European Gardening: Where are you in Europe?, 1 by rannveig

rannveig wrote:
Hello,
I'm also new to this site - I live in SW- Iceland in a town named Hafnarfjordur. It's about 10 min. from the capital Reykjavik, some would say that it's part of the greater Reykjavik area. Because of the naturally good harbour Hafnarfjörður became one the main trade harbours in Iceland and was the main harbour for German merchants in the 16th century. It was also an important fishing port from the late 1700’s.
Gardening in Iceland is a challenge to say the least. It takes a strong will and endless optimism. The winters are mild and wet with intermittent warm and cold spells and the summers are cool, with average temps. around 12°C so anything above 15°C is a bonus and temps above 20°C are few and far between (we call it our 5 days of summer - this year there have only been about 3 here in the SW). They often get more summer "heat" i.e. temps. of 15-25°C in the north and east but the winters there are also colder. This summer has been a lousy one by all standards in the SW following a very mild winter. By late April we were beginning to think that we'd gotten off easy this year but then came the cold spells that seem to hit every year just when the plants are up and growing – this year they were unusually late and harsh. June was miserably cold and wet (the first days in June most of the North and Eastern parts were covered in snow!) and when July 1st came around it felt more like June 1st. Now in late August fall is beginning to creep in - so as you can see the growing season is much too short! The main problem here (apart from the short growing season) is getting enough shelter from the wind without getting too much shade since most plants need all the sun (and shelter) they can get to grow properly.
I grow a lot of perennials many of which I raise from seed because the variety at the nurseries is limited and a lot of times seed is the only way to obtain a rare plant. Obtaining the seed is a bit tricky too - but being a member of the AGS for 3 years I've gotten my hands on some gems I've been searching for for years! I'm also a member of the Icelandic gardening society. I started growing roses after we moved to our current home about 2 years ago. Like the Icelandic summer the time when the roses are in flower is very short and precious - the earliest start blooming in July (Rosa pendulina starts in the beginning of July, the pimpinellifolias in mid-July and the rugosas late July) - but the showy ones, the old garden roses and modern roses don't start until August and many are just starting or still in bud when the first frost hits usually in late September- the Hybrid teas need a greenhouse to flower properly.

The photo is taken on the Hamar a cliff overlooking Hafnarfjordur - it's not the view from my house although I did live very close to there at the time the photo was taken. I now live in the northern part of town, just right of where the sun is setting. This photo was taken on June 9th 2003 at 11:40 pm - that's the up-side of living here - 24 hour daylight in June!

I have to say that I feel a bit envious of how good you all have it - Potagere, your photo is beautiful! I think you are very lucky living in such a gorgeous place! I think the Mediterranean climate of Spain and Portugal wouldn’t suit me – two years ago we got a heat wave in August with 20-25°C temps for over a week and we found it a bit tiring! But a slightly warmer and longer summer would be nice!