Hello and warm greetings from Vanha Talo Suomi!

November is well and truly upon us – ‘Time and tide waits for no man’ so I thought I’d better hurry up and put a post together before it somehow became December! It’s not like I stare at a calendar, but there is one less than a meter away. I might be in the same boat with many others who often find themselves muttering things like, “can you believe it’s (fill in the blank) already??”, or Gee, “time sure flies,” – guilty and guilty! Pekka doesn’t say these things BTW. <side-eye>

Many people adore the month of October because it really signals an autumn presence, plus there’s that thing called, Halloween! It isn’t celebrated here, but it is commercially marketed. Although, for many including me, it doesn’t take much urging to buy more candy – just in case. 🙂 Finns love sweets, and so do I. hehehehe

Some people in Finland dislike November because it’s a month of gloomy weather and short daylight hours. Candles and illuminated fairy lights see an uptick in sales this time of year in Finland as a means to banish the darkness. December is of course the darkest month, but with Christmas, all the eating and celebrating people get distracted! 🙂 Plus, at the tail end of December, the daylight hours slowly begin to increase once again. So December is an all-around great month.

If you’ve been following us for a while, you might remember prior mentions of our lake city town, LOHJA is celebrating 700 years this year. There’ve been monthly celebrations, festivals, and commemorations all year long. Now, as the 2023 calendar year is winding down, some of the biggest celebrations are soon to occur. Christmas concerts, parades and seasonal festivities are all getting a boost as the 700th-year anniversary is also a feature. I’ll be there since I won’t be able to attend the 800th anniversary, 😀 Truly a once in a lifetime event.

Reminiscing a bit about the month of October, I will sum up by saying the last two weeks were unusually cold – very cold. And rainy!! November started off just the same, but then quickly warmed up to the temperatures we are more familiar with. Which was, and has been, very pleasant. Unfortunately, I thought we’d better get all the spring-flowering bulbs in the ground just about the same time the arctic blast descended upon us. So, that was no fun. You can imagine I was getting a bit nervous about whether I’d be able to get the two new roses I ordered from France in the ground, since things were already getting pretty solid. No worries as by the time the roses reached us, we were back thawed out, and all things were- GO!

I think I’ve said it a few times, but I really think I might be done ordering any more large ticket items or making large volume purchases. These last two roses are called, Yolanda d’Aragon, which is a variety not available in Finland – so I made an exception. They will flank either side of our deck terrace. With their growing habit of 120 cm x 120 cm tall (5X5), rebloom capabilities AND being cold hardy, the fragrance factor is just icing on the cake. I’ve updated the specimen list which you can find here and roses specifically here

I’ve been a happy repeat customer of several EU plant suppliers over the years, should you be on the hunt for something here in Finland and cannot find it, or just want something more than what is on offer at the local shop, just ask. Always happy to offer recommendations of where you might find success.

Pekka has hauled loads of leaves to the Rosk N’Roll garden waste recycling already, but I am not really pumped up to do much outside in the garden just now. What needs doing is still going to be there when spring rolls around. So, I convinced him (wasn’t too hard) to hang up the rake for the season. This time of year, it never dries out, so everything is wet, which makes for a yucky gardening experience. With 95% of the leaves down, the creeping darkness of early afternoon casts interesting shadows in pockets throughout the garden. What really is striking this time of year is the whitish/gray color of the lichens on the apple tree branches as the daylight fades. Spooky! Today, as you can see from the photos below, it’s quite foggy. Still temps above 0c, but that’s soon to change as colder weather is just around the corner

Hope October was good to you, and hope November is kind as well. Americans will be cranking into hyperdrive as Thanksgiving is just a couple of weeks away. Enjoy a piece of pie for me! And a piece of cake if you can find it – I’ll be 60 on the 21st!! Whoopee do!!

Until next time!

❤ Vanha Talo Suomi