Berry bushes

Berry bushes are doing good in our yard. Gooseberries and red currants alike. Black currants not so much. And the bumble bees are buzzing around. Funny I haven't really seen them too much until recently, but most apparently they have done their job with the bushes and the apple trees.

Flowers, mushrooms and colorful leaves

During this past week, the birches have turned all yellow. Yesterday was a very beautiful, very warm autumn day, today was a bit cooler, though mostly sunny. Yesterday we went hiking through some forests for a few hours, today our dogs were tired, so we only went walking around here a few times. Despite the autumn pushing, there's still flowers blooming here and there - yesterday we walked past a meadow full of flowers - with bees and other insects buzzing around. Mushrooms are popping up and climbing ivy on the balcony railing of our neighbor looks fantastic in its magentas and purples.

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Colors of Autumn

Our autumn this year has been a rather warm one so far. Still, the dropping night temperatures have slowly but surely started to turn nature into autumny colors. On Sunday we went outing in Nuuksio National Park, where there were still some blueberries (bilberries, really) in the bushes. Streets and trails are covered in fallen leaves - even though the trees still look pretty green. Aronia (chokeberry) is of the most beautiful autumn sights, with its leaves turning bright red and mauve, in contrast with the near black berries.

Sunflower, bees and butterflies

One, yes one, of the sunflowers I planted has grown to be a beautiful tall one. At least now I know where to plant them next year. This one is growing right next to our overgrown garden, which is really loved by bees and butterflies. They talk about mass deaths of bees, but there's plenty in our yard! As for the butterflies, I saw the first ones this year in August.

Garden and flowers

On Sunday I finally got around to doing some bigger pot planting. The summer having been so poor, the motivation for gardening is real low. On Sunday, anyway, I planted some basil, parsley cucumber, pepper, aubergine and courgettes into slightly bigger pots. The size of pots that can be taken inside, come autumn. None of those will be producing anything during this summer. 

The potatoes and onions are doing quite ok, radishes not so much even though they have grown huge leaves; the ground is too tough for them to grow properly with all the clay. We'll get a lot of apples, despite the locusts in the trees, I'm sure, and wild strawberries are growing wildly.

Despite the weather, flowers in our yard seem to be doing quite well.

Yesterday I visited my grandma at our summerplace. It was a rainy day, but I enjoyed being there. The huge rhododendron there is at the end of its blooming, most flowers have wilted already, some are still looking nice.

Birches and our garden

Birches are turning green. The ultimate sign of spring for me! Some are already very green, other types of birches are only getting there, some aren't even remotely green yet. The birches in our neighbor's yard are of the first type, those two latter ones can be found in our yard. 

In our yard, the flowers continue to bloom, tulips are the size of tea cups, and the apple trees are pushing out green and the surprise-berry-bushes have leaves. I found a ladybug snuggled in the nook of a twig on the other tree. A couple of pheasants came for a visit.

Our little starts of a garden have started to sprout, at least some of the stuff we planted. Broccoli, sunflowers, radishes, a cucumber or two, marigolds, chives at least. The nights have still been too cold for basil, parsley, dill, peppers et al.

We live inside the city limits of Helsinki, but we really don't live IN the CITY. I'm loving it!

Down by the sea

With our garden so shriveled up this year, the Seasons Diary has been more quiet this summer than it has ever been. Oh, well. Summer is still searing hot, even though it's nearly mid-August already. Next week should start the rainy cooler season, according to the forecasts. Cooler being day temperatures around 21-23C whereas they have been like 26-30 for weeks now. It is humid - 50-70% or so - making the still-moderate temperatures feel even hotter. Sweaty I would say.

The sea with its never stopping breeze is always a good choice when the going gets hot. A couple weeks ago we spent the weekend at our friends' island, and yesterday we drove down the Porkkala peninsula to enjoy the sunny Saturday.