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. 🤎 From autumn 2026 onwards, Villa Emilia will be even more Christmassy than before!

Thank you for your visit.

Näytetään tekstit, joissa on tunniste special occasions. Näytä kaikki tekstit
Näytetään tekstit, joissa on tunniste special occasions. Näytä kaikki tekstit

13.4.2024

H niin kuin huhtikuu

 
H niin kuin haaveellinen, hurmaava, hehkeä, huumaava, huikea, herkullinen, hempeä, herkistävä, hilpeä, hienostunut, henkeäsalpaava...

H niin kuin häät. 

Huhtikuussa etsitään Kristiinan ihanassa kuukausihaasteessa h:lla alkavia asioita. Tässä tulee minun postaukseni. Nämä reippaasti rajatut kuvat eivät ole minun ottamiani, mutta minulla on lupa käyttää niitä tässä haasteessa. 

H niin kuin hääkimppu, hääkakku, hääpaikka ja hääkoristelut. Kyllä, taas on kolmen kuvan sijasta neljä, koska en vain pystynyt valitsemaan ja halusin jakaa kanssanne jotain kaunista... :)







Ihanaa viikonloppua kaikille!

Have a lovely weekend!


22.6.2017

White roses - Hyvää juhannusta!



Thank you all for your kind comments! ♥ As you may know by now, we are experiencing some health issues in our family. I'll have to work hard to catch up with you. That's why comments are disabled also for this post.

Lämmin kiitos kommenteistanne! ♥ Vastaan niihin mahdollisimman pian, mutta aikaa bloggaamiseen on nyt valitettavan vähän. Siksi tähän(kään) postaukseen ei voi jättää kommenttia.



Malus 'Makamik'



Rosa spinosissima 'Plena'



The petals of the Cosmos have a lovely texture:






Juhannusruusut eivät kuki vielä. Tässä postauksessa on kuvia vuodelta 2014. Se olikin hyvä puutarhavuosi; talvi oli leuto, kevät tuli aikaisin ja monet kasvit kukkivat kesällä ennätyksellisen hyvin. :)






Lupins growing wild by the roadside:











Geranium sylvaticum




Vaccinium vitis-idaea



Dear all, have a magical midsummer's night! :)






Ihanan tuoksuvaa, tunnelmallista ja rauhallista juhannusta! :)






♥!


13.3.2017

Liito-orava! - Siberian flying squirrel!



Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans)






Tänään oli tarkoitus postata ihan jotain muuta, mutta tämä harvinainen vieras ohitti kaikki muut aiheet. Näin sen myös liitävän, mutta arvatkaa ehdinkö kuvata sitä jännityksestä tärisevillä käsilläni? :)



liito-orava Siberian flying squirrel



The Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans) is an Old World flying squirrel with a range from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Pacific coast in the east. It's the only species of flying squirrel found in Europe. It is considered vulnerable within the European Union where it's found only in Finland and Estonia. Shy and nocturnal animals, they are seldom seen, and that's why I was really thrilled, when I have seen this one, not far from our home.



liito-orava



♥!


4.2.2017

"I love you more than anything" - Finland 100 years



The year 2017 will mark Finland’s 100th anniversary as an independent state and the centennial year will be celebrated throughout 2017 all over Finland. The Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) congratulates the 100 years old Finland with a lovely video.




The music you hear on the video is a beloved song called "Romanssi" (Romance), originally written for a romantic film in the 1940s and performed by Leif Wager. "I love you more than anything, you are my heaven on earth..." :)






Hyvää Runebergin päivää!






Halusin jakaa myös toisen linkin tänään: Uusintana esitetty Mökkipahasesta linnan saleihin (2013), Konginkankaalta Ruotsiin muuttaneen Raija Ohlinin tarina, on yksi vaikuttavimmista TV-ohjelmista pitkään aikaan. Ohjelma on katsottavissa Yle Areenassa neljän viikon ajan.

I dokumentären Från koja till slott får vi följa med hur Raija Ohlin mot alla odds men med finsk "sisu" lyckas förverkliga sina drömmar och bli ägare till ett kungligt slott. Samtidigt gör vi en tidsresa till Raijas fattiga och svåra barndom. Dokumentären kan ses utomlands.




Reposted: A small jar candle


This post, from February 2015, is one of my favourites and for some time I have wanted to republish it:

I wanted to try again something we used to do years ago: recycling old candle stubs - by melting them down in a pan and pouring the melted wax into a mould.






