W O W !

Didn’t see that coming – May is just about a wrap and it doesn’t seem possible the month is over. Even more surprising, tomorrow it’s June!! Incredible!

We’ve been busy little beavers here. Our trip to Estonia/Latvia was very rewarding. We ambled home with a trailer filled-to-capacity with an abundant variety of new conifers, trees and flowering plants.  We discovered a host of new places offering tremendous bargains & selections, which forced us to learn new & clever ways to find room in the trailer!

We commenced to unloading and arranging items within beds upon our return. Pekka jumped on the next task -pronto. We had decided to take out the original stand of lilac bushes near the side door. He got to work digging them out, and once done moved rocks and built up a low rock wall to transition the slope planting.

The ‘Cherry Tree Bed’ was our first garden bed and has subsequently been enlarged upon three times since then!

I think we’re finally done with improvements to the Cherry Tree bed! AND the new side bed is light-years ahead of the previous stand of weed/lilacs.

Once we hauled in the mulch for these two new spots, we focused attention on the other beds out back. We’ve  been hauling a load of mulch every evening this past week.  This weekend will be more of the same, but we’re also traveling to Lahti to see items for sale from a young gardener’s arboretum.

Notable additions to these new beds are:

• Cheal’s Weeping Cherry (Prunus serrulata ‘Kiku-shidare-zakura’), Riippajapaninkirsikka
• Hawthorn ‘Plena’ (Crataegus laevigata ‘Plena’), Ruusuorapihlaja ‘Plena’
• Blue Mountain Colorado Spruce (Picea pungens ‘Blue Mountain’)

Despite a trailer stuffed beyond capacity, we completed another circuit to our local favorites to top off our specimen acquisitions. It looks like the Lahti arboretum sale and the upcoming Tahvoset one-day public event will conclude our spring/summer nursery trips. Just in time for the Avoimet Puutarha event 7th July. We’re excited!!!

The Finnish Meteorological Institute reports coincide to our own findings. Month of March was wet, April warm & dry – May will also be regarded as too dry and warmer than usual. Thankfully, we have had some rain. Not a lot, but +/- 30 mm or so is better than nothing!

Tulips are hanging on but the above-average temps throughout most of May took a toll. Peonies are budded and about to burst into bloom thanks to the precipitation picked up during the last 10 days. Actually, the entire garden is looking rather lush and very fresh from an overnight front which brought another dose of moisture.

Other delights around the garden include:

And previously in May the Leonard Messel Magnolia went off the charts in a profuse display of magnificence. Absolutely stunning!

Pekka and I have added all the new plants to the What’s Growing at Vanha Talo Suomi specimen list. You can view it here The rose collection has also swelled and you can view all the new roses here There are 181 in total of 133 varieties. How did that happen!!! Geez. It wasn’t that long ago when we only had 16!!!

The Finnish Rose Society (Suomen Ruususeura) was kind enough to list our gardens in the latest RuusunLehti magazine for open gardens during Avoimet Puutarha and may also be publishing a piece in their August publication. I supplied an article upon request but have no idea if it will actually be published. (Language/communication breakdowns!)

If you are a member of either the Suomen Ruususuera or Dendrologian Suera and wish to visit the gardens of Vanha Talo Suomi, please contact us via reply to this posting in the comment section. We are happy to set up private viewing later this summer.

All in all, the month of May was a great success. We’ve turned the corner on our landscaping plans & look forward to the upcoming open garden day. June will undoubtedly offer much in the way of greatness as the peonies and roses begin blooming. Can’t wait to see the show!!

Hopefully your summer is off to a fine start and you’re enjoying the view in your own gardens & communities.  Gardening is such a pleasure. 🙂

Reminder: The Photography Day Event is June 15 & 16 2019 – see here for the post which includes registration & details

Until next time ❤ Vanha Talo Suomi