Tags
David Ausin Roses, Finland, Finnish Independence Day, Rose Gardens of Vanha Talo Suomi, roses, woodworking
Hello from frosty Finland!
A light dust of snow has mixed with an abundant layer of frost. Temperatures have been hanging around the -8c mark most nights with slight uptick during daytime. Colder weather with snow is on the way though during next 10 days forecast. Oh, goody! Unfortunately, the Finnish Independence Day Gala was recently canceled for this year, as well as all the other official ceremonies commemorating Finland’s Independence Day, 7 December. Pandemic blues! Onto other happier items.
Much has happened this month, although it seems like nothing has. The constant grind of one day after another has meant November, like all months these days, seem to have come & gone rather quickly. Imagine! the arrival of Christmas in less than a months time! I look forward to the end of ‘dark days’ most of all. It’s amazing how much my mental and physical wellbeing is tied into moon cycles and daylight hours. So much anticipation for the arrival of one thing and the loathing & dread of another. Those living nearer an equator have no appreciation for these things – they are lucky, except when it comes to rising sea tides & extreme temperatures. I will take Finland any day over that, even with dratted dark days!!
Pekka has made great strides in his quest towards his weightlifting and powerlifting goals. His showing in this month’s national competition and Olympic club membership are now history. He will continue to pursue new goals and get his name in the official records, hopefully in the upcoming 2022 season. Lots of training in store to prepare for those events.
The new roses, I mentioned in a previous post, arrived mid-month. Thankfully, we’d already prepared placement holes in anticipation and had dirt on-the-ready to complete planting, since it was already pretty cold by the time they arrived. Probably quite a shock for them, so getting everything in the ground ASAP was an ALL-HANDS-ON-DECK event.
If you’re a rose lover and live in a cold climate, I’m happy to let you know all the newcomers, as well as several hundred of our other rose varieties, are ALL very cold hardy. Possibly you’ve held off growing roses because you were afraid your plants might not make it through the winter. Let me assure you, if you stick to the hardiness zone recommendations, you should fare very well. Plus, I wholeheartedly recommend the following David Austin English cultivars for you to consider. Plus, there are so many other quality Canadian and Scandinavian roses to learn more about. For starters, here are some stellar performers:
The Ancient Mariner, Thomas A’ Becket, Winchester Cathedral, William and Catherine, Royal Jubilee, Lady of Shallot, Boscobel and so many more- take a look at the rose page for more listings, (fully updated with all the new arrivals)
Now that those roses are safely in the ground, we can officially close the 2021 gardening season! What a year it’s been. I’m happy to be done with lawn & garden chores for a few months time!
Over the last several months, in fits and starts, I’ve slowly been accumulating a woodworking tool arsenal. The items are both quite large and quite small, and some have been quite costly. All should find their way into the shed at some point and arranged into some semblance of a working space – until then, they are clogging the porch, and are tucked into all the corners they will fit until they are finally gathered all together someday in the shed. Pie in the sky dreams do come true, right?!! With no heat in the shed, and a renovation project which has ceased to progress, it seems like nothing more will be happening out there this year, and likely not at all until it warms up next year.
If you’ve gotten this far in the post, I’d like to offer you my thanks and as a bonus I’m offering you some quality reading and enjoyment. The following supporters and followers of Vanha Talo Suomi provide fresh content and are worth your time. Give them a look see! You can thank me later!
Guess I’ve run out of things to say at this point. Of course, we are doing our part here to stop the spread of the virus and hope that someday we can all collectively take a big sigh of relief, but to be honest, that day seems pretty far off. Please do your part, and we will continue to do our part – maybe with some luck we can reach a better place for all our sakes.
Take care friends! Winter is coming!!!
P.S. I have a new winter coat – so coldness be damned! 🙂
❤ Vanha Talo Suomi
Vanha Talo Suomi 
As always it is a pleasure to read about your garden. It is a little chilly here as well but not quite as cold as you. I do look forward to spring. Let’s get this virus over with and get on with our lives. I’m tired of treading water. That’s what it feels like these last two years. Stay safe my friend.
LikeLiked by 1 person
How exciting to get those roses into the garden! I love the Austin English roses and added a few more this year. I get them from a grower who specializes in own-root roses and they come back even from winter freezes and rabbit damage. Your garden looks wonderful in the winter – you’ve really built fabulous structure and texture in the trees and shrubs – I hope you post some snow photos this winter! Thank you for adding my blog to your wonderful list – so gracious of you. I look forward to exploring all of the other blogs too 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Christmastime Wishes | Vanha Talo Suomi