Being a gardener...

No no, don't worry, this blog is not developing into a gardeners blog... I just have a few things to show you before moving on.

In the comments someone mentioned the word collection... and yes, I guess that's what it is all about. Finding those plants you are like getting to know them and their special needs.

Some of you might know that I grew up in a nursery, and of course I also did some work there. One of things I liked the most was seeding and making small cuttings. I still like that, and instead of going out to buy new plants the next season, I am harvesting seeds. At this moment the Pansy's are starting to look a bit worn out. I will cut them, put them outside and hope for them to bloom one more time in the fall. But first... harvesting seeds. Pansy's are not true from seeds so the ones I get next year might be a little different or a mixture of the colors, but that's part of the fun...




My dad showed me how to make these little seed envelopes out of small pieces of sandwich paper. I really like them. You can see the seeds through them and the sandwich paper has a nice crisp feeling to them. The person who invented these little wonders must have been some crazy Japanese gardener with an interest in origami, or at least that's my conclusion...




For collecting the seeds I have made some small bag in mesh that is pulled over the flower when it is starting to wither and secured with a little piece of wire. Then all I do is wait for the seeds to mature and collect into the little bag.




In the potting area, I would like to have a box containing all the tools I need, and of course the box should be beautiful and the tools nice and in good quality... So far I have made list of things I use, so I know what to wish for in a better quality and with more beauty




I have started to write notes down in my little garden book. I put in pictures and makes small plant portraits. It is really nice to look through and hopefully it will help me in planning the years to come in the studio garden and greenhouse

Last year I bought 3 Australian violets ( Viola hederacea ), and tried to take cutting from them, but it seems that the cutting where so moist that they withered away before the roots developed. My new attempt is to let them have the connection to the mother plant while the roots develope. To encourage them yo make roots have I secured them tight to the soil with little pieces of wire. I guess I am preparing for another child... The big question is : When to cut the umbilical cord...

Another thing I have done in my attempt to be a good gardener is to buy a propagator. With that I can give the little cuttings and seeds the ultimate environment for making roots and for sprouting. Like chilies that needs a very high temperature for in the soil to start sprouting.

Favorites from the greenhouse...

I have quite a few flowers in the greenhouse, but looking at all these flowers, I realise that it can be a bit too much, it seems that my preferences are going more in the direction of leaves and small flowers. But all in all a nice mix is wonderful



Another thing I have to consider is the maintenance level. The plants grow like crazy in the humid warm climate. Watering all these plants is quite a work, so a water post inside the greenhouse with a hose, is really necessary. Also the withered flowers need to be removed and the floor kept somehow clean from dead leaves, flowers and insects. It is a balance because it is still a greenhouse and to some extend it is okay with a little mess when you bring nature inside...




Living fairly north it is a wonderful feeling to see the speed of growth in the greenhouse. It is like having a little piece of the Mediterranean area, and makes me dream of experimenting with things like growing lemongrass, capers and ancho chilies (my favorite chili), but, let's see. Heat is not everything when it comes to growing, the amount of light is also an important factor. For some plants the length of the season here up north is too short to ripen the fruit.




When people asked me about what the greenhouse should be used for, I kind of tried to avoid answering, since I didn't really knew. That is not the entirely truth... I had lots of ideas but as with all other thing in my life, things tend to change, other idea pop up, some stays some don't, and in the end of the process I always have to conclude that it was best that it evolved slowly. I am at the start of the journey with this project, and still thinking, testing and rethinking it all. But at least it is a lot of fun...



At the end I have to thank you for the welcome back comments...what a nice feeling

I am back...

I could have called this post "How to survive hyperimesis gravidarum..." but I will not, since I find no point in telling you how hard the last 6 months has been for me - and to some extend still is. Seriously, all I want is to start actually looking forward to this baby, due the 22th September, and get my normal life back. But in the same sentimental way as the Oscars are received, I want to thank those nurses at the hospital for giving me intravenous re-hydration every Monday and Friday, and those women in the same situation, I have spend hours and hours with. There is nothing that helps more than talking to other people who really know what it is all about.



As you can probably figure out I haven't been making anything for a long time, but I have spend hours in the greenhouse, since during the spring the place was cool and calm. Some of the energy I could gather I did spend trying to make the place nice. The overall plan for the greenhouse is that it should have a sitting area, a water post, a small potting area, an espalier in the middle to create small areas within the big space, and of course shelves and tables with pots and plants. There is a door from the shop directly to the greenhouse and the plan is to have shelves with pots for sale there and maybe even other places in the greenhouse. The shelves will be of the same type as the ones in the shop so they will visually connect the two rooms. So you see there are lots of plans and also a lot of work that I cannot do at this moment...but it will come...




I bought a nice little bench from mandalay. Normally I find garden furniture used, but the last years it seem to have been more difficult to find any, and I have been in love with this bench for a while.

I thought that the greenhouse should be filled with flowers and not so many vegetables and fruits, but having spend many hours there I realize that I miss the aesthetics of vegetables. So one tomato plant and 18 basil plants have found their way into the greenhouse (I can't really eat basil now, but I am planning on a huge pesto production after the baby is born. Next year I will have a laurel bush, a peach tree, an almond tree and maybe even more. This year I bought a lemon tree, it lives in the greenhouse during early spring and fall, but stays outside during the summer.




The stove used to be in the studio, but now i have air conditioning there, so I moved it to the greenhouse. It is a really nice thing to fire it up on a cold evening.

It just started raining and I will go sit down in the greenhouse. There's nothing like hearing the rain falling on the glass roof...

Building the greenhouse part one...

This posting starts with a picture of a lot of painted pieces of wood, -why ?! Well I just want to remember the nice feeling it was when I finished painting them. Let me tell there was A LOT of wood and they all had to be painted with one layer of oil and then two layers of a very strong greenhouse paint that took forever to dry. I could only paint one side at a time, then wait one day before turning the pieces to paint the other side. One batch took me 5 days to finish. Everything had to be done inside because of the slow drying process. I painted 2 hours every day for one month and then the painted wood had to harden for another month.




The wall had already been made and finally we could start to mount some of the pieces of the greenhouse. It was just so exciting...




Half of the rafters mounted...




Today's work done. All the rafters are up.

In Denmark we have a tradition of having a party when raising the roof tree: beer and hot dogs. So family was invited and flowers were hung by the rafters. We all sat down and enjoyed the moment. Well the others sat down, I just had to walk in and out of the greenhouse.. such a good moment...




Now I just cant wait to see it finished.

Oh and I forgot to tell you it is measures 8 by 4,2 m on the inside. 35 square meters.