The rose bed

Funn fra rosebedet

I det siste har jeg jobbet meg rundt i hagen, bed for bed, for å få litt orden her. 

Lukeiveren var ikke særlig stor i fjor så her var mye å ta tak i. 

Mye har vokst her siden forrige luking, mest ugress. 

Lately I've worked my way through the flower beds of our garden, one by one, trying to sort things out a bit. 

I can't have been particularly eager weeding last year, cause there was a lot to do here.

Rosebedet var et ordentlig sørgelig syn. 

Her har jeg to klatrende New Dawn rosebusker . De har blomstret fint tidligere år, uten mye stell, men så ikke særlig godt ut nå.

Jeg beskar visne greiner, fjernet all ugress og gjorde bedet litt større, Så kastet på mer jord for å dekke podepunktet og godt med gjødsel.


The rose bed was looking awful.
We've got two Ned Dawn rose bushes here. They've blossomed nicely earlier years, but didn't look too good now.
I cut off the dead branches, took out all the weed and made the bed bigger. Then I threw on more soil and fertilizer.

Tidligere har der vært prestekrager, tusenfryd og løytnantshjerte  også i dette bedet.

Jeg fant ikke igjen tusenfryd og løytnantshjerte, dem hadde vel ugresset tatt knekken på. 

Men prestekragene hadde klart seg og var spredt over hele bedet. Jeg røsket dem opp og satte dem i klynger på hver side av rosebuskene. På bildene er det litt trøtte etter å ha ligget noen timer på bakken, men forhåpentligvis kommer de til hektene igjen .

There used to be oxeye daisies, bellis perennies, and bleeding heart, but all I could find now was the oxeye daisies which I put down on either side of the New Dawn. On the picture they're a bit tired looking after a few hours on the ground, but hopefully they will straighten up again. 

Litt trøtte prestekrager.

Growing in the shadows

Blomsterkassen på nordsiden av huset har fått litt ekstra oppmerksomhet i det siste. Jeg har omsider fått malt den, nå er den nymalt og fin.

Fra før av vokser revebjelle,  hosta, julerose, klatrebeinved og   bregne her. Og nå også den nyplantede bergflette/eføy, 

 - håper den vil trives på denne skyggefulle plassen.

Skal ordne netting og feste på pålene rundt kassen så den har noe å klatre på.

Har fylt på litt jord (blanding av sand og vanlig plantejord) og gjødsel, og håper dette vil få fart på voksingen.

Upgrading the big flower box on the north side of the house:
A couple of coats of white paint and the addition of an ivy  .
From before grow foxglove, hosta, wintercreeper, fern, Christmas rose.

Zooming out - zooming in

Walking by the one fairly tidy corner in our living room. 

In our house, come to think of it. 

So it had to be documented. 

That the rest of the house is not looking too good  just can't be helped. 

Now it's outdoor work on my schedule. 

Working weather forecast

For the rest of this week the weather forecast predicts SUMMER. And for me that means WORK! I have a long list of to do's that requires good weather. First of all to finish painting our house. There's not much left, just some second coats: half a wall here and some window trims there. And a flower box. 

So really nothing much.

First of all I wanted to tackle the wall above the garage that's missing the last coat. 

But it's been a while since last I climbed a ladder, or walked on a roof. 

It took me some time before I got to the top of the ladder or on to the garage roof. 

My daughter wanted to try, she ran to the the top of the roof without hesitation. 

I still wasn't sure. 

Not until my neighbour said I ought to ask a man to do it and then voluntaired her husband to come help me,
did I pull myself together and get to the top of the roof :)

(Too bad there wasn't anyone to take my picture)

But still a bit rusty and nervous, I didn't manage to get on to the roof with the paint and brush in hand. 

I'll try again tomorrow!

(If my legs have stopped shaking by then)

My next job was a lot less nerve wrecking; planting a couple of million bells. 

And a lot faster. 

And instant improvement!

Before - last year's long since dead hanging flowers

Now - Million bells freshly planted

Mini petunias in the palest lilac

Health in a tall glass

We've had an abundance of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries lately. The raspberries are finished, and the other berries startetd to get a bit old. So my daughter requested we make smoothie of the berries we had left. 

This is what I used for the contents in the glasses:  

A couple of table spoons of yoghurt naturel

A couple of ice cubes - crushed

About 6 big strawberries

About 20 blueberries

A bit of a banana

This was the first smoothie I made, but it won't be the last!

Delicious!

17 May celebration, 2012

Early, busy,  expectations, wait, wet, cold, walk, stand, que, crowdy, happy kids, patient parents,
more busy, more walk, more wet, more cold, tired kids, tired grown ups. 

These are my words for this year's 17 May celebration.

When I asked my 7 year old daughter what she thought, she said:

"Best day ever"

!

Between the parades we went home to dry and warm up, and have something to eat. 

Our meal was sour cream porridge with buttereye, sugar and cinnamon, 

and on the side flatbread with cured meat, 

a 17 May tradition we've brought with us from our time in Bergen. 

Simple and tasty:)

Tasty red, white and blue

This week we have been testing desserts to make for 17 May - National Day of Norway.

Our favourite is fruit salad of strawberry, raspberry and blueberry, topped with vanilla sauce. Food in the colours of the flag - red, white and blue. Plain, simple and 

deliciously tasty. 

Some prefer more white than others:)