There is a certain harmony with plants. The feeling of renewal when those first buds raises out of the ground after a snow-covered winter. When the greenery then takes over and the flowers starts to bloom, it is like magic. Can you imagine Emma there in her garden a crisp spring day, with the white-topped mountains and Kultsjön’s rippling blue surface in the background?
Emma had an early interest in gardening, it was in her nature to cherish the beautiful. As soon as the house on the hill began to take shape, she started creating the flower beds around it. Plants were mixed and furniture, paths, stairs and walls were created from small and large slate slabs. To get rarities and diversity in her garden, she enlisted the help of seed dealer Viktor Lundgren from Härnösand. The times he visited Saxnäs, he usually had the car filled with plants and seeds. The village, which is located above the cultivation border, was a harsh climate to grow in. But with her knowledge and love, Emma made plants, that reasonably should not survive here, to thrive. Among others, edelweiss and two rhododendrons that today grow against the stone wall next to Ricklundgården.
The home
When you walk into the house, you are greeted by a green home. Flowers grow in almost every window and in every direction. Because it was not just outside that Emma tenderly cared for her plants. Virtually all the plants inside Ricklundgården today are from Emma’s time, either the original plant or buds from it. Here you will find flowering cacti, porcelain flowers, paradise trees and wonderfully fragranted geraniums and canary jasmine. The latter flower is a real rarity. It is fascinating that today, 40 years after her death, flowers and plants can still testify to Emma’s love for flowers.
Today when you walk around the garden, unfortunately, a lot has changed. Of course, Emma knew that her interest in gardening was something out of the ordinary, especially considering the geological latitude. In her will, she wrote that there was a great understanding that certain flowerbeds would have to be closed.