Minulla on postauksia jonoksi asti odottamassa, mutta halusin postata tämän jutun uudelleen. Uusia lukijoita on tullut vuoden 2015 helmikuun jälkeen, tämä on yksi omista suosikkipostauksistani  - ja näissä kuvissa on ehkä paras leikkotulppaanikimppu mitä meillä on nähty. Veljeni osti kukat äitimme syntymäpäiväksi ja ne kestivät kauniina pitkään ja kuihtuivatkin kauniisti. :)

Lapsena tehtiin uusia kynttilöitä sulattamalla vanhoja. Taisin usein tehdä niistä raidallisia. Tämä suklaa-pähkinädippiastiaan valettu on varmasti tyylikkäin tuotokseni. :) Alla oleva dippikuva on netistä.




I had perfect materials for this project, first of all a beautiful small glass container (with a lid), received from my brother for Christmas. In the picture below (from http://www.cuisineaddict.com/ achat-fondue-chocolat-noir-noisette-300-g-mazet-2818.htm) you can see what it contained originally. Yummy!

The diameter of the jar is only about 4 cm (and that made the task a little bit more difficult).
I had also these old stubs I wanted to use - of a beautiful, intense red colour. For this candle, I used the remaining wick of one of the old ones. (Wicks can also be made at home or purchased at hobby stores.)

You can use pieces of non-toxic crayons to add a little colour and/or essential oils to give your candles a scent.






What you do is very simple. Just break up some old candles, stick a few pieces in a saucepan, over a low heat, and stir until the candles have melted. Then pour the melted wax carefully in the mould or jar, preferably using a saucepan with a pouring spout.

In case you haven't tried this before, here are some useful tips:

For better results, don't mix different types of candles.

When filling the mould(s), reserve some of the wax. 
Once your candle is almost completely hard, you will notice a depression around the wick.
Pour the reserved wax into the dip to make the dip fill in.
If you want a completely even surface, you may need to repeat this. 

For your safety, heat the wax in a double boiler 
(in a large pan containing hot water, into which the smaller pan is set)!

Never leave unattended the pan containing melting wax!


Well, how did it go? The result is not perfect, but I'm rather satisfied with my elegant little candle. :)

It could be used as a gift for occasions such as Valentine's Day...







In February 2015,
I joined with this post:

Judith at Lavender Cottage Gardening
for Mosaic Monday
and
Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose
 for Roses of Inspiration.









A small curiosity, tomorrow will be "the day of the candle" in Finland. In the Finnish Lutheran Church, Candlemas (the presentation of Christ at the temple) is celebrated on the Sunday between 2 February and 8 February. This year it falls on the 5th. Traditionally, it was the day on which candles used in the church's worship during the year were blessed.







Wishing you a happy weekend!

Hyvää Runebergin päivää ja Kynttilänpäivää!





7.5.2016

Roses♥







  Roses for my Mother...






... and to my dear readers as well...






... mothers, fathers, daughters and sons...






... surrounded by the family or living alone...






... I send you hugs and roses!






This time the comments are disabled
because unfortunately I wouldn't have time to reply to them.






Have a lovely Sunday!
Aurinkoista sunnuntaita kaikille!



19.9.2015

Saturday - Critters and birthday greetings


Wishing a lovely weekend to you all, today I join




with these aquatic birds on an autumn morning. I believe they are red-breasted mergansers (Mergus serrator). If they aren't, do let me know! :)

The light and colours were beautiful that morning...





















And then, with one of my favourite photos, I send greetings to a very dear person whose birthday is today...






... M., you are the best...






... and this is for you! :)






10.8.2015

Digression: Flowery moments






While we were away, midsummer had turned to late summer. The sun's rays are tender and the humidity lingers in the air all day. The scents are different, more intense, now.

It has been raining often for the past few weeks, but there have been some sunny moments, fortunately...















... and some happy moments, too. Someone you know has been celebrating her birthday. :)






Participating in


at








Have a lovely new week!


2.3.2015

Last hot chocolates




When we were living in Italy, our year was divided in two parts, the ice cream season and the hot chocolate season. In Italy, of course, you can taste the best ice creams in the world, and also very nice hot chocolate is served there. La cioccolata calda is thick and not very sweet.

Since the hot choc season is coming to an end soon, it's time to dedicate some photos to this lovely beverage that contains flavonoids, antioxidants and pure happiness.

This is my favourite cup for hot chocolate. I like love its colour and the material that feels lovely to touch. Perhaps the set could be called breakfast ware, there are also saucers, bowls, mugs, a sugar bowl, and a small creamer, which I find especially cute (see the mosaic at the bottom of this post).




Dark or extra dark chocolate, milk or cream, sugar. Adjust the amounts according to your taste:




The cinnamon roll and the biscuits are just for the photo. In my opinion, the chocolate with whipped cream is so delectable and rich it doesn't need anything to accompany it. I have sprinkled cinnamon over the cream; powdered chilli or ground black pepper would be our other favourites.





Participating in

Mosaic Monday
at Lavender Cottage Gardening
(unfortunately this site doesn't exist any more)






 Roses of Inspiration, on Tuesday,
as well as 


Have a lovely week ahead!