The Old Railway Station

I would like to suggest you travel virtually with me, since real travel is not yet available. Today I want to tell you about the old railway station, which is located not far from the St. Petersburg downtown, on the way to my summer cottage.
Pargolovo railway station is located next to the village of the same name. Not far from the village, there is a cemetery and a large agricultural farm. People arrive to Pargolovo station to visit the graves of their relatives, especially on Trinity Day, as this is an Orthodox tradition. There are large fields of cabbage and carrot that belong to the agricultural farm 'Pargolovo'.

 

I have memories associated with this station. For many years I have been interested in the old station building which is very similar to an old Scandinavian castle. One day I went inside and saw a beautiful waiting room, a wood paneled ceiling, amazing furnaces to heat this waiting room and a nice tiled floor.

The history of the construction of the railway station near the Pargolovo village began in the 1906. This railway has connected St. Petersburg with Helsinki, the capital of Finland.

 

The author of the station was Granholm Bruno (1857-1930) a Finnish architect. Graduated from the Polytechnic Institute in Helsinki, he held the position of Architect of the Main Directorate of Railways in Finland. Granholm Bruno completed plans and sketches for the station, hall and furnaces.

The furnaces at Pargolovo station have features of the Art Nouveau style these are inserts and ornamental patterns with a curly wavy line motif. The furnaces are faced with emerald green tiles with unusual floral designs. There were the use of various materials (ceramics, colored glazes, metal), in a combination of certain colors. The furnaces were made at the 'Abo' factory and are of undoubted artistic value.

Waiting room tiled floor

  

Wood paneled ceiling

 

Emerald green tile furnaces

 

Is there a train station near your place? How often do you travel by train?

 

Lily Martagon (Turk's Cap Lily)

The wonderful Lily Martagon variety 'Chameleon' has been growing in my garden for 3 years. This year the lilies bloom profusely. Last years they were small, without flowers.
These lilies are of the Family Liliaceae, hybrid lily, grow well in zone 3-9, on moist, humus-rich soil.

I planted the lilies next to the thuja, and they look beautifully against the golden background of the thujas. There is partial shade, sun in the morning. Their height is about 1 meter. 'Chameleon' lilies bloomed for two weeks.

'Chameleon' lilies open pink and after a few days turn salmon and yellow with dark spots.
All Martagon lilies are gorgeous with their numerous flowers, natural appearance, self-supporting stems, hardy growth and shade tolerance. (Wiki)

Another Martagon lily variety 'Tiger lily' grows for years and blooms every August. It's not tall as 'Chameleon' but is colorful as well. 

 

 

 

 Do you grow any Lily Martagon varieties? What is your experience?

Garden in August 2020

The last summer month is coming to an end. What do I like about August? My favorite August flower is phlox. I have them in different colors, but white one is the best.

 

The flowers on the rose bushes are still blooming. Above is the Canadian rose "Martin Frobisher" and below is the famous rose "The Fairy".

 

One of the three Nymphaeas blooms in the pond. I've been waiting for it all summer.  The gazebo is completely covered by “Sweet Summer” clematis and Parthenocissus (Virginia creeper).

 

The beautiful Hydrangea Grandiflora Paniculata adorns my garden every August and September. It has amazing light green flowers that turn pink in autumn.

 

Begonias started to bloom two weeks ago, now they are already fully blooming. The red one is Begonia Ampelous, another is plain white.

 

The greenhouse makes me happy every time I enter it: the tomatoes are red and ripe.  My "kids" in the garden nursery are growing well and are ready to be transplanted to new beds in the new garden.

 What about your garden or how have you spent August?