Niagara Spring

Gardens and Orchards are awakening with the blossoms of spring.  This Niagara-on-the Lake heritage home is showing its best in spring with its Magnolia blossoms.  And of course, the orchards have started to blossom.  I notice this year that there are light pink, dark pink, bright white, yellowy white all blooming at the same time. There are orchards showing no colour too. I can identify pear trees as they are vertical in growth - pointing straight up.  But other trees seem more difficult to identify.  I wonder if there are any experts in the photo of the day who know the trees well.

We Are Grimsbarians, are we?

If we were in Grimsby, England, the weather is 6 degrees with clouds, sun and rain.  Here in Grimsby Ontario, the weather is going to be 7 degrees, cloudy and rain with sun peaking through in the afternoon.  If we lived in Grimsby in England, we'd be called Grimbarians. There would be about 88,000 of us.  Grimsby is located on the east coast - it has a port that has been in use since the medieval period. Today in the news of the Grimsby Telegraph in England there is a plan for new homes off Humberstone Avenue,  and the promise that Euromillions can be won in the lottery. There are seven things to do this coming May Day Bank holiday weekend. Being on the water, Cleethorpeks Beach, with its miles of golden sand, will have some visitors, although it might be brisk like it is here. Here is what the Grimsbytelegraph.co.uk has to say about us on January 28 2016:   "IT'S far from a secret that Grimsby has a namesake on the other side of the Atlantic. On the shores of Lake Ontario, Canada, lies a small town populated by barely more than 20,000 people which, more than 200 years ago, took its name from our Lincolnshire original. Being in the centre of one of Canada's main tourist areas, many Grimbarians have made the trip there to see what it's like. Last week, we waxed lyrical about what makes Grimsby great, so what is it that makes the other Grimsby great and how much does this little outpost in the world's second largest country have in common with our town aside from its name?" View this email in your browser

The Pink Haze of Spring

Once Spring starts to bloom, we are aware of how lovely it is but often miss individual flowers and plants, as there is so much in bloom.  These are Azalea flowers - close-up and in the garden in waves of pink. These bloom mid to end of May. The first to bloom are the early cherries and the Magnolias.  My Star Magnolia opened yesterday.  The pink Saucer Magnolias are showing colour on their buds.  Perhaps later this week we'll se them blooming.

Seeking the Sunshine

There were a few people taking pictures at the garden centres yesterday.  There are thousands of flowers on display - the Calla Lilies are particularly stunning with the tall flowers catching the sun. This picture below caught my attention with the sun catching just one area, creating a focal point for the profusion of daffodils.  Stars come from the Topaz Star Effects filter. This picture was taken at Seaway Gardens, on the NOTL side of Lakeshore Road.

The Joy of Floral Scent

A Chocolate and Vanilla garden has pizzazz.  It brings attention to the aspect of scent in the garden and that gardens as a living art appeal to all the senses. So you want to step up the experience of your garden. What are the top ten best smelling flowers? According to the florist association this list is: Stock Freesia Lilacs Gardenia Rose – garden & rainbow Lilies – asian & stargazer Boronia ( a fragrant shrub from Australia) Jasmine We start to think of our own favourites - and don't many come to mind.  Another site considered garden plants and flowers in the top seven:  Magnolia  Lilac  Violet  Rose  Sweet Pea  Gardenia  Freesia My experience is limited in terms of all the flowers in the world. A website with a thread of contributions from around the world covered unknown plants for us in the Northern Hemisphere.  Take a look at Quora.com.  Which floral scent has the cupid's arrow for you?

Chocolate and Vanilla - In the Garden Please

I was at the RBG on Sunday to speak to the Ontario Regional Lily Society at their Annual General Meeting.  The topic was Great Public Gardens In Our Own Backyards.  There were lily bulbs for purchase at the meeting and a member came up and asked:  Are there any Boogie-Woogie bulbs?  My brother, Brian Bergman, the lily expert said Boogie-Woogie wasn't that common any more.  He recommended a lily with similar colour and blooming period.  But our potential purchaser was sure that Boogie-Woogie was what he wanted.  Why?  It smells like Vanilla when the flowers bloom. Have you ever thought about creating your garden with scent as a top priority? And a particular scent theme of Vanilla?  It is one of the all-time favourite scents.  So here is a website that lists 21 vanilla-scented plants.  Here's the link to the 21 plants on the website named plantlust.com. I was most interested in the Clematis varieties that smell like Vanilla: Clematis montana 'Elizabeth' Clematic armandii 'Apple Blossom' Cleamtis x triternata 'rubromarginata' Clematis montana 'Mayleen' Clematis recta Wouldn't it be even more fun to have a Chocolate and Vanilla garden?  Here are plants that are listed as chocolate-scented: Berlandiera lyrata - Chocolate Flower Eupatorium rugosum - Chocolate Snakeroot Cosmos atrosanguineus - Chocolate Cosmos Akebia quinata - Chocolate Vine/Fiveleaf Akebia Chocolate Mint Orchid Oncidium "Sweet Fragrance" If you go to chocolateflowerfarm.com you will find all the chocolate-scented, chocolate-coloured and chocolate-named plants for the garden.  I can confirm that the flower below, Chocolate Cosmos, smells just like chocolate.

Toronto's Skyline Garden

I participate in an artists website, Redbubble.  I have an artist portfolio where my work can be purchased in many formats in addition to traditional posters, canvases, photographic and art prints.  Examples include iPhone and iPad cases, graphic t-shirts, pencil skirts, throw pillows, duvet covers, mugs, and tote bags.  I am a host on the site, hosting several groups where we feature images regularly and launch contest challenges.  My co-host, Carol, decided on a challenge in All Glorious Gardens that would feature gardens that show a city setting.   I scrolled through my portfolio and rejected images that lacked the sense of the 'city' in the setting.  Then I remembered last summer's Garden Fling with all the garden bloggers. We went to Ward's Island, one of the Toronto Islands, and took our group photo there.  I shared this view of Toronto at the time.  I don't think there are many cities that can boast this combination.  Toronto always amazes!

Steaming into Spring, Please!

Wake Up on the Bright Side Perhaps today our green grass will reappear and the snow will melt away like Frosty the