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juni 2019

Make your garden appear bigger with big-sized raised beds

Large object make the space look bigger – small objects do the opposite
It might seem odd, but one big container, shrub or tree makes an area appear bigger while many smaller objects do the opposite, especially if spread out. Use large raised beds to make a small garden appear bigger.

Wooden big raised bed with Boxwood, Heuchera ’Obsidian’ and Creeping forget-me-not Omphalodes verna
Boxwoods being structure and create winter interest
Deschampsia cespitosa ’Goldschleier’ (tufted hair grass) contrasts the dark Heuchera ’Obsidian’. It’s a beautiful semi-green grass that can handle sun to part shade and grows 2-3 feet tall.
Mid spring bloomer Globeflower Trollius x cultorum ’Cheddar’ picks up the yellow color from the Tufted hair grass. Grows 25-27 in full sun – part shade.
Columbine Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata ’Black Barlow’ picks up the dark colors of the Heuchera ’Obsidian’. Can handle sun – part sun, grows 28-30 in high and can self seed.
The Creeping forget-me-not Omphalodes verna, sometime called blue-eyed Mary is a lovely ground cover that comes up early in the with fresh green leaves and tiny blue flowers. It prefers part-shade but does ok in shade as well.
  • Before…
  • …and after

Visit to Peter Korn’s garden

peter korns trädgård
Beautiful lupins and ”the meadow” in the background

Stepping into Peter Korn’s garden is like stepping into a completely different part of the world. Peter has created a unique ecosystem of ordinary plants like lupins and irises mixed with anything but ordinary plants like cactus. To grow cacti in Sweden seemed like magic to me, so I was very excited to visit this place.

The garden is set on a hillside with a view to die for. The borders are made out of sand and gravel – which is how Peter has gotten exotic plants to grow in a cool climate. If you’re curious to know more, Peter has written a book on about the garden.

More Lupins combined with yellow Irises
View of the pond
  • Notice the tree growing on the roof of the house
  • Big leaves…
  • …and tiny flowers
  • Tree growing on what seems to look like stone
  • Calming grasses
More pretty lupins
  • So much detail
  • The stone got a ”coat”
  • Foliage =)
  • Purple pinecones. I have no idea what the name of this plant is, but it’s gorgeous.
Nature taking over
Cosy corner of the garden. Water lilies are in bloom.

Peter was nice enough to give me one of the cacti he has grown. He ensured me that it will survive the Swedish winter as long as it gets plenty of sun and stays planted in sand. I gave it a new home in the sunniest corner of my garden.

Pergola Makeover

We’re finally done with the pergola makeover. Like most of my projekts, it took longer than I thought. I underestimated the time it took to paint all the crooks and corners. I also ran into things like a stubborn Ivy that needed untangling, a compost that I really didn’t want to move and instead painted around and our two bunnies that were very curious about newly painted walls. Still, it turned out really great and I’m happy i did it!

Color scheme

I wanted the pergola to fit with our house color (light grey) and at the same time melt into the surroundings. These were the four color schemes I chose from.

  • #1 – grey inside – black outside
  • #2 – brown
  • #3 – white
  • #4 – white with black roof

#1 grey inside – black outside were the colors I went with for three reasons:
– Grey looks more natural than white and fits with the house color
– Black makes the plants pop and contrasts the house
– Main reason: the combination of a dark outside and light inside creates a feeling of the inside being lit up and welcoming. It’s a really nice effect!

Here are the before and after photos.

  • Before
  • After
  • Before
  • After
  • Before
  • After

I’m very happy I that I went along with the projekt, even though it was more work than I thought. I think it turned out wonderfully!