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Due to time issues I have to take a blog pauze. You can read my Dutch version ( with a translation button) on:

tuinverhalen.blogspot.nl

Hope to meet you there!

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What happens when you combine fruit trees with tulips.

What happens when you combine fruit trees with tulips? The very moment the fruit trees start to blossom, a magical atmosphere is created. I love fruit trees a lot. There are four of them in my garden. The plum tree always flowers first. The blossom is white. I have planted early tulips underneath the plum tree. My favourite tulip is Flaming Purissima. This large strong tulip flowers in different colour gradations. From creamy white to pink. It is a reliable tulip. The pear tree flowers the following week. This tree is situated at the street side. As soon as the tree is in flower, people stop to take pictures of it. I understand that, because it is beautiful. In order to give the photo something extra for the photographers, I have planted a colourful mix of tulips underneath. A nice colourful bang against our white house. Finally it is the turn of the apple trees. They are blooming at this very moment. Apple tree blossoms create a fairy-tale atmosphere transform in the b

Pruning willows. A truly Dutch job.

Today I will not tell you about my own garden, but those of our friends instead. Because, what do you do when you have to prune 20 willows and you have little time at your hands? Well, you send your friends an invitation to get together and work a little in exchange for a delicious meal. Of course we all accepted. Pruning willows, is it not truly Dutch? On the scheduled day the sun was shining brightly. We could not wait to get the work started. After a short briefing over a cup of coffee in the kitchen, we all started right away. First of all the branches of the willow were cut off with a chainsaw. The so-called “drag team” lugged the branches that came off into the yard. Subsequently, some of our female friends readily cut the branches to size. The thicker pieces were kept for the fireplace; twigs were for the wooded bank. The “pruning team” stripped long straight branches with infinite patience. Following this stripping, the bald straight branches were brought

Historic daffodils.

Last autumn I bought some historic daffodils at a garden fair. Some of these daffodils are very rare. So I am very happy I was able to buy them. I really love these historic daffodils. It took a while, but now they are flowering. Compared to the modern large trumpet daffodils, historical daffodils are very modest. They do not have big flowers and just a small trumpet is visible in the middle. This makes them ideal for photographing with a macro lens. Narcissus 'Santa Claus' is the very last to flower. It is a white one. The flower is filled with small petals. It looks like Santa’s beard! Narcissus Poeticus (Poet's narcissus) is my favourite daffodil. I saw this daffodil for the first time in a flower meadow in the vicinity of Gavarnie (Midi- Pyrénées France ). I think back of that place in the mountains, every time when this daffodil blooms. In my opinion there is not a more beautiful daffodil than this one; with bright red edges to the cup.

Why the stinging nettle will be your favourite garden plant.

Nettles, they grow very easily in my garden. I pull them out as much as I can, but sometimes I miss a few. But, that appears not to be too bad...... During the open garden days, a passionate young gardener sits down at the table in the barn. He tells us about his organic garden. Quickly he gets his mobile and shows some pictures of his house and garden. We recognize his house; he lives only a village away. His garden is tastefully decorated. Enthusiastically he tells about the liquid nettle manure, he brews himself. He sprays all the roses with this manure and because of that they do no longer suffer from rust. Nettle manure? No rust? That is something my 'New Dawn' rose needs. This rose is very sensitive to rust. After the first flush the rose looks like a supporter of the Dutch football team! All orange. The young gardener reveals his recipe for this stinging nettle manure: Cut 10 cm long tops of stinging nettles (gloves on) Put the to

Recommended, flower bulbs in pots!

Maybe you do not feel the same need as I do to perforate your garden and planting bulbs in them. However this should not stop you from having flowering bulbs in spring. Just plant them in pots! When I do so I plant the bulbs not directly into the terracotta pot, but in a plastic container that fits exactly into the terracotta pot. That gives me the opportunity to switch. Once one species have finished flowering I put another container with bulbs in its place. Mind you: The large bulbs of tulips and daffodils do better in a larger container pot. So think big! Which bulbs to use? In my experience all types of bulbs can be used for this purpose. Not only tulips and daffodils, but also small bulbs, like anemone and Puschkinia thrive in pots. Note: narcissi in pots can easily suffer from frostbite. So, I always put the pots with daffodils free from the ground, on a piece of wood or something like that. How to proceed? Put some soil in the plastic pot and plant a l

The colour project. Blue

I have a fascination for women who dye their hair in a bright colour. So I started photographing this coloured hair and started my colour project, meaning that I link the particular hair colour with a plant in my garden. This time: Blue. On the hottest summer day of 2018 I see her on the edge of the fountain of hotel l'American. (Amsterdam) I am sitting in the tram, but don’t hesitate. I quickly leave the tram before she jumps into the water! The blue haired is a cheerful young American woman. She wears John Lennon sunglasses and a wide, long skirt. It's a hippie. When I ask her if I may take a picture of the blue hair, her friends say teasingly and a little jealous 'Yo-yo .... You’re a model! ' Then I ask why she chose the blue colour. The answer is baffling as usual. She says, I actually wanted pink, but that colour was sold out. That's why I choose blue’. I picture myself at the hairdresser's. ‘Is my blonde colour out of stock? No p

Papaver somniferum.

Last week we were driving along a field of opium poppies (Papaver somniferum). It looked amazing. Mind you the Papaver seeds are grown to decorate bread, not to make opium out of it. We stopped to take some pictures. Made me think of the beautiful Papavers I have been growing in my picking garden. Below you can find some pictures I made of these flowers that are extreme double and deeply lobed. Some of them look like a ruffly pompom. At this moment the flowers are already fading and the seed heads are starting to dry out. Once the seeds are ripe, the little “shutters” on top of the pots open. With a little bit of wind the seeds will be shaken out of the pots. That is the nice thing about nature. Everything is ever so well thought-out, even in the smallest details. It makes me silent. info about the garden click here: Papaver somniferum In full flower. Dark red.

Spring fever in Januari?

Until now, the winter has been mild. Walking outside I can hear the birds singing. They make typical spring sounds. Do they already have spring fever? To enjoy the garden I have to go down on my belly. Snowdrops are blooming in the front garden, the first herald of spring. These snowdrops are called Galanthus Elwesii. They are more resistant to dry conditions and are slightly larger than regular snowdrops. Galanthus Elwesii is showing off. I love that in this time of the year. Soft pink cyclamen are blossoming under the plum tree. How cute do these little flowers look. In a pot, a little bit further away, I see a flower in the Lathyrus vernus. An unknown but fantastic spring plant. It will bloom exuberantly with the botanical tulips I have already planted. And under the yew hedge, even blooms a forget-me-not. The green flowers of Helleborus corsicus has appeared at the side of the house. In a gap between the wall and the path, the plant has seed itself. A

Five things not to do in February.

Over the years I have learned a lot about gardening. I learned by trial and error. I consider myself to be an experienced gardener. With a clever understanding of things. I know you should not prune the roses on the first sunny day of the year. It still might be freezing. After all, it is February! I consider myself to be an experienced gardener. With a clever understanding of things. At the first sunny day of February you certainly should not mow the lawn. It is still too early to do so. It still might be freezing until the end of March. I consider myself to be an experienced gardener. With a clever understanding of things. And because I am an experienced gardener, I know the dry stems of perennials protect against frost. You should not cut these at this time of the year. I consider myself to be an experienced gardener. With a clever understanding of things. And I also know that you certainly should not go to a garden centre at the first sunny day in February and b

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