Tankar från Routern

lördag 25 juni 2011

Midsummer celebrations..

.. in the beautiful Stockholm archipelago.
Midsummer is big in Sweden. Most people try to get out of the cities and find a place in the countryside to dance traditional folkdanses around the Maypole, eat pickled herring and drink quite a lot of schnaps. And singing a lot of songs. (The longer into the night the dirtier!)
This Maypole was raised at Lökholmen, a small island neighbouring Sandhamn and the archipelago centre of the..

The Royal Swedish Yacht Club

We had splendid midsummer weather, high spirits , good food and sweet strawberries and beautiful yachts decorated for the occation!

Midsummer is Scandinavia's most popular festival
right along with Christmas. A traditional celebration of the Summer solstice.
Midsummer is the longest day of the year. In Sweden, Midsummer is even celebrated as a national holiday . Most Midsummer's Eve celebrations take place on the Saturday between June 20 and June 26.

onsdag 22 juni 2011

One of my favourite pictures/ads..

..of all times, is this outstanding photo of a very young Marisa Berenson shot in Maroc back in 1967. Now when summer is becoming serious business I want to.. look like this-like her- to be clad her beautiful sandals, wear this stunning golden kaftan on the beach, the marvellous rings on my fingers, and to be combed in this elaborate empressic hairdo...

But oh..
I guess I will have to settle for that this.
Will just have to do!
Do, do do..In the summertime:

söndag 19 juni 2011

The Day of the Open Gardens in Visby

Saturday, the owners of the old houses..

within the ancient town wall of Visby opened up their private gardens for the public.

It was a great opportunity for us to see these marvels of gardens you didn´t even know existed. So of course we joined in the afternoon excursion..

Each garden owner-all women, sic!- prowdly showed us around and explained and answered our questions on the range of beautiful kinds of roses,(for which Gotland is famous, thanks to its fertile limestone soil) wines, mulberry trees etc

Fireworks of peonies in one garden.

Here is Karin lecturing on her rather large garden close..

..to the old town ringwall.

The smallest garden on the show was owned by a decendant of the well known Swedish gardening family Weibull. Every inch was elaboratelly planned in this miniscule, pretty garden within its limestone washed walls in the middle of the town. (Creating a microclimate of sorts!) She was even growing quite a number of potatoes here!

A garden house like from a Hanzel and Gretchen saga!

A rather large, well kept formal garden that held a well/fountain and the smallest pond of water lillies I have ever seen!

The pond.

This small "garden-oasis" even contained a walnut tree! Lots of plants in terracotta urns here..

"Communis" of the Centifoila- Muscosa group exposed its strange thornclad stems.
I touched them and found that they were actuallt very soft. To scare off insects, anyway??

Pretty group of yellows and blues..

Here I finally found the small bushy, lovely smelling pink carnations my Grandma once had in her garden! I have been looking for them every since, but in vain. So, the nice lady-gardener of course promptly promised me a plant of those upon hearing my lament..Their smell bring back my childhood memories indeed..