Photoblog

Given you are as gold-experienced as I (zero) will you agree with me that leaves of this golden elm are at least 20 carat? :-)
shuttlecock fern 08.05.2012
fernleaf peony 08.05.2012
This peony is so beautiful but sooo slow to open up from its buds :-)
Absolutely unique.
Witches' night :-) 30.04.2012
Hey! We are back. The season is higher than high and I hardly found enough time to have a decent meal, not speaking of time to sit down and upload a few pictures on our website along with my comments to basically anything and everything :-) And since the weather has been the key issue of the past few weeks as well as your winging about how cold it still was, we have good news: spring is here! Well, what we are experiencing now is not spring but true summer. 24 to 27°C at the end of April is something which even Tuscany can envy! It is supposed to continue for a few more days along with occasional thunderstorms and rainshowers. But still - the plants need all the warms, sun and rain they get. They had to survive such a bad winter and now they are eager for some help.
Witches' night :-) 30.04.2012
When the hard frost came I uploaded pictures showing our damage mostly on evergreen plants and I tried to calm your down saying "it is alright, the plants will pick up". Now we can see that they did, and are really shooting new leaves which is a sighn that they have made it through the toughest test in the past maybe 10 years.
Witches' night :-) 30.04.2012
Now, let's move on to nicer things, to what makes us happy at this early stage of spring with the nature bursting from nowhere, filling the air with loads of different perfumes as well as the gorgeous scent of freshly cut grass. I remember when I was a kid that when I noticed fresh scent of mowed grass the winter was definitely over and I would do anything to keep myself outside as much as I could. Today is the witches' night - the night before May 1 and it is quite a hot night with a lot of people gathering around bonfires, enjoying themselves and shaking off everything the winter could leave behind. And everyone is looking for the moment when the witch is put on fire and disappears in its flames :-)
The right spring 30.04.2012
Moss phlox is a perennial I fell in love with only recently when I visited a garden of our customer. She looked well after her plant, there was no weed underneath the cushion and the plant was neatly trimmed with profusion of flowers. So I gave it a try and planted a couple in my garden, too. Now see the result :-)
The right spring 30.04.2012
The other is Emerald Cushion Blue variety with lavender blue flowers.
The right spring 30.04.2012
Even witches broom is slowly coming out - in fact, quite the time today!
The right spring 30.04.2012
Kalmia polifolia.
The right spring 30.04.2012
Another plant for a rockery is this rock cress.
The right spring 30.04.2012
Are you surprised that I am also offering pictures of marsh marigold? Don´t be. It is absolutely exquisite!
The right spring 30.04.2012
The right spring 30.04.2012
Mountain cowslip is also an extravagant beauty.
The right spring 30.04.2012
"Fragrant Cloud" skimmia has lilac-like flowers that are also very fragrant.
"Genie" magnolia 19.04.2012
With this magnolia I stay away from any comments and leave you enjoy its beauty in silence ...
"Genie" magnolia 19.04.2012
"Genie" magnolia 19.04.2012
"Genie" magnolia 19.04.2012
"Genie" magnolia 19.04.2012
Spring? Rather all fools' ! "Okame" cherry 09.04.2012
This year's spring - as if we could call it spring at all - is a nasty piece of work. Two weeks ago we could do with a T-shirt and flip flops and this week thank God we have not stored our winter jackets yet! Get ready for some night and morning frost today and tomorrow as well. I know that some plants are blooming already but they must do without a coat and let's believe they will. Anyway, wether in April is supposed to swing like that, I guess, so may we all have a lovely Easter though it would be spent near a fireplace rather than running through a flowering orchard :-)
Freshly emerging leaves of this pieris are bright purple-pink. They come out along with flowers which enhances its beauty.
"Betty" magnolia 08.04.2012
So-called girl magnolias are hybrids with girl names that flower later than the earliest magnolias and can therefore escape late frosts. This one called Betty is my most favourite one. And as it is planted in front of a stone wall where it get direct sunlight morning till evening it blooms about a week earlier than the same plants anywhere else in the garden. It has a lovely, citrus fresh fragrance.
This year's novelty among magnolias is this beauty. It is called sunrise and produces flower buds that are this yellowish-green when young and only when the flower matures the colour cleans up to cream-white.
Like a thousand pink and white stars covering the tree canopy. This is a star-magnolia hybrid called Léonard Messel.
pieris "Cupido" 25.03.2012
Among the first to flower in early spring are lily-of-the-valley shrubs. They offer a wide range of sizes with coloured flowers and leaf types.
Yulan magnolia 18.03.2012
Yulan is one of our three earliest magnolias. Its flowers are creamy white and scented.
Head over heels about this magnolia, isn´t it just stunning!
Spring is here. Well, not astronomically, obviously, but flowers are coming out. If you don´t believe us just come and see for yourselves :-)
Primrose 10.03.2012
The first joy of forced spring.
Very attractive form of Smaragd arborvitae from Germany.
We are opening on Thursday! 28.02.2012
Well, here it is! Thursday is our first day this year. Loads of lush new plants as well as some changes, small and major which will DEFINITELY change your life :-)))
Shrovetide in Chlumec 24.02.2012
Another year has passed so I should not have been surprised to see those two Judes behind my door. They should have been begging for presents but instead ...
Shrovetide in Chlumec 24.02.2012
... they took away my house! I shall never open the door to theme again :-( Well, technically, I will have no door to open, will I? :-)))
Shrovetide in Chlumec 24.02.2012
In the end I managed to buy myself out of this fix. With what you ask? Food of course!!! :-)) See how happy and calm he is now, eating and drinking, chatting graciously ...
Shrovetide in Chlumec 24.02.2012
Shrovetide in Chlumec 24.02.2012
The biggest attraction was "tea", as always, since its main ingredience is a good mix of rum and jaggermeister :-) Especially kids came more than once :-)))
Shrovetide in Chlumec 24.02.2012
And also this year there were a lot of masks, and my favourite was this Addams crowd, only Pucksley was missing (allegedly in the reform school now).
Shrovetide in Chlumec 24.02.2012
The family was lead by notoriously positive grandma Addams.
Shrovetide in Chlumec 24.02.2012
... but Thing was present, as always close to its best friend uncle Fester.
Shrovetide in Chlumec 24.02.2012
And since the las nanny was turned to dust through electrick explosion, the baby had to be taken with. He surely enjoyed the rush. And in any case was provided with a bottel right there in the pram :-) Good boy. Just like Gomez. The mustache suits him!
Shrovetide in Chlumec 24.02.2012
Shrovetide in our village was a success, indeed, and we are looking forward to the realy colours of nature, not just of the masks. The weather forecast sound promising so let´s hope the spring will come next week for sure! :-)
Forced magnolias 23.02.2012
Not that we would plan it or wnt it. They just did. I mean it was so warm in December that some plants we stored in a cool house simply could not resist waiting for spring and started flowering. Especially magnolias. And the one that tops all the others is Iolanthe. I have not seen something so beautiful for a looong time. Isn't it gorgeous!
Forced magnolias 23.02.2012
This beauty is called Rustica Rubra and this picture show the inside which is completely white while ...
Forced magnolias 23.02.2012
... the exterior is deep purple red. Since there in the storage it was not exposed to any climatical difficulties its flowers opened entirely which is quite rare.
Forced magnolias 23.02.2012
The last of today's forced flowers is this Chinese missy Manchu Fan. Again, thanks to perfect conditions the flower showed its best - flame-like marking at the calyx on white petals.

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