Fåglar i trädgården
En liten, enkel fågelmatare utanför köksfönstret blev till en riktig succé. Det är allt himla mysigt att sitta vid köksbordet och titta på dessa småttingar när de äter frukost. ☺️
Min trädgård
Stor planteringslåda med vintergrönt och juldekorationer
Minns ni min stora planteringslåda? På sommaren var den fylld med alunrot, ormöga och andra lummiga perenner. Den ser ganska annorlunda ut nu. Den har blivit vintergrön och är redo för jul! Jag plockade lite grönt från skogen, några grenar från en rysk kornell och thuja från min trädgård och tillsammans med några julgranskulor blev det himla fint.
Julros Viv. Victoria och Alunrot Sweet Tea
Julros Viv. Victoria och Alunrot Sweet Tea är en fin perennkombination som dessutom är vintergrön. Jag som har en liten trädgård som jag dessutom ser från alla köksfönstret vill att den ska se fin ut alla månader på året. Jag har börjat att plantera fler och fler vintergröna växter.
Den mörkröda färgen gifter ihop den och syns i bladen på alunroten och blommorna på julrosen. Nu hoppas jag att de kommer att trivas!
Magnolia Loebneri ‘Wildcat’ is Budding
Magnolia Loebneri ‘Wildcat’ is budding and is also getting quite a lot of visitors ???. If you’re looking for a tree that puts on quite a show while staying on the smaller side I can recommend this one.
It blooms in early spring with huge, white flowers that are big as a hand, smell heavenly and bloom for weeks.
The tree gets 7-10′ (2-3m) tall and slightly less wide. It prefers sun or part shade and can be planted in US zones 4-8 (Swe zones 1-3).
The bird feeder that we got a few weeks ago is doing it’s job! We’ve got tons of small birds in the garden while the bigger ones are staying away.
October Garden Photo Collage
Frost came early this year. Despite the cold nights the garden stayed colorful throughout October. Much thanks to all the evergreen climbers, perennials and shrubs.
It’s soon time to replace the pumpkins with Christmas light and decorations! Are you guys looking forward to that? ???
Cleaning Out Oak Leaves from the Garden
The big oak trees above my garden dropped their leaves over night and made a huge mess. At the same time I’m happy that they’re all gone and I can clean it up in one day.
I usually leave most leaves in the flower beds over winter. They make a great mulch and provide protection for the plants. Oak tree leaves however don’t decompose for at least two seasons and look quite messy during that time. So I try to get rid of them during fall.
Belysning i min pergola
Dagarna har blivit kortare så det var dags att sätta upp belysning i min pergola. Redan klockan fem på eftermiddagen är det bäcksvart och vi har fler mörka månader framför oss. Vi gjorde om vår pergola för ett litet tag sedan och belysningen var det sista kvar.
Klätterväxter och ljusslinga
När jag skulle välja belysning funderade jag länge på större ljusslingor eftersom jag tycker att de är riktigt tjusiga. Men eftersom jag även har klätterväxter i pergolan landade jag i ljusslinga med små lampor. Medan de större lamporna är snyggare så passar de små bättre in med bladen från klätterväxten. Tillsammans ser de ut att riktigt lysa. Så fint!
Planting Tulip Combo – Queen of Night & Très Chic
I got 200 tulips $10 (100kr) at Rusta today! A lovely blend of Queen of Night & Très Chic. I wasn’t planning on planting any bulbs this fall but at this price it was too good to turn down.
The tulips are going into both the raised beds. They’ll look pretty with the white Sweet Woodruff and the red Heucheras (the Heucheras were planted lated this year so they are not in the photo).
Stunning Fall Colors in the Small Garden
The colors in the garden at the peak of fall incredible, much thanks to the huge oak trees. The brownish foliage creates such a dramatic backdrop. They will keep on to their leaves for just a couple more weeks. Then come a windy day and and a lot of the leaves will fall into my garden. It’s worth it though. The show they bring is stunning and I don’t minde spending time outside, raking.
I made a post about the importance of incorporating the surroundings into a small garden. Here’s an example of the color of the boardwalk blending with the color of the oak trees.
Garden Makeover – 4 Tips on How to Design a Small Garden
I found these old pics of the garden. I though that I would share them and also share my learnings from designing a small garden.
March 2016 
July 2019
First year in the new house was all about cleanup. We removed all things broken and old. Among them was an arbor with ”sticks” stuck to it. Turns out that the sticks were a climbing rose.
Tip #1 – Do not remove any plants the first year in a new garden!
Wait it out a whole season and see what you’ve got. You might be lucky enough to inherit a garden full of lovely plants! Some of them, like bulbs, you won’t even be able to see at first.
May 2016 
July 2019
Next step was to get grass! I had a romanticised idea of walking out into the garden in the morning and feeling the grass between my toes. What I didn’t know was that grass requires drainage. Rain water needs somewhere to go or otherwise the grass roots, and any plant roots really will have no air and die. Our soil was hard clay with no drainage what so ever. Rain would cause water puddles to form and the grass looked miserable.
Tip #2 – Check the soil type and drainage. Don’t spend money plants before you’ve got those two in place.
The solution in my garden was raised beds. I’ve build 20-50 in (25-50cm) high raised beds out of wood. I’ve lined them with plastic and filled them with well draining soil.
May 2017 
June 2019
Year two was about planting. Since I didn’t know much about plants I started off small. I planted a shrub in one corner and a handfull of perennials here and there. I remember feeling a bit disappointed. The end result wasn’t what I had imagined. The garden looked cluttered.
Tip #3 – Small gardens need big plants or big groups of plants for impact.
Choose one type of perennial and plant groups of 8-12. It might sound a lot but that’s how many you’ll need to avoid it feeling cluttered. Also, repeat the same groups throughout the garden. For example, I use red Heucheras in several places to create a coherent impression.
April 2018 – Area behind the pergola that used to be a puddle of mud 
June 2019 – Dry boardwalk and shade loving plants
Eventually I got fed up of stepping around in wet soil. I wanted a material that I could walk on that felt soft and dry. Wood met that criteria and also was easy to work with. So I built a wooden boardwalk all though the garden and behind the pergola. I’ve described why I put it on the diagonal in a previous post, a design choice I’m very happy with.
Tip #4 – Challenging parts of the garden like wet areas or shade can become the most interesting with some imagination and creative ideas!
Before and After
April 2017 
July 2019