One of the things I miss the most from living in London is marvelling the magnolias and cherry blossom trees in the spring. Their delicate and elegant flowers brought me so much joy. We have cute little cherry trees in Iceland, which it’s nice to see bloom, but completely different from the experience of watching the breathtaking beauty of the huge trees in London blossom. Not to mention Japan.
I remember when everyone was convinced growing cherry blossom trees was not a possibility in the cold climate of Iceland with its short summers. However, it’s been proved wrong and I’ve seen quite a few pretty trees in my neighbourhood gardens. Therefore I decided to give it a go and bought a little tree in a pot last spring and an apple tree as well.
Despite being tiny they bloomed beautifully and later during the summer I removed them from their pots and planted in the front yard. The apple tree provided a few tiny fruits. Thumb nail sized. Winter has been unusually mild so hopefully that’s helped them thrive. I’m waiting in excitement to see what happens in May. That’s when spring starts in Iceland.
I’ve always loved lavender as well, so bought a plant in a pot to enjoy over summer. Wasn’t optimistic about growing it in the garden and that it would survive the harsh Icelandic winters. Decided to plant it in the front yard nevertheless and see what happens. It bloomed beautifully and the fragrant was delightful. I hope it survived the winter since it was mild.
My mum grew gorgeous roses and as a kid I loved watching her tending to them. Last spring I planted three types of roses, Queen Elizabeth, Peace and Pascali. They grew quite a bit over summer and I observed in amazement when the Queen Elizabeth’s stems began to set buds. They became rather big, but unfortunately it was too late in the summer for the rose to open flowers before the first frosty winter night. I hope these beauties manage to bloom this summer. In my front yard I’ve grown Hansa roses for a couple of decades. They are resilient and the beautiful fragrant is so nice to come home to when they’re in bloom. I also like to cut roses for vases and bowls to get the wonderful smell in my flat.
In all likelihood I’ll be adding quite a bit of new species of flowers to my garden this summer. And the greenhouse as well.
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