This spring my family and I bought a summer cottage in the countryside of Northern Ostrobothnia. The ground was still covered in snow and we had no idea all the things that grew in our plot. It was exciting to wait for the snow to melt and discover what grows in our plot. I felt like little Mary from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett; her insatiable curiosity that made it almost impossible to stay away from the little garden was the same I felt for our plot.

Our cottage is an old bakery that was built in the year 1900. The house had so much history and luckily the people who’ve lived in it valued that history and showed respect for it when renovating the place. I had the same question about the plot. I call it plot because until this point I was even sure, can it be called a garden. Being this a plot where people had lived for more than a century, could it be that also the perennial plants and flowers they planted along the way could still be found when the first rays of spring light would hit the ground and melt the snow?

This is when I started to value the role of perennial plants and flowers.

Did you know?


The term perennial is used for every plant that lives more than two years, therefore including also bushes, shrubs and trees.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary explains it well when it says: “Nowadays when we talk about “perennial plants,” or simply “perennials” (perennial can be a noun, too), we mean plants that die back seasonally but produce new growth in the spring. But originally perennial was equivalent to evergreen, used for plants that remain with us all year.”

Turns out, our plot was indeed more than just a plot, but an actual garden, thriving with every sort of perennial plant and flower and that’s how I got the idea of Nordic Perennials.

Nordic Perennials is photography project that was by no means intended to be an extensive documentation on all the perennial plants that grow in the Nordic countries, rather it is meant as documenting a slice of history of a Nordic garden.

I hope you enjoy the following photos. Every perennial is paired with their common name in English and Finnish plus their botanical Latin names.

Redcurrant- Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

REDCURRANT

In Finnish: punaherukka / punaviinimarja

Family:     Grossulariaceae

Genus:     Ribes

Species:     R. rubrum

Blackcurrant - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

BLACKCURRANT

In Finnish: mustaherukka / mustaviinimarja

Family:     Grossulariaceae

Genus:     Ribes

Species:     R. nigrum

Wild Raspberry - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

RASPBERRY

In Finnish: vadelma

Family:     Rosaceae

Genus:     Rubus

Species:     R. idaeus

Did you know that raspberries belong to the rose family?

Bilberry - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

BILBERRY – WILD BLUEBERY

In Finnish: mustikka

Family:     Ericaceae

Genus:     Vaccinium

Species:     V. myrtillus

Lingonberry - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

LINGONBERRY

In Finnish: puolukka

Family:     Ericaceae

Genus:     Vaccinium

Species:     V. vitis-idaea

Rhubarb - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

RHUBARB

Family:     Polygonaceae

Genus:     Rheum

Species:     R. × hybridum

Nordic Foraging: Dandelion on The Adagio Blog

DANDELION

In Finnish: voikukka

Family:     Asteraceae

Genus:     Taraxacum

Species:     T. officinale

Anemone Hepatica - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

common hepatica

In Finnish: sinivuokko

Family:     Ranunculaceae

Genus:     Anemone

Species:     A. hepatica

Arctic Starflower - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

ARCTIC STARFLOWER

In Finnish: metsätähti

Family:     Primulaceae

Genus:     Lysimachia

Species:     L. europaea

Lily of the Valley - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

LILY OF THE VALLEY

In Finnish: kielo

Family:     Asparagaceae

Genus:     Convallaria

Species:     C. majalis

Forget-me-not

FORGET-ME-NOT

In Finnish: puistolemmikki

Family:     Boraginaceae

Genus:     Myosotis

Species:     M. scorpioides

Lilac - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

LILAC

In Finnish: syreeni

Family:     Oleaceae

Genus:     Syringa

Species:     S. vulgaris

Hackberry - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

HACKBERRY – BIRD CHERRY

In Finnish: tuomi

Family:     Rosaceae

Genus:     Prunus

Species:     P. padus

Birch - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

BIRCH

In Finnish: koivu

Family:     Betulaceae

Subfamily:     Betuloideae

Genus:     Betula

Wild Juniper - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

JUNIPER

In Finnish: kataja

Family:     Cupressaceae

Genus:     Juniperus

Species:     J. communis

Siberian Larch - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

SIBERIAN LARCH

In Finnish: lehtikuusi

Family:     Pinaceae

Genus:     Larix

Species:     L. sibirica

Scots Pine - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

SCOTS PINE

In Finnish: mänty

Family:     Pinaceae

Genus:     Pinus

Species:     P. sylvestris

Spruce - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

SPRUCE

In Finnish: kuusi

Family:     Pinaceae

Genus:     Picea

Species:     P. abies

COMMON COLUMBINE – GRANNY’S BONNET

In Finnish: akileija

Family:     Ranunculaceae

Genus:     Aquilegia

Species:     A. vulgaris

I found conflicting ideas on the edibility of this plant, does anyone have experience with this perennial?

RED CLOVER

In Finnish: puna-apila

Family:     Fabaceae

Genus:     Trifolium

Species:     T. pratense

Rhododendron - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

RHODODENDRON

In Finnish: alppiruusu

Family:     Ericaceae

Genus:     Rhododendron

Species:     R. ferrugineum

Juhannusruusu - Nordic Perennials, a photography project by Thais FK on the Adagio Blog

BURNET ROSE

In Finnish: juhannusruusu

Family:     Ericaceae

Genus:     Rhododendron

Species:     R. ferrugineum

WOOD CRANESBILL

In Finnish: metsäkurjenpolvi 

Family:     Geraniaceae

Genus:     Geranium

Species:     G. sylvaticum

LUPINE

In Finnish: lupiini

Family:     Fabaceae

Tribe:     Genisteae

Genus:     Lupinus

Lots of perennial flowers and plants are edible. Head over to the Nordic Foraging section of this blog to discover more!

Nordic Foraging project by Thais FK supported by Taike

Supported by Taike

Thais FK

Italian photographer, recipe developer and content creator, Thais came to Finland by chance, but stayed for love. Through photography she tells stories about traveling, eating, cooking and living sustainably, in order to discover new cultures and not to forget her origins. Thais FK's portfolio: thaisfk.com

June 28, 2022

RELATED POSTS

LEAVE A COMMENT