First peonies, harvesting spruce, Iceland poppies,
Home object & Summer Jam.
First peonies.
rain,
O drip and slip.
It rained early this morning.
First proper rain for over a month.
We opened our eyes, smiled at each other, bathed in a moment of bliss,
falling in and out of sleep.
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Captured at dawn, June 29th.
Peonies are such a dream flowers, one of my (many) favourites. They are perennials and tolerate our very harsh Winters here in Finland. This year, will be our fifth Summer in our home and only now we have the possibility to really enjoy gardening.
I had bought, last year, one shrub to test how it would survive through the seasons. Once planted in a sunny spot to the right from our lilacs, it faded rather quickly. I was a bit disappointed but had hopes for the following Spring! Earlier in May…young shoots appeared, I was thrilled, and as it did so well, I decided to invest in more peonies, six. of them are Jan van Leeuwen, one is Shirley Temple, and the last is duchesse de Nemours.
Harvesting spruce tips from the forest.
I will place them in a jar and freeze them until later this Summer. Usually I would prepare something right away but my sister & mam are visiting in July and I wanted to share this with them, recipe coming in August :)
Iceland poppies, …oh Joy!
I bought two of those from a local garden center, three years ago. First year, it didn’t really count…as I planted it late in the Summer. Second year the plants got eaten by the deers in the Autumn… See below :S They went straight at it!
Following one, we raised a tiny fence to keep at bay all the forest animals but it didn't survive the really dry weather we had in June… as we were away for several weeks …
This year, at last… We have had an incredible May weather, but as expected very little to no rain, but the rain didn´t matter as I had made a priority to take the time every evening to give water to the flower patch. So the two poppies grew more everyday mostly the leaves I couldn´t see a stem neither a bud… until two days ago …
At last it appeared !! So much Joy to see four stems and buds after several years of struggles of growth. I look very much forward for the day they Bloom.
Home Object.
n° two
Sharing this month as a Home object, a beautiful book: What makes a Lake, within which my talented friend, Kōan, contributed on a piece. Read more here Kōan Brink
A Brief History of Lake Michigan, by Kōan Brink.
Summer Jam.
I created this Jam, the first summer we spent in our new home, the rhubarb in our garden was so plentiful, I had filled many jars in the freezer with it and when it came to August ... the red currant gave so many berries, to set free some space I had decided to make a few jars of Jam.
My recipe :
-Three stalks of rhubarb -Two cups of red currant -One vanilla pod -The zest of an orange -A chunk of ginger - Some chia seeds, and linseed (I never measure precisely) -Two generous spoons of your favourite honey • Let simmer on medium heat, let it cool & Enjoy!
Super delicious on a peach or nectarine!
Store in glass jars and freeze for the Winter months :) Recipe is also in this video (at the end).
Making Summer Jam in the Archipelago
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Dear friends, and readers,
Thank you for being here.
I hope you are enjoying those monthly newsletters. In the intention of creating a small community on here, I wanted to let you know that I will activate the paywall this coming July. My wish is to be able to share more of everything and in more depth with you future subscribers.
Sending sun rays from Finland, n.
One more thing, …
The apple trees are in bloom.
See you in June!