Cup for Mom

Have tried before to create some cups for Mom with the desired size. Mom got some cups with a form she seemed to like a lot from Janne's mom some months ago. So I thought, let us do them similar so she might like it. And let us concentrate to make the cup straight as we know out of experience that "straightness" is an attribute that Mom values a lot... :O)And the below was the result of my full focus!

Also as for my previous present to Mom, the clay was not ideal and the choice of colour very difficult. But well, this was what came out. I decided to use the same colour, as I believe that it is often a good idea to have objects that are somewhat the same style on rather than having disparate things all over.
Here are some pictures to show the colours.

 

So let us see what Mom thinks! :O)

Pot for Mom

For Christmas, I tried to throw something nice for Mom, but it turned out to be an ugly pot. Or at least so thought Mom... She felt it was not straight...

So well, let us not give up and the first thing I tried to throw after Christmas break was a straight pot for Mom. This was the result of the activity. 

Unfortunately, my first choice of clay with some sort of "life" in was not available. Everything that was available at that point in time was white clay. Not sure what happened, normally there is much more to choose from. But not this time.

  

And just to make sure, look at the next picture. Definitively as straight as my untalented ME could go. Don't you agree? Anyway, I am rather happy of the result somewhat!

Mom does not like "uniform or boring colors" like everybody else does nowadays where the trend is "all white" and if they go wild, it could go "somewhat beige" or, at its wildest, "grey"....

So the base white clay I used was not helping my final result very much. Until I found a metallic brown colour in a bucket. It was not one of the colors we were supposed to use for some reason, but the teacher was nice (as usual) and I was allowed to use it anyway. It is a rather strange colour that can go from dark dark brown where it is very thin, to nearly dark orange with a metallic touch where it is at its thickest. Also hints of green are there... Wondering where they come from. Check it out!

  


Interesting colour. We cannot know if it is something for Mom, but it is definitively neither boring nor white/grey/beige...






Let us hope this time the little production is somewhat more appreciated... :O) It might as well go along with the cup I made for Mom.

An early Spring portrait...

Well, calling mid-April early Spring is sure a little of a stretch case, but well. It seems not to be behaving better than this this year. Snow one week ago does impact the course of the seasons.... April has always been a wild month among the years...

2012-04-14 Maureen tulips probably

My favorite tulip is starting to show. Today, I had a round about and sprayed it with stinky stuff to scare the bambies away! Let us hope it works! There were some tulips in the corner flower bed that had been chewed on brutally by some undesired animal. Those seemed to be beyond repair for this year. But well, there are more years to come....

2012-04-14 Our chicken...

This guy is currently wondering why we have left him out there during Winter time... But on the other hand, I guess he was fine:

2012-04-14 And its chicks...

He did have company after all!!!!

2012-04-14 Corylus Avellana 'Contorta'

Also what seems hopefully dried out after a long Winter turns out to have life in it! Our Corylus avellana 'Contorta' gives its best sprouts now! Actually, it does have its charms at Winter. Who needs leaves to be beautiful?!

2012-04-14 Salix caprea 'Kilmarnock'

Definitively not this guy, even though those fluffy things do have something :O)

2012-04-14 Salix caprea 'Kilmarnock'

One might wonder if it is the tree which is not straight, if it is the ground or even if it is the camera... Well, we'll never know... Not by looking at this blog anyway!

2012-04-14 Who remembers what this is?!

This little guy did survive even though the rule of thumb says if you plant a conifer late in Automn it won't make it through the Winter. It turns out the Winter was mild and it was well worth saving the huge amount of money it would have costed to purchase this little thing in Spring... Sometimes, you are lucky!

2012-04-14 Rhododendron catawbiense 'grandiflorum'

Sometimes the ground around you is just simply not good enough and you will stop growning. That is when you need to dig more and put more of the necessary soil around the roots and then it will start growning. This guy requires peat but was dug in too little hole with it. The rest around it was regular soil so it actually stopped growing. It was a pain to dig and stuff, but at the end of the story, when the whole work was done, it was worth it! Look at this rhododendron thrive.

2012-04-14 Azalea Japonica 'Rosalind'

And the Azalea is still around, even if it still is a little dry in some spots! The leaves are so beautiful because of the colour and of the shape!

2012-04-14 Some undefined rhododendron/Azalea

Very similar to these very small guys. I wish I know what sort these guys really belong to! I wonder how difficult it can be to actually tag them correctly before putting them on display... but, well, 'cheap' and 'beautiful' trumps the 'undefined' part of them.... It is the positive part of having a peat flower bed. You can find a lot of place for these kinds of plants!

