Gardens of Europe
Gardeners, I Just returned from 2 weeks in Northern Europe on a circle tour of 8 countries. Temperatures varied by regions and topography but it’s still mid Spring there weatherwise. I thought you might want to see some usual and not so unusual plants. I saw lots of Spirea or bridal wreath there which were mostly white but pink also, Chestnut trees were blooming. Lavender was budding but not blooming yet as well as many roses. Some roses were blooming especially in the valley areas. There was Clematis with blooms unlike what we have. The Tulips were gone from the fields of Holland. I’m sure as they were shipped to others countries including the U.S. I got a chance to see the Japanese Wisteria with it’s super long blooms. The golden chain tree looks like a yellow wisteria but is not. Lilacs (how you like that). Geraniums are popular and poppies grow on the side of the roads with many other wildflowers. There were lots of agricultural crops such as grapes, kiwi, white asparagus other fruit trees. Of course there were many cows and goats. I had no trouble drinking the milk. As we know Europeans drink lots of wine and beer in Germany.
Many plants were common to our area but here were many interesting containers and arrangements. I was particularly fascinated with the home gardens and how neatly groomed they were. Didn’t have time to look up many plant names but thought it would be fun for you to let me know if you recognize any of the unusual plants.
submitted by Karen Blackburn
