Notes from Norway

[Tim Ingram]

And I too. My mother introduced me to alpine plants in my teens, and to propagating plants for the local WI market, and it has never left me...

[Robert]

Trond,

Yes , I too send my condolences to you and your family.

I enjoyed your photographs. Leucanthemum vulgare has naturalized in our part of California, especially near streams. It is cheerful to see them blooming naturalized or not.

Our good thoughts are with you and your family......Always.

[Hoy]

Trond, I am very sorry to hear that you have lost your Mother. I send my sincere condolences to you and your Family.

Thank you very much Maggi.

as do I.

Thanks to you also, David.

Enjoying your photos tremendously, Trond.   So sorry to hear about your mother.

Thank you Lori - and glad you liked the photos!

And I too. My mother introduced me to alpine plants in my teens, and to propagating plants for the local WI market, and it has never left me...

I actually was introduced to "gardening" by my elder cousins when I was a small kid. We did grow Sedums - not very difficult I think they had learnt from our Grandma! But my mother taught me growing vegetables.

Trond,

Yes , I too send my condolences to you and your family.

I enjoyed your photographs. Leucanthemum vulgare has naturalized in our part of California, especially near streams. It is cheerful to see them blooming naturalized or not.

Our good thoughts are with you and your family......Always.

Thank you very much, Robert.

Leucanthemums are called "prestekrage" in Norw. Something like "vicar's collar" in English. A appropriate name these days. My mum liked them on the kitchen table

[Robert]

No mountain ranges to be seen from my place, Robert! No mountain at all to be seen from my summer-house either. Down here for a few days . . . .

It is dry here now, need some xeric plants I think! We have no formal garden but garden plants are spread among wild ones. We have very little soil, just some crevices and hollows filled by sand and a little organic soil.

Trond,

There are plenty of xeric plants here.    There will need to be some "packing" material with the big Aesculus seed.

A few weeks ago my wife and I brought the ashes of her mother and sister up to Pyramid Peak. Also Mr. Tri (a master teacher I had for many years) and my friend George. Nothing was planned, however we found the perfect "spot", a large flat rock like an alter. The wind was blowing very strongly and the ashes blew off the rock down the valley into the great beyond. It was the same the day George died. There is still grief, but not so bad now. It was all good.

[Hoy]

Hi Robert,

Thanks - and thanks for telling. My mother's ash will be put down beside her parents, my father and other relatives. We have a family grave in a protected old church yard in Oslo.

[Hoy]

Just a few pics from an "outing" with boat last week.

We went to Jomfruland, a long sandy island with some all year residents but more summer guests.

The guest harbour - early season, the really big yachts haven't arrived yet. You can't see mine among these though, it is too small!




Nice beaches but nobody use them now - too cold water still. Few nice plants here, mostly "weed".






The Norwegian champion ash, I don't know the circumference but my arms (2m) reaches less than 1/4 around the bole. It is green higher up but somebody has removed the lower limbs.




The main road.

[Hoy]

The oak forest.




Wild roses (dog rose and similar types - it is about 4 species here) are at their best now.








The "outside". View of Skagerrak, almost to Denmark.

[Hoy]

Although calves grazes here some plants are left untouched like this Ononis arvensis.






Also Geranium pratense is left undisturbed.




Potentilla anserina comes in two leaf types - one is covered by silvery hair and one is more plain green.

[Hoy]

Sedum acre at the beach.




The tarn. It is famous as several Norwegian painters have used it as a motif.






Mixed conifer forest, mostly foreign. Hieracium in flower.



A shady spot with Asplenium trichomanes.

[Hoy]

On our way back we visited a small islet with a duck's pond. Here we are allowed to walk, most islets are closed due to breeding birds in the summer.

Mostly Sedums but also Lotus corniculatus. They all seem to prefer the guano!

[Robert]

Trond,

I thoroughly enjoyed the photographs of your countryside! In a small way it helps me get a feel for the area.

Are the Ash (Fraxinus) and Oak (Quercus) native? What species?

It seems that Lotus corniculatus gets around. It has naturalized in the higher elevation of the Sierra Nevada. I wonder where else it has naturalized.

Asplenium trichomanes grows in the rock crevices as many of our California native rock ferns.

All very beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

[Maggi Young]

Is it my imagination, or are these photos from your July outing even better than ever?  Perhaps it's that you are "catching" some favourite plants of mine - or the glimpses across water, which are  so calming?
Whatever - it's areal pleasure, thank you! 

[Hoy]

Trond,

I thoroughly enjoyed the photographs of your countryside! In a small way it helps me get a feel for the area.

Are the Ash (Fraxinus) and Oak (Quercus) native? What species?

It seems that Lotus corniculatus gets around. It has naturalized in the higher elevation of the Sierra Nevada. I wonder where else it has naturalized.

Asplenium trichomanes grows in the rock crevices as many of our California native rock ferns.

All very beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

  My pleassure, Robert!

Both trees are natives. The ash is the easiest to name as it is only one species in N.: It is Fraxinus excelsior.

The oak is probably Quercus robur. We have two very similar oaks (The other is Q. petraea),  they do cross and the hybrid is very common! 

[Hoy]

Is it my imagination, or are these photos from your July outing even better than ever?  Perhaps it's that you are "catching" some favourite plants of mine - or the glimpses across water, which are  so calming?
Whatever - it's areal pleasure, thank you!

It must be your imagination, Maggi   But thank you, I do as best as I can!

[Hoy]

As mentioned elsewhere, this unknown rose has just started flowering. It has a very pleasant fragrance and both the leaves and stem are pretty. It looks very healthy!






The maiden pink (Dianthus deltoides) grows all over the property and prefer dry sites.




Two species of onion grow wild here but neither has nice flowers   However, this sand leek (Allium scorodoprasum) grows to a stately plant about 1m tall.




Bloody crane's-bill (Geranium sanguineum) is the most colourful of the flowers.