I wish that garden centers closer to me had a bit more to offer. There seems to be a strong garden lifestyle trend that would likely support garden centers that are a bit more like the beautiful Zetas in Stockholm, Sweden.
Zeta is a garden center and a cafe serving beautiful local food and coffee surrounded by established in-ground gardens to revel in. It is full of style and Scandinavian ambiance.
Victoria Skoglund and her husband own and operate Zeta’s Gardens in southern Stockholm, Sweden.
It is a destination garden center full of interesting ideas and products and seems nice to visit, even if just for a grand day out.
If you have been to Terrain, I think it is in the same vein as Zeta’s. I wish there were more garden retailers recognizing that they need to be a bit more style trendy. That spaces filled with plants and glorious greenery, attractively displayed, are actually quite valuable.
People want to be in these types of places, so while they are hanging around, give them a reason to hang around a bit longer and serve them some food or a nice drink they can carry with them as they explore.
How Swedes Make Comfortable Gardens
I find it interesting, too, that such a place exists in Sweden. I have been to Sweden and there are two things I can tell you: they have enormous and vicious mosquitos and as we all know – it is a place of long winters and short growing seasons.
These are two common complaints I hear from clients when they are considering spending money on an outdoor living area. New Englanders simply do not lead the outdoor living lifestyle I grew up with in Denver, and the #1 reason is bugs, seconded by the lack comfort of being in the garden (it can be quite humid).
New Englanders seem to prefer screened porches (often precariously and hideously tacked on to the sides of otherwise beautiful homes).
I personally find the climate somewhat frustrating, so I am inspired by Zeta’s take on the subject. They must look at popular European vacation places like Italy and France and have the same lament….so how do they advocate for recreating the outdoor living garden experience in somewhat garden-hostile Sweden?
Build shelters and partition the garden into rooms. It is one of the best ways to extend the season. Building walls inside the garden create more and better micro-climates that can allow you to control the environment.
Inside a wall, a simple fan in a more confined place can provide just enough air movement to keep things cool and fresh and divert pesky bugs away (mosquitos don’t like even the slightest wind).
Walls and simple shelters can create a lot of ambiance, and I think this is what a good garden is all about.
Swedish Holiday Garden Inspiration
Follow Zeta’s on Instagram for lots of beautiful Nordic garden inspiration.
All images from Zeta’s.
This garden centre looks so inviting. I do love the lounge. Must agree that mosquitoes are a great deterrent to sitting outside and I’m always thankful that here in Victoria BC we hardly have any to mar the evening dinner and bocci parties. Just nasty wasps during the day.
There is a destination garden center and organic perennial nursery that is a little closer to you, although it’s in Canada. My husband and I own and operate Plant Paradise Country Gardens located on 24 rolling acres, surrounded by trees in Caledon, Ontario, Canada. It’s a unique garden centre that offers extensive display gardens of continuous bloom, gourmet lunches and inspiration. A gardener’s oasis.
wow it sounds lovely Lorraine…maybe you can send me some pictures and I can do a feature on your place too?