My roses are blooming

More than a month away from garden blogging, more than a month constantly on the road (world travelling is my passion), more than a month without the combination of sun and me at home in my garden.

But today everything goes my way. I am off work, the sun shines, the butterlies are partying and the roses compete with the lavenders in their blooming.

I walk around in the garden, weeding some here some there, but most of all I enjoy the sparkling colour palette. I smell the roses, I photograph the roses, I enjoy their beauty, I dream myself into the world of roses.

A rose is a rose is a rose.........

Blue Poppy Sister

When you have a garden there are milestone days almost every day. The day when the first "blå valmuesøster" (Blue Poppy Sister" is a day I always look forward to. I love this flower. I had several in my old garden, but when we moved here it tok me years to find replacements. Last year I found two, and today the first one started to bloom.

Every day in a gardener's life is a feast day.

Fruit trees in The Blue Garden

The last tulips take the prize

Tulip Time

Though we are back to cold temperatures, my tulips have never been blooming in May 17th, Norway's Constitutional Day, before. This year their beauty sends out flirtatious vibes. I was out photographing early this morning, and the buds were not open yet. Later today they will unfold their hearts offering love to the world.

The white ball like ones are supposed to be red with white stripes when they open. I am excited to see.

I don't need diamonds and pearls.....

"What do you want for your 50th birthday?" my husband asked. I couldn't give him an answer right away and thought about it for days. A diamon ring? A golden necklace? The world was mine and I could choose on its top shelf.

But I don't have much need for diamons and pearls, and hesitated to put it on top of my wish list.

Suddenly I knew the answer to Terje's question. "I want your loving hands in the garden!"

His hands are working in the garden just as much as mine are, but his gift for me will be some special project. First the kitchen veranda will get a well deserved face lift. Second I want a potting shed. Third.......wel,, that's not decided yet.

How long will I be able to claim extra working hours from him :-)

Old memories......and tulips soon in bloom

Grandma Olga lived in an old red house. She was widowed only two months after I was born in 1958, and when her grandchildren started to come she had alot of time available for us. I loved spending the night with granny, alone or with cousin Oddbjørg who was one year older than me and my hero through most of my childhood. Grandma's red house had a huge garden, with the best treat a little girl could imagine, a secret garden made by a circle of lilacs. In the middle of the circle was a stone table and two benches. The scent of lilacs always reminds me for childhood secrets. In all my own gardens later in life I have tried to plant lilacs, but they will never grow for me. I have come to realize it must be not to take my fragrant childhood memories away.

When I married the summer of 1980, Terje and I moved into the old red house together with grandma Olga, and we started to garden with her. The first thing we did was digging a vegetable garden where we planted beans and peas, and when autumn came we filled the freezer with vegetables for winter soups.

Wherever we walked in grandma's garden I found tiny blue scillas, and they soon became one of my favorite flowers. Blue muscaris were also found around in grandma Olga's garden, and the first thing I do now when moving to a new place (not that we move very often) is to plant scillas and muscaris. Lots of them.
My tulips are starting to bloom. This photo was taken last week.