Book Review and Flowers

Book review:  L. Uleysky "Vertical gardening"

The author Lidia Uleysky tried to sort through all the variety of creepers and gives an idea of the most common of them. Indeed, creepers are indispensable in vertical gardening; they help to increase green areas especially in small gardens.

The author advises to start with ordinary bindweed, decorative beans or parthenocissus. She talks that people in South Russia often decorated verandas, high walls of houses with colored clematis, beautiful wisteria, climbing roses, or Amur grape. Having become acquainted with a variety and features of climbing plants I could explore my vertical garden.

When I read this book I've remembered Amur grape. It is a powerful climber up to 20 m tall, with round, dark green leaves. Also I grow Curly Perfoliate honeysuckle in my garden, it might to hang upside down and to decorate the walls of my house.

 



The author tells about wooden and iron devices that help to grow up the Liana, they are grids, pyramids, romantic arches, trellises, and they all may be the garden decor as well.

 
I have arches and trellises in my garden, they divide garden into individual plots. So I could isolate a cozy area near my pond and decorate the boxes with compost.

 The book talks about caring for climbing plants, tools to control their pests and methods of favorite plants reproduction, about watering and fertilizing Liana in containers and in the ground.

 I think this book will be helpful to many gardeners.

I got this book and these flowers in gifts for my birthday yesterday from my family and friends, thank you!
 

I was very pleased!

P.S. I added the third page 'Brush and Paint' to my blog .

Winter Walking at the Weekend

I wanted to look at the wintry Gulf of Finland, the gulf of the Baltic Sea. In the summer I often swim and sunbathe on the hot yellow sand there, my summer house isn't far from it.

It was 10 a.m. A frost was -10 C (14 F) and have been hard to take photos: luminosity was low, the temperature was quite low for my camera.

The bright orange sun rays have made their way through the clouds. 

This area of the Gulf of Finland was covered with ice. If you look at the horizon, you can distinguish the dark spots. These are fishermen. In next picture, the figures of fishermen are larger. 

 

They've come to ice fishing early at the weekend morning, done holes in the ice, put their fishing rods and sat, waiting for the fish to catch. New flocks of titmice flew in to feed, they had noticed the rest of the autumn red apples in neighbors' gardens, seeds and berries in feeders.

In cold days titmice really need of unsalted bacon piece and neighbors have hung a small piece to feed them.

It was nice, but cold day; after lunch I met my neighbors with their pets. The pets were all well dressed in coats, woolen socks and even running shoes were on the dogs' feet. 

Frost Paints

The blue sky, trees, snow on their branches, and many other things are visible through the frozen window of my garden shed. 
On the bright background I can see what the frost painted on the window pane. 

Everyone can see different images there: flowers and trees, fantastic scenery, a winding road, sandy beach, etc.

 
The English poet Gabriel Setoun wrote in the 19th century about what the child saw on the windowpane when he woke up. 

Jack Frost 

The door was shut, as doors should be,
Before you went to bed last night;
Yet Jack Frost has got in, you see,
And left your window silver white.

 He must have waited till you slept;
And not a single word he spoke,
But penciled o'er the panes and crept
Away again before you woke.
 

For, creeping softly underneath

The door when all the lights are out,
Jack Frost takes every breath you breathe,
And knows the things you think about.

He paints them on the windowpane
In fairy lines with frozen steam;
And when you wake you see again
The lovely things you saw in dream.

                               by Gabriel Setoun

                               1897

The First Days of New Year

It’s said as you spend the first few days of the year, the whole year will pass. I do not know whether this is true. I wish to all bloggers be healthy and joyful in first New Year days!

It was not frost. I decided to go to my summer house; just wanted to look at the plants and snow, how it covers my perennials and shrubs, young apple trees and berry bushes.

 

Firstly I had to clean paths shoveling snow. The snow was light and dry and I was not getting tired. When I got to my greenhouse, I saw its entrance in snow. I shoveled off the door; then I came in and looked at my rose cuttings covered with ground. 

Next to the greenhouse, the bird feeder was hung on the apple tree. I put the oats and sunflower seeds to birds. They need a lot of food when here is frost and cold weather. In the garden the plants turned into mounds of snow. Here snow covered roses, there rhododendrons and small arborvitae and spruce. Only my pines-bonsai look boldly out of the snow.

 

After lunch I went for a walk in the woods. The forest was in snow and it reminded me the scenery in the theater when a fabulous show was put for children. Pines and fir trees were whitened. Only the pine trunks were brightly colored in the sun.

Walking down the path I saw footprints. Right here a large bird (a crow or magpie) caught a mouse. Then I found other footprints of the little beast. But maybe it's the neighbor's cat was walking on the snow.

The day was short. Already at 4 pm the sun was low, and its rays glided through the branches of the old apple tree.  

 I had to drive to the city. Bye, my garden and snowy woods!