more chronicles

July 2015

PICTURES JULY 1, 2015

PICTURES JULY 25, 2015

Greetings to all our gardening friends.

We’re now approaching the end of July and the weather is cold, wet and, in a nutshell, simply awful. Terribly depressing and the darkest time of the year is still a long way off. We really could do with a few rays of sun around here.

But never mind the damp and miserable weather – how things are blooming! It’s quite remarkable. During the 20 or so years we’ve lived in Tumba, I’ve never seen the roses blooming in such profusion. My particular favourites are rambling roses that climb their way high up in the trees, such as Rosa Helenae hybrida, the closely-related Lykkefund and Aksel Olsen as well as my beloved that Seagull. Another absolute favourite – one I’ve mentioned many times before – is the clematis ‘Paul Farges’ (’Summer Snow’). Whereas we’ve been unsuccessful with quite a few other types of clematis, Summer Snow truly loves our garden and thrives in a manner which borders on the aggressive, climbing up and taking over trees covering (almost smothering) them masses of small white flowers. So while the elements have not been in our favour this year, at least we’ve been blessed with blooms in abundance.

I’d like to thank everyone who visited the garden last Sunday when we opened to the public within the framework of the magazine Land’s Open Garden scheme. Earlier this year we had the garden open three times to raise money for the Red Cross, and each time we were cursed with foul weather, rain and, on one occasion, almost gale-force winds. This time, thankfully, the weather was reasonably good and the sun even managed to put in an appearance for short time during the afternoon. Some 45 – 50 people visited the garden, and we’re very grateful that they did. It’s always fun to meet people, to show the garden and share and exchange thoughts, knowledge and ideas with others with a similar interest in gardening. After all, life is about encounters between people and, if there’s a shared interest, then there’s so much we can give to each other and all our lives become so much richer.

Our market season will soon be upon us. On 29 August, we will be taking part in the annual Sigtuna Möte market, to which we’ve been invited by our friends at Sigtuna Bookstore (who are also sell our greetings cards and trays). Our stall will be right in front of their shop and we’ll be offering a range of bulbs for autumn planting, as well as some of our own products. After that, on Saturday 5 September, we’ll be making the journey to Enköping and its Trädgårdsdagen (Garden Day). This year it will be the 6th time that we’re taking part in the market held in Skolparken, and it’s always great fun. By the way, Enköping and its fine parks and gardens are well worth a visit for all who are interested in gardens. Last but not least, we’ll be attending a market in our own neighbourhood when the Harvest Day market is held at Hågelby Park in Tumba on 19 September. If you get the opportunity, it would be great fun if you could stop by and say hello at one of our market stalls!

Warmest greetings from Tumba

Stefan, A Gentleman Gardener