2012-04-14 Magnolia Stellata

And finally, also the magnolia stellata survived it seems. And it seems it is even flowering in its first year! Crazy! I was expecting no flowers for years... Ok, let us admit, I was actually hoping for plenty of flowers the first year even though it was not really very realistic. Let us see how it looks like in a week or so!

2012-04-14 Cute magnolia tree?!

And sometimes things seem hopeless. You look at it and see no life. It seems there is nothing to do. You keep looking and looking... believe there is nothing to do. But truth is, as long as there is a good soil and good stable roots, they seem to make it at the end, even if the start is preeeetty slow! And when the sun shines again, then you know everything will be fine sooner or later! Let us hope sooner rather than later though... :O)

2012-04-14 Blueberries 'Goldtraube'

And sometimes, hard work brings its fruits: adding new fresh soil beds for good fruit! And here are some reasonable amounts of blueberries now on its way. Patience is very much required!!!!! But I do know they will be there sooner or later!

2012-04-14 Sea-buckthorn

These stingy ones are growing and growing for every year! Wonder really how big it will become! In their third year they are far taller than I am...;O)
Will they ever be able to cover the ugly thujas from the neighbour?!

2012-04-14  Physocarpus opulifolius  'Diable d'or'

At least at summer, we do know that these spireas are doing a great job at it! I do know it looks pretty tame right now! But I swear it will do its job in a month or so! Ok, maybe two.. I do not remember the exact timing for its flourishing right now!

2012-04-14 Lilacs

And also looking forward the lilacs to bloom. Their looks and their smell drive me crazy! Could sniff them non stop! Dear dear lilacs! To flower they will need some cow crap. Wish my daddy was here... He loves distributing cow crap... NOT... :O)

2012-04-14 Prune tree?!?!

Prunes anyone?! Or it might take some more years before the enjoyment comes?! That is the issue with new trees. They take ages to give fruits! Let us keep the bambies off this time!

2012-04-14 Professor Sprenger Flowering Crabapple

This apple tree won't give any edible apples but who cares: nobody in the household actually even likes apples from apple trees... But I would expect humongous amounts of flowers from it this year! Wonderful tree really it seemed in the plant nursery last year!

2012-04-14 Cornus Alba 'Elegantissima'

And the cornus alba is always late at start! And needs cow crap... Daddy?!?! Where are you when we need you the most... ?! :O) 

2012-04-14 Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace'

Or the Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace' that seems to become larger and larger. Last year all branches froze down and it had to start from scratch. It did reach well over my head during the last summer. And this year it seems to start from where it stopped growing last year. I guess, this plant is also going to become huge this year! 

2012-04-14 Rhubarb

And sometimes you do mistakes, you just don't dig enough. You have stones where you plant your plant. They will grow, but at some point, they will stop growing. Just like these rhubarb plants! Then you will have to do something radical. Take it out of its hole, and doing it you will sore its roots. And you feel "oh my dear God, what have I done", "How could I ever cultivate something with all those stones..." and swear you'll never do it again. You are scared it will not make it, but see here! 



It will need some serious amount of cow crap to be able to give at its full potential. Daddy?! Where are you?!?!

2012-04-14 Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood'

And here again... When all hope was nearly gone and I thought this little tree won't make it, here it goes! But now! Let us not forget to water it next time!!!! It does need continuous amounts of water I would believe! Maybe some cow crap?!?! Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' should be growing 1-2 meters I believe!

2012-04-14

 

And there are plants that seem to grow in Winter... Do they really or is it just a feeling?!










 
And once again, no matter how hopeless it seems when you see everything around you is dry and has no sign of life. You do know that as long as you have good roots and soil, watering and fertilizing will repair it all. Sometimes you need to do a big effort to repair rookie mistakes, but they will be worth it! You do know that sooner or later it will start blooming again. It was a long Winter, but now the early Spring is here.



And soon the blooming part of Spring will be here, too! Bigger and greater than ever before!

 

Spring atmosphere....

I know they are around all year nowadays, but they seem to thrive the best in Spring, don't they?!

2012-04-14

2012-04-14

 Tulips are simply too beautiful not to make you feel a little better.

Even if they come from the grocery's, there are still ways to make them feel more "yours"...

2012-04-14

A Winter Portrait...

This year, Winter has forgotten to stop by for real, but a few times, it has given an hint of being on its way. Just a few snow flakes make life so much nicer in the Winter darkness. And this I wanted to document for me to have a look at whenever I feel "Christmassy".

Coming home, this is what encounters me:

18/12-2011

Just do not ask me what grass this is, as I haven't got any label under my nose. :O)

18/12-2011

Looking on the other side, three of these have survived the light Winter. These kinds of "cauliflowers" are actually not supposed to do so really. They are supposed to be there and decorate the Autumn and that is about it. We did not bother to actually put them in a nice pot as it was such a temporary thing and they did not seem worth the effort, but that was obviously not correct, given that those three guys are still looking out in January.




Walking to the right, you will encounter this crazy plant that I really love. In Summertime, it actually displays red leaves, but those I really have no use of. I actually prefer them as they are in Winter really. :O)

This little scary crow is the next in turn among the eye catchers. It normally grows like crazy in summertime, but it does not look as arrogant in wintertime... :O), even if it still takes some space really. This summer I do plan to trim it much harder and keep it look as a ball, as I believed it would look like before I purchased it. Promise :O)

18/12-2011

And guess what: the Elephant grass looks so tall, you can hardly imagine. The gate behind is really taller than 2,5 meters. So you can guess the size of the grass, really. You are not supposed to cut it in Autumn but let it be as it is during the whole winter. It seems the straws can rot if you are not careful. And that we do not want! Really not! In spring time, you can cut them away and wait for them to come back stronger than ever. They are not very quick to start growing again, but when they do they repay for the patience. We have two of these next to each other.

18/12-2011

This is our newest guy. Very little it hardly reaches my ankles. We actually purchased it when it was completely on rebate (if I waited some more time, they probably would have paid me to take it away). Afterwards I realised why it was so cheap: this kind of plants you should not purchase so late in the Autumn as their chances of making through the winter are reduced to a minimum. So now let us hope it will make it anyways, even though I did not play by the book unfortunately. So far so good....

18/12-2011

What is this really... Well, it is hard to say but I'd guess it is Spirea "El diabolo"... It does not look that impressive either in wintertime naked of all leaves... :O) But I love it nevertheless...

18/12-2011

And here we are... our Schoons Bonsai tree. Still little brownish, but I personally feel it looks better than it did last year. So the movement might have taken some improvements with it, who can say.

From some perspective, it really seems healthy (nearly healthy).

And this guy seems very happy too. Making its bed larger seems to have been a pure health cure for our Rhododendron Catawbiense. Note to self: it does not like sun in early spring/late winter and gets easily burnt: cover it or water it for #...@ck's sake this year! Do you want flowers or not really?!

18/12-2011

Not easy to stand still when trying to balance at its height over those sticky guys. Berberis is cute but not very cuddly. Just this special type does look cool in summer, but this winter, which is probably the fifth winter this guy has spent in our garden, I found out it actually gives berries. Crazy!

This is the second building on our lot. Everybody needs a guest house on the premises. This specific house was actually given to Janne as a present by his sister. It came with black details, but I went artistic and added a touch of color... or maybe two... Well, our guests appreciate. Not sure it is because of the color or because of the food it actually also offers....

I am not sure if there is any moment in time where this specific rose does not look like crap... There might have been 2-3 days where some rose looked ok... Maybe some eradication may be on place. Ok, let us give it one more summer chance and rethink on some suitable action thereafter!

Hope it will learn something from its far more beautiful neighbour with time.... the Rose Thérèse de Lisieux. My favorite rose ever... or at least so far.

Apples are not my favorite fruit, or let us rephrase, Swedish apples are not my favorite fruit. So the idea of purchasing a real apple tree that would produce lots of apples that nobody of us really appreciates nor tolerates and let those poor apples rot on our lawn did not sound as an healthy option for our garden. So this decorative kind of apple became the obvious choice. The tree should grow to a larger size, and produce humongous amounts of white flowers, which will turn in late summer into cute red apples that nobody should even consider eating. Obviously a far more suitable option for our little family!

What the heck is this really?!?! The more I look at it the less I understand... Mh.... Weird....

Bambu is the new purchase for this year, the one that actually started a major refurbishing in the garden. And the one that still makes me sleep bad. Hope it does not spread!!!!

Salvia is a good herb but actually not my favorite in any way. I only like it in one way: as involtini, with thin meat slices and cooked ham. It looks pretty though in my opinion. And so far it seems still rather healthy.

And what do you guess this is?!
You have 3 guesses....

1... 2... 3...

Artichoke!!!!!

Let us see if it is an annual or a perennial really... :O)





Yes, gardening and winter is not the first "connection" you think about, but looking at the above I am inclined not to understand why not really! I love winter!