Patience or Waiting for the Last Frost

The forest nearby slowly melts after a short return of winter

What draws a person to a given hobby?  Why does one feel compelled to do a certain activity?  Maybe there's something there for them that will help them along their journey, some important lesson to be learned.

I have never had any patience and that is something I have always just accepted about myself, that is until I became a mother.  I realized then that patience is imperative to help a child grow into a beautiful adult.  It wasn't about me anymore.  My garden has shown me too that if I don't sit back and wait for the right time the garden will not grow, no matter how rooted in enthusiasm my intentions may be.

After a few weeks of a prelude to spring, we got a blast of winter again. 

So, we wait.

Longer Days and Warmer Temperatures

Winter is not as brutal here in Sweden as it is in Canada.  Temperatures are milder, usually not going any lower than -10.  It gets dark, yes, but the moon is so bright, especially when there is snow on the ground.  I feel like spring arrives so much earlier here too.  It is early March and the forecast is hovering around 10 degrees.  My hometown, Toronto, has been struggling with one of the worst winters yet.  The days are noticeably longer now with almost 12 hours of daylight!  Believe me, this changes things for everyone.  It is hard to describe the feeling of watching the sun stay in the sky longer and longer knowing that there will be a time when it will barely set at all.  Sweden is getting ready for the beloved summer.  It's exciting.

Garden Outside the Dining Room

So the "sportlov" came and went and I spent as much of that time in the garden(s) as possible.  Mostly I cleared the overgrowth and raked the leaves.  By doing so I uncovered 2 stone walls and several forgotten - or abandoned - gardening tools.  There have been others before me it seems and this garden is determined to have things its own way.  Stubborn?  Bring it on.

That said, Design Stockholm will be heavy with gardening posts, which will be filed under the "På Landet" tab.  Gardening is something that I am compelled to do, not that I am particularly qualified or talented but I love getting my hands dirty.  I will also chronicle the various celebrations that lead to the height of the Swedish summer with an occasional look back to some of the events that marked last summer and the toils of my gardening challenges.

I invite you to join me on my adventures of struggling to tend the ancient soil of our little patch of the Swedish countryside.

A Mix of Wild and Cultivated Flowers - I have no plans to change this garden patch - I think it's perfect.