Pear tree flower bed

After many years, it felt absolutely necessary to freshen up the flower bed around the pear tree.
So we reused the soil we had dug up in the past (which in the meantime had become from the crappy soil it was to useful soil again) and compost.  This lifted up the level of the soil some 10-20 cm. After that, we planted quite a few Automn bulbs.

Tulip Apeldoorn 

(10 pieces)

Planting instructions
Distance: 10 cm
Depth: 10 cm
To be planted in September or October
Height:  55 cm
Flowering period: April-May

Tulip Queen of Night 

(10 pieces)

Planting instructions
Distance: 10 cm
Depth: 10 cm
To be planted in September or October
Height:  60 cm
Flowering period: April-May

Tulip Sunlover 

(10 pieces)

Planting instructions
Distance: 10 cm
Depth: 10 cm
To be planted in September or October
Height:  40 cm
Flowering period: April-May

White tulip of some kind 

(some unknown amount, likely around 15 pieces)

Allium aftanutense 

(some unknown amount, maybe around 10-15?)

In the past, there were quite a few Alliums planted there but I guess the whole digging and filling up with new soil probably made the old alliums disappear too low under ground.

Just a regular Scandinavian December...

Over a week ago, my daddy published some images taken at the beginning of December in their Italian garden picturing some roses that were blooming. It sounded quite weird to me... but thinking back I realized I had seen some white spots in the area around my roses. So last Sunday, I just confronted the weather and under the wet snow, I went exploring the garden to spot if I had been imagining stuff...
And I was indeed not! There were roses, white roses in full bloom. Slightly covered by the light snow!

18/12-2011

 It was my new beloved rose Thérèse de Lisieux purchased during last Spring from a French mail order company.

18/12-2011

So isn't nature beautiful? This is just one more typical Swedish December I guess... ;O) Or is it a French rose that believes it is still at home?! Just really hope they will survive the Swedish winter, really!

Tulip Maureen

This is a very beautiful tulip: long stemmed, with a clean white colour.

21/5-2011

It is though as any tulip very tasty for bunnies and bambies so it can be a good idea to protect them with some stinky substance that keeps those guys away.
These were presents from Janne, but I guess he purchased those at Schiphol Airport. I got them twice (actually three times, but I happened not to plant them correctly the last time - or actually not at all as it snowed before I made it). The first time I put them in the grass. That is not a really good idea as you are not supposed to cut them away until the leaves have become yellow and that impedes grass mowing for a far too long time. Plus if you have a robot mower, it will cut them when they are in bloom  :O(((( The other bunch was put in a specific bed, which was much smarter indeed. We'll have though to refurbish the bed as it has become rather "crappy".

Gypsophila elegans 'Crimson'

Latin: Gypsophila elegans
Swedish: Röd sommarslöja 'Crimson'
English: Baby's Breath 'Crimson'
Purchased 22-02-2011 from Impecta.

We sew it on the 9th June 2011. They seem to have come up in larger amounts and spots. Not a very regular growth it seems. Also I probably placed them too near to each other. But well, now I cannot do anything about it and will have to wait and see if it works anyways.
On the 15th June 2011, there was not much to see yet:

Summer's summary 2011-08-23: This plant grew very quick and it seems most seeds also developed. We distributed on a given area and it became very rich with flowers. The flowers are neat.

To say it was invasive is a too hard expression, but indeed they really took their place. The dahlia that was surrounded by them had to fight for space. Nothing tragic though. This will be a standing purchase every year, even though I might not plant as much of it next year now that I know how easy they grow. And yes, they are as beautiful as the catalog wants us to believe. Note though that if you look from above, there might be some places where they lay down.

Producer's description 
It produces incredible amounts of red, graceful small flowers. It fits well in bouquets as well as in flower beds. Here is an image downloaded from Impecta, just to give you an idea until I have my own pictures:

So I hopefully have something to look forward to.

Producer's instructions
Sow directly on the ground as soon as the soil is not frozen anylonger.

Helianthus annuus (Purpureus-gr.)

Latin: Helianthus annuus (Purpureus-gr.)

Swedish: Purpursolros ' Moulin Rouge'
English: Sunflower 'Moulin Rouge'
Purchased in Spring 2011 on the internet from Impecta

I planted the seeds as described in the producer's instructions some time in April I guess. Nearly all seeds grew but I personally feel all stems became far from strong. I felt that they were very unstable and as of now, 2011-06-21, many of them are either broken, dried out or do look ugly in some other way. I personally think they should have been planted out in their final place far earlier. I would guess it has been the main issue here.
I will still try to plant them outside very soon, hoping to save at least some of them, but I do not keep my hopes to high....

Producer's description
A magical sunflower with deep purple red petals with an ebony center. The stem is strong, dark red and the plant branches out. The flowers are 8-10cm. It is very suitable in bouquets. Interesting background flower or solitaire. Here is a picture I downloaded from Impecta:

Producer's instructions
Pre-cultivate indoors in April or sow directly outdoors in May or June. Soak the seeds 24 hours before planting them. Make sure that the soil is fertilized. After they have grown, they should be put in a light and cool area. They should be planted directly when there is no risk for night temperatures under 0.

