Once again, three from the garden, three from the terrace — which is currently serving as my plant-based headquarters, a waystation between indoors and outdoors, and a reception area for new arrivals.

One — Return of the Pears

The family pear tree (planted summer 2023, with Tohtori, Souvenirs, and Pepi varieties grafted on) is finally blooming. I don’t remember if this is the first year I’ve seen it flower, but it feels like it is. Last year was a particularly dismal blossom year for all our fruit trees, and it was too young before that.

This is almost certainly Pepi flowering, because our standalone Pepi (nearly voting age and badly in need of a pruning) is also pushing some blooms. I’m happy with the enthusiasm this branch is showing. Homegrown pears this year, maybe?

Two — Forget-Me-Nots Being Memorable

I sowed some myosotis a few years ago in the flower field — just your standard blue forget-me-nots from a supermarket packet — and they’ve been steadily spreading in a delightful blue haze, mixing among the other perennials. A few volunteers have also popped up in my vegetable beds, but they’ll get transplanted elsewhere once their proper edible occupants move in.

Three — Spirealing Out of Control

We have a whole hedge of white spirea down by the greenhouse, and I keep meaning to give it a proper haircut because it’s gone a little feral. Like most of our older plants, really.

It doesn’t help that I completely forget about them each year until they bloom again — and then they’re impossible to ignore, with the whole fountains-of-flowers effect. By that point, of course, it’s too late to prune.

Four — Monday’s Vegetable Haul

I did some serious plant shopping this week, now that evening temps are holding around 10°C and everything can finally go into the ground. It’s usually not worth buying anything before then — you’re better off letting the nurseries keep everything under lights and watered for you.

(I’d like to get back into seed starting, but I’ve accepted that staging a general garden comeback year is enough work without tables full of tiny pots under grow lights. That’s on the list for next year.)

This is my Monday haul from Saaren Luomuosuuskunta, an organic farm about 40 minutes from us: four tomato varieties (Green Grape, Yellow Submarine, Brad’s Atomic Grape, and Quatro), two winter squashes (Hokkaido ‘Red Kuri’ and Butternut ‘Waltham’), a watermelon (Sugar Baby), some broad beans, sweetcorn (Damaun), and two mints (Karelian and peppermint).

Five — Wednesday’s Ornamental Haul

Wednesday was a trip to Vuorelan Puutarha, a much larger nursery just 15 minutes away with tons of ornamentals at great prices.

Heliotrope, another little fuchsia, a fun watercolor marguerite daisy, elephant grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’), feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Overdam’), a blue aster, shasta daisy, primula, two delphiniums (one white, one blue), a red-flowered heuchera, Allium ursinum, and two foxgloves.

I can’t remember all the variety names because they haven’t been planted yet, but they’ll probably show up here in their mature forms at some later date. Proper introductions to come.

Six — Saturday’s Plant Fair

And then today, our local garden association had a plant fair at the seminary garden — Raumanpuutarhayhdistys Taimipäivä.

Keep in mind: I went there looking for a peach tree and scented pelargoniums.

I left with: two drumstick alliums, Korean mulberry ‘Mulle’ (Morus acidosa), Itoh peony ‘Lollipop’, an unnamed pawpaw seedling, and sour cherry ‘Novella’ (Prunus cerasus).

The tree guy didn’t have peaches this year. The pelargonium lady didn’t have MobilePay.

Somehow, this was still the exact outcome I expected at this sort of event.

---

Thanks for visiting — see what the rest of the SoS crew is up to over at Jim’s page!