I went up to the garden after work yesterday, simply because the weather was so spectacular (and sadly looks set to grow colder, greyer and wetter over the weekend).
Anyway, the forget-me-nots are now in full bloom and an absolute delight where they’ve been allowed to spread because I’m not mowing the lawn as close to the “woodland” area towards the road as the previous owners did. They happily compete with the grass in this rather shady area, and they turn a dull, useless area into something very pretty:
-Right next to them is a bit of omphalodes verna, which in Danish is called kærminde; “treasured memory”. Now, not only are the names quite similar in many ways, but the flowers are also very similar, so they create a little blue corner.
The past weekend I planted 30 dahlias in the Sunny Border, and I’m becoming more and more convinced that it’s too small, but maybe it’s just because I need to get cracking with the Ambitious Border right opposite it so the Sunny Border won’t be the sole focus.
Also, I need to visualise what it will look like when all the dahlias are 1 meter tall, the Chinese anemones begin to send their delicate flowers hovering over the coarse(-ish) foliage, the outlandish shapes of the blue iris flowers exploding over the grass-like spikes , and of course the red L.D. Braithwaite roses that my parents bought the Flâneur Husband for his birthday. We’re some time away from this scenario, but these are all plants I know, so I know what each will end up looking like, and together they will be spectacular.
-And of course the bed is backed by perennial sweet peas, honeysuckle and a purple clematis surrounded by blueish-purple geraniums at it’s feet.
Come summer, this will be stunning, for sure.
Another stunner – albeit more in personality than in looks – is this little guy:
It’s the starling who has taken a shine to one of our nesting boxes. Now, of course I love any bird that will nest in our garden, but I also love how this little guy goes about finding a mate. When you see ducks mating, more often that not it seems more like a rape than the basis of a family, but this little guy spends most of his time in the tree where the nesting box is located, flapping his wings, pushing out his chest and calling out to the entire neighbourhood “Here I am, where are you? I have a good home for us and our offspring!”
And then the sun began setting, I went to bed and this morning I left very early to get to work on time, but it was definitely worth it!
Mind you, Copenhagen is not a bad place on a sunny spring evening:
Evenings in the garden are magical as are very early mornings! Glad you got to enjoy one.
I’m very much a morning person, so though I had to leave at 6:22 to make it to work in time I actually had more than an hour in the garden this morning… I do love the mornings up there; the birds go absolutely bananas, and it’s really more “noisy” than “idyllic” when they’re all going at it at the same time… Brilliant!
Great photos. Loving the light on the last one in particular. The idea of Copenhagen in the spring sunshine sounds lovely. I love starlings, such cheeky little birds. They sit on the electricity wires above my garden and make their strange little noises whilst I potter about. I wish I was a morning person. I used to be more of a morning person but hubby is a night owl and it has rubbed off on me. My plan for holiday this year is to get up early and go for a run on the beach. I love the morning light and the freshness to the air.
On Monday evening I walked around the lakes that encircle central Copenhagen, and I just fell in love with this city all over again. The lakes are literally 5 minutes’ walking from the city centre (originally created as reservoirs to secure a steady supply of water for the moats when the city was girdled by fortifications).
The Flâneur Husband is also leaning towards night owl tendencies, but because I really enjoy my couple of hours of solitary calm in the morning I think I’ve remained immune.
That last photo left me speechless. What a sight.
It’s one of the reasons I love Copenhagen; this is just 5-10 minutes on foot from our apartment, and it’s one of the most popular promenades in Copenhagen, perfect for an evening walk, a stroll with a pram or – as many people seem to prefer – a jog.
If you ever come to Copenhagen, the most important sight of the city is the city itself, I think; no museum can match a walk around the parks and lakes…