Echinacea purpurea "Primadonna Deep Rose"

Latin: Echinacea purpurea "Primadonna Deep Rose" 
Swedish: Rosa Rudbeckia
English: Primadonna Deep Rose

I planted them in root trainers, can't remember when exactly, but I'd guess end of February-beginning of March 2011?! They have been in there since. Really time to plant them to their final destination very soon indeed.

Producer's information
This cultivar is supposed to give very large flowers between 12-15cm with light pink colour. It is a flower from the prairie that fits perfectly in the Swedish flower beds. On a picture I downloaded from the internet it looked like this:

Producer's instructions
Can be cultivated indoors between February and March or it can be cultivated outside in both vases and directly on the ground May to September. Cover seeds with a thin layer perlite.

Sowing: February to September
Growing time: 1-3 months
Full sun
Flowering period: July to October
Height: 75cm
Perennial
Zone: 4-5

Lobularia maritima 'Violet Queen'

 Latin: Lobularia maritima 'Violet Queen'
Swedish: Strandkrassing 'Violet Queen'
English: Sweet Alyssum 'Violet Queen'

Got this idea that we need to purchase flowers that can fit among others in rockeries. Our rockery is still not half way to being "plantable" but we need to make sure it will be very soon otherwise there will be a whole deal of sad flowers around here. Or they will end as all other flowers we purchased too early for the rockery. They dried out before they could be planted outside. But I believe it won't happen this once...

Producer's description
It gives a lot of small violet flowers with an inviting perfume. It can be used to cover the ground. It is ideal for borders and rockeries. This is a picture I downloaded from the producer:

Producer's Instructions
It should be cultivated indoors March to April or it can be sown directly outdoors as soon as the soil is not frozen any longer. Can be planted outside when the night temperature is above 0.

Sowing: March to May
Growing time: 5-15 days
Full sun to half sun
Flowering period: June to September
Height: 10cm
Annual

Berkheya Purpurea 'Silver Spikes'

Latin: Berkheya Purpurea 'Silver Spikes'
Swedish: Tistelaster ' Silver Spikes'
English: Purple Berkheya 'Silver Spikes'

I planted quite a few of these but it turns out, I should have not dumped them outside already. Difficult to know why I was not careful enough when it came to reading the instructions. What will happen now?
2011-07-13: Still alive, but not really kicking. Gave them some "flower power" yesterday. Let us see if it gives it a boost. On the other side, maybe I should not expect flowers this year....

Producer's description
Originally from South Africa. It is a perennial flower that normally already blooms during the first year. It is light lilac, with flowers of a size of 8cm . The leaves are long, zigzaged and somewhat spiny, downy leaves.
It can be grown in most soils. Here is also a picture I downloaded.

Producer's instructions
Should be cultivated inside February-March or they can be sown outside May-September. It is recommended to cover the seeds with a thin layer perlite. They can be planted outside in Automn or in Spring.

Perennial

Ptilotus Exaltatus 'Joey'

Latin: Ptilotus Exaltatus 'Joey'
Swedish: Kattamarant 'Joey'
English: Lamb's Tail 'Joey'

I purchased the seeds Spring 2011 from www.graines-baumaux.fr and I thought they looked cool. Little funny even. This is the way they are supposed to look when grown.

I am actually mostly fascinated by the flower. Here it is in a downloaded close-up.

I actually saw them at Blomstertorget. They are far from beautiful, but still rather cool. Let us hope they will grow.

It seems to be original from Australia (well, hope it does not create any imbalance over here just for revenge?!) . According to the supplier, the flower is supposed to be between 7cm and 12cm, but the ones I saw in the shop were rather 5cm than 12cm. The height of the plant should be around 40cm.
Can be grown in flower beds as well as vases.
Annual flower (actually it is a perennial, but not in Sweden).

Dahlia Honka Surprise

Dahlias are rather wimpish, but somehow there is something to them that makes me purchase them in industrial quantities anyways. Last year we purchased quite a few ones via a Dutch mail-order firm called eurobulb.nl or similar. We had them in vases with peat (it was supposed to be a good idea according to what I read) in the house for a long time until they became rather tall. That was a serious mistake. When we started moving them outside, most of the stems broke in half and most of the dahlias did not develop fully or they died completely.

One of the few that actually survived was Honka Surprise. Which was very good as it is indeed really cool. See here:

20/7-2011

It did not have so many flowers but the few it had were worth the whole fuzz... Unfortunately, it is rather tall (over one meter) so it requires support.

So this year, we decided to buy it again (no, we do not have the patience for keeping them alive over the winter. But they are so cheap, it is really not worth it).
It has grown a little bit, and we have already started moving it outside now as it is very little and we hope it won't break. As it is over 15 degrees tonight, all plants will stay outside. First step towards their full garden life...
Retrospective 21/8-2011: Moving it outside when it was very small was definitively a very good idea. The plant is now over 60 cm high and nearly as wide.

14/8-2011

It also has a lot of blossoms and 3 flowers.

14/8-2011

It looks very majestic compared to last year's sticks that could not stand by themselves at all. We have not used any support yet and it does not seem to fall at all.