dry, dry, dry

Dry, dry, dry. And warm. Last week, November 5th, we sat in the sun outside and had lunch. I am sure it was 20 degrees in the sun. Amazing. There is a high above Letland and it keeps the Atlantic rains at bay.

So, the flowers keep growing in the backyard: Chrysthemums, of course. But lots of others too: Pelargonium, Verbenum, Herfst stijl, the roses. And the colors of the trees last for weeks! Amazing. And great.

Alchemilla

I like the Alchemilla. I bought several variations this summer, this one too. I even pulled one from the street curb, a plain white one. But I am sure a tough one.

Nice effect when zooming into the photo! And flowering into October, albeit a warm one.

Pear harvest this year?

Anemones

This year the anemones have really taken off. And they are flourishing, nearly so much that they are weed. Well, not quite, but aren't they cute.

Anemones

Obedient Plant

What a name for this plant: Obedient plant or Physostegia or scharnierplant. You can turn the flower, as our friend Brian showed us.

When it is dry in spring, as it was this year, they don't grow high. Last year they hardly flowered: the rain must have come too late. But this year they flower nicely. And being a bit shorter is actually nicer.

Purple nettle

As I am blogging this in June, I have already forgotten that these purple nettles were there. They are natural, I think, and I like them for it. I hope I haven't removed them in my re-modelling!!! Awell, if they are natural, then they'll return.

Anemones

Wow! They are back. And doing well, expanded from last year. I must say, I do take great care of them, and weed out anything that overwhelms them. And that is a lot with these little plants! But they reward me early in the season.

Lis

I see these in the fields and waterways outside our town. So a natural. But a beautiful one!!

purple large field flower

The field flower seeds that I threw in last year, gives lots of surprises this year. Also these purple stalks. No idea what it is, and a disappointing amount of bees and bumblebees on it. But they last long!

field flower

Self-seeded field flower, again name elapses me (pregnancy???). It is funny it grows in the 'forest'.

Name?

The name elapses me right now, but I like it. It stands right behind the Dicentra in what is now to become my vegatable patch, as you can't see the part of the garden from the house, and is thus useless for the visual part. When it is finished flowering (and I am not pregnant anymore), I'll dig it out and put it in the middle of the garden. It will nicely brighten up the early spring. I hope.

A weed? but beautiful! Ah, it is Geum

It stands in the lower lawn, just near the steps. Evidently self-seeded. But bright, and keeps well in a vase. Whatever it is....

Swiss Mountain Primula

Perhaps a bit illegal, but I guess they are not that rare. I took this from the garden in Morgins, Switzerland. And it took here! In Switzerland it stands next to the running rivers in the forest. A typical Primula environment: forest and wet. I placed it here also in 'our' forest. My little Switzerland in the garden.

Daffodils again

Winter Salad

This is a winner!! I put the seeds last autumn in the ground. And all through winter there is salad!!

Easy and such a nice treat!

A few spring flowers mingle in.

And look what a nice salad it makes!!

Daffodils

These daffodils are the small type, small and delicate. Much nicer than the large ones, really

Ces' Prunus

We got this little tree from Saskia and Mariet, when Ces was born. It flowers around her birthday. This is its first year in our garden, transplanted from the holiday home, which was sold last year.

I was afraid it hadn't survived the transplant (in August!!), so much moss growing on the branches.... But look how it flowers! Actually, after this photo, the flowers became even more abundant.

Hazelnuts

The last of this year's hazelnuts. Last year I had made a mistake: I had peeled them and kept in an air-tight plastic container. They molded soon. This year I did it better. We made cookies and a vegetarian meal.

The tree

I made this picture, so I could compare the size with a picture I took two years ago. We could not find much differences, or growth. Now we are looking at thinning the inside a bit, for our neighbours and the sun. It will have to wait untill after June according to the tree man.

Hamamelis hamamelis

I bought this last year. I wanted it, because it flowers so brightly early in the year, in the winter. It is not much yet, it was overgrown somewhere in autumn, so that may have stopped the flower growing.