Violets are blue

The snow is slowly melting away. Spring has decided to return. Tonight we're going to put our clocks and watches forward one hour - summertime is here.

In my borders the tiny Viola odorata has started to bloom. The colour is stunning - so very, very blue. And it smells heavenly. So, I forgive its invasive nature and bend down to enjoy the flowers.

Another Violet that I enjoy, is Viola hederacea. It's a Violet from Australia, if I'm not misinformed, so I keep it in my winter garden until the risk of frost is over. Like its cousin Viola odorata, it has a spreading habit. But its easily removed from unwanted spaces and the tiny flowers are very pretty indeed.

A distant cousin to those two Violets, is the Pansy. I just love pansies! The flowers often remind me of small, human faces and they are early bloomers which come in lots of different colours and sizes. I prefer the smaller varieties since they look more like violets. Especially the blue ones.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend with lots of sun! /Katarina

Wordless Wednesday

After Spring came Winter.....

Happy Easter!

Good Friday - with plenty of snow

This year has been very strange. Normally, we have four quite different seasons in Sweden - but this year winter never came along... - Until now, that is.

A couple of days ago, winter arrived with lots of snow.

It's white and beautiful outside, but what about the plants? Many of them have already started their growth, like geraniums, daylilies and peonies just to mention a few. - What will happen to them now?

The Mahonia will survive. It's a tough bush and it will probably keep its flowers.

The Honeysuckle will probably go back to sleep for a couple of days, and wake up again when Spring returns...

But the crocuses don't look too happy.

Neither do the Hellebores

nor the Daffodiles.

I hope the Carex flagellifera will survive - it's bronze-coloured foliage looks great during summer when planted next to plants with silvery leaves.

The Chives might not like it underneath the snow; I hope they won't rot!

Tomorrow I'm going to take a witches' ride! Happy Easter!

Wordless Wednesday

Jewels

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, March 15

Today is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - an idea originating from May Dreams Gardens. The idea is to show what's blooming in our gardens by the 15th of each month.This is what's blooming in my garden right now:

The Hellebores which I showed a couple of days ago, are still in bloom. A newcomer in my garden is helleborus argutifolius. Not very spectacular, but still very pretty, I think.

Some bulbs haven't started to bloom yet, others are still blooming. We've had snowdrops for a very long time this year, due to early spring with chilly temperatures.














Crocuses embelllish the garden.....
















as do the daffodils Tête-á-tête...














and the pansies.

















The mahonia shrub is beautiful with its bronze foliage and yellow flowers....
















with vinca minor underneath.



















The pulmonaria has opened its first flowers....

















...and the tiny, creeping, arabis purpurea is so pretty growing amongst the leaves of the tulips.














Inside our heated verandah, the lovely scent of passiflora caerulea fills the air...

















...and a mini rose blooms with tiny, yellow flowers. Unfortunately it's got no scent at all, but you can't get everything, can you?



















The white camellia 'Silver Anniversary' continues to flower...

















....and finally, the fuchsia 'Lena' has also started to bloom. It's a great time of year!



















That's about it for today - I'm now going to enjoy your gardens! /Katarina

Wordless Wednesday

Botanical crocus - exquisite simplicty...

Heavenly Helleborus

One of my favourites this time of year, is Helleborus. The flowers look somewhat vulnerable, although the plants seem to be very tough. Despite chilly winds and occasional frost - my Helleborus orientale has been in bloom since October. And new foliage and new flowers are on their way...


The same goes for my double Helleborus niger. Big, heavy flowers from autumn - and new ones keep appearing. The only thing with this one, is that you have to bend down to be able to see the true beauty of the flower.


Helleborus atrorubens is a newcomer in my garden. I found a flowering plant, in the shop of the Botanical gardens here in Gothenburg, a couple of weeks ago, and I immediately fell in love. Although the flowers are quite small the dark, purple colour with greenish shadings is outstanding!


Finally, Helleborus abchasicus. This plant has just started its bloom - and it's so beautiful! Big, purple flowers - hopefully throughout Spring...



Wishing you all a nice week-end /Katarina

Wordless Wednesday

Arabis purpurea, a tiny, early bloomer from the mountains of Cyprus.