Tuesday, April 7, 2009

A tough day at work today. One person lost her job last week due to little to do, one sick and one had to gon early (and he came late too :-) ). Naturally we had lodes to do so three people had to do a six person job. But there´s only one day left until I get my weekend so I´ll survive.


Doesn´t this look like a flower bud? If it is my nektarine will flower for the first time :-) Perhaps I can show You pictures og nekatrines in summer then :-) A nectarine isn´t really hardy enough to grow here so ythis is kind of unique. I sowed the seed six winters ago and it has grown ouside since then. Hold Your thumbs (or cross Your fingers as You say in english) so I can get at least one nektarine :-)

I sowed a lot of seeds this winter and now two of them have started to germinate :-) One really thorny bush that I woun´t even try to write or even remember :-) But I know it´s a close relative to the common Aralias that grows on the american continent. The other one is a yellow larkspur that grows in Persia. It can survive here if it grows in sand and the soil in my garden is mostly sand so I have high hopes that it will stay.

The bud of my filled pink hepatica is slowly opening it self.


It´s going to rain for two days now, but already on Good Friday sun will come and so will the warm winds :-) I really hope that we woun´t get any more snow now, but one never knows in April.

This will become a really thorny bush, hard to belive now isn´t it :-)
The swedish name for Good Friday is Long Friday and not to long ago everything was closed that day. Children weren´t supposed to play and have fun that day. If Jesus suffered, so should we :-) I don´t think that the Church of Sweden really understood then that this day isn´t a day of total sorrow. But I think that other churches understood better, that´s why it´s called Good Friday in english I think.
The flower buds has started to come on the potplants too. This is a begonia
Now I´m going to read Your blogs and then it´s time for bed I think. I can´t remember being this tired for a long time. So have a great day and see You Thursday.
Bee good!

and in swedish it´s called an Angelwing begonia because of it´s leafs. The reminde somewhat of angelwings. There is a species that has the exact same leafs but much bigger, they are called Pigs ears begonias :-)

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

... I think that 50 years from now when you go to Heaven, you'll be appointed as one of God's gardeners. Yes, I'm sure of that.
Debbie has that kind of talent, too, whereas I can only grow old and foolish in clay.

I wish you 'easiness' and comes Sunday, extra blessings ...

Take care ... GeeGee

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi GeeGee!
Thanks :-)
I don´t worry to much about the plants, they táke care of them selves so much better than I do :-)

You that has all these talents with painting and writing will never be foolish!
Olof.
Christer.

NinaH said...

Lovely with all buds everywhere! Especially the Nectarine! Hope you will get fruite 8-s) on it too!
Oh yes! I remember Long Friday when I was a kid! I had no sisters & brothers to play with... and were of cource not aloud to go playing with any other kids. And nothing open any where! And on radio only funeral tones! (no TV then... as I was born in stone age!!!...?;-)....) Yeah- that day felt really long!;-)

Anonymous said...

Good Friday as a child we spent mostly in church, then we had an Easter Egg roll in the afternoon. Sometimes an Easter Egg hunt at home in the garden. But it was usually too cold to search and play for too long. It's very cold here today, down around 50 degrees and the wind off the Atlantic is 15 mph, which makes for a wind chill. Brrrr. But not as bad as Sweden. I love your pictures of the plants. You will be lucky if the Nectarine does survive. It is prone to so much invasion, bugs love that tree. We never succeeded and so planted Orange and Lemon trees. Goodnight and don't let the bed bugs bite . . . if they do, hit them with a shoe, but not in the head. My German Nanny used to put us to bed with that rhyme.

woody said...

Sorry I missed your blog yesterday but caught up today. I always like your pictures andam now beginning to sense what a nice garden you have there.all the new growth is so nce to see and makes spring so pleasent. The shoe lace and razor blade thing is universal I think and are only a few examples of manufacturers raising profits by cutting quality. Geez over here even the trash bags are getting smaller and costing more.

NinaVästerplana said...

A really nicelooking hepatica you got there! Do you mind if I send a army of ants to bring me some seed?
Have a really nice holiday
Nina

Valerie said...

Such beautiful pics. I love the angelwing begonias! Would love to see the Pigs Ear begonias too!

When I was growing up, my mother was a stickler about observing Christ's passing on Good Friday. Between noon and three PM there was to be no playing, no television, no radio. At noon, all three of us kids got down on our knees before the crucifix that hung in my parent's bedroom and we said prayers. Some years we went to Church which was a very solemn and somber event. All symbols were draped in purple cloth and only candles were lit...no lights, music, etc. Of course, all 3 of us kids attended Catholic school and so we were out of school on Good Friday. This year, I plan to do the same with Mary, my 4-year old. No Disney Channel, computer, etc. My how things change yet stay the same!


Anyway, lovely post as usual.

Blessings to you from Kansas this Holy Week,
Valerie

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Have a nice rest time, Christer. It is fun watching Springtime unfold so far away. I am going to plant a lot of Begonia's this year as they are one of my favorites.

It is interesting hearing how different holidays are in other countries. A really nice post today Christer. You even sounded tired when you wrote. :)
Take good care. It is always a joy to visit you.
Mona

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

I forgot ... the nectarine! Yes..you will get some! Wouldn't that be nice? How do I know? LOL
I don't. Just guessing! :)

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi NinaH!
I was lucky enough to have friends parents, as well as mine, that thought it was more important for us kids to have fun than respect what others thought :-)

Well I was born at the late ironage :-) So we had at least tv, but no fun was showed on it though :-)
Happy Easter!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi ZaM!
We are a bit lucky with our cold climat here in some ways. We don´t have that much problems with bugs and diseases that will attack nectarines :-) Two funguses is a problem though. Monilla and a diseases that makes the leafs curly and slowly kills the tree. Fortunally this tree semes resistant to the last one. Quite unusual I´ve heard.
Have a happy easter !
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Woody!
So it´s a world wide conspirasy from the shoelace and razorblade manufactors then :-) Trash bags are as big as ever, but very expensive nowdays.
Have a happy easter!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Nina!
Sorry but that Hepatica is totally sterile, it got extra petals instead. The same with all filled hepaticas I´m afraid. One can split them in two when it´s big enough, so now Your number one in the line for a part :-)
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Valerie!
You´ll have to tell me how it worked with Your doughter. Perhaps she think that it´s great or perhaps this is the last time You´ll try it :-)

If I see a Pigs ears begonia I´ll take a picture of it for You!
Happy easter!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Mona!
I really hopes that I at least get one or two fruits on the nectarine, so I can tell You how delicious it was :-)

Easter is really celibrated different all over the world I think. We who lives at the westcoats in Sweden celebrates it a bit different from those living in the rest of the country, but more about that tomorrow.

I really was tired yesterday, fell aslepp as soon my head hit the pillow :-)
Happy easter!
Christer.