesting too. I'm glad you got some rain. It makes the flowers blossom. It rained here today also. I was wondering what your summers are like. It gets very warm here in the summer months.

    Happy June, my friend.

    ~Sheri

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Sheri!
      Our summer is wonderful at its best... but definitely too short. :) The typical daytime temperatures range between 20 and 25C (68 - 77F).
      Happy June! <3

      Poista
  17. Minä epäilin jäniksiä kun krookukset oli järsitty, mutta tässähän sen huomaa että pitäisi hankkia todisteet ensin 😀

    Lumoavia kuvia, kuten tavallista 💚 Metsäkuvan ääressä viivähdin ison tovin 🙂ja rodon nuput ovat kerrassaan hurmaavat, käpymäiset.

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Kiitos, Rita!
      Pitäisi olla riistakamera tms. Voihan olla, että jänis nostaa suojaverkon pois, syö kukat ja panee verkon takaisin paikoilleen. :)

      Poista
  18. Oh, this is gorgeous! :-)

    Greetings from London.

    VastaaPoista
  19. Anonyymi1/6/17 16:32

    Beautiful flowers...the little culprit made me smile though :-)

    VastaaPoista
  20. Hi Sara, the first three pictures are beautiful, I have never seen these flowers here.
    Nice post.
    Good start to June.
    Hugs
    Janicce

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Janicce!
      The first two photos are of a Calibrachoa. They have become very popular ornamental plants here. Oh, I just learned from Wikipedia that "they are found across much the same region of South America as petunias, from southern Brazil across to Peru and Chile" and were "named by Vicente Cervantes after Antonio de la Cal y Bracho, a 19th-century Mexican botanist and pharmacologist". :)
      In the third photo, there's a Finnish Rhododendron cultivar 'Haaga', enough hardy for our cold climate.
      Big hugs!

      Poista
  21. Cousin bunny is in my garden and a naughty one too! I just planted a new centaura 'Black Sprite' and when I went to water it I couldn't figure out which plant it was. Where were those exciting spiky black flowers? Oh, I know - it's the plant that is sheared across and half the height it was yesterday. :-( We have a fox in the neighbourhood and he was poking around our front garden this morning - I think he can smell the bunnies. :-)
    You were wise to put some fencing around your perennials, I only put dollar store fence lengths to protect the plants I know are targeted.

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Oh no, Judith! I googled 'Black Sprite'. What an extraordinary plant!
      Fencing is necessary here where we have woodlands all around. I must look for more beautiful (but preferably inexpensive) solutions though. We try, after all, to garden for beauty. :)

      Poista
  22. I think Sara, the hares aren't so innocent as they look :-(
    I love your flowers, hopefully they will well blossom all summer, despite on cold summer start. Today we got some hail, oh...

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Nadezda!
      No, the hares aren't innocent at all.
      We too got some hail today. The postwoman keeps delivering swimwear brochures to us, when what we really would need is skiwear. :)

      Poista
  23. Wonderful Spring aspects captured, Sara!! Nature shows so much, it's all about beauty like I believe often. Looking at the beauty of flowers, the fresh green leaves all over, I feel energized and more positive in this lovely season. Indeed, Summer is just around the corner though in these days we had rains in May, too!
    Great series of pictures, cute little bunny and gorgeous spring blooms in your yard. Hopefully, there is enough time for vegetation to grow as summer is so near. (*-*)
    A very sunny month of June and great weekend ahead! Alexa

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you very much, Alexa! Contact with nature is crucial for our well-being.
      Wishing you a happy June filled with flowers! <3

      Poista
  24. Stunning flowers!My favourite is pink "petúnia"!!Thanks for sharing!

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you very much, Maristella!
      Have a lovely new week!

      Poista
  25. Such very pretty flowers, but sorry about your plants being eaten ... this can happen from time to time. Many years ago we had squirrels that kept uprooting many plants, especially pansies!

    All the best Jan

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you, Jan!
      We haven't noticed that our squirrels would uproot plants. That sounds terribly annoying! :)
      Hugs!

      Poista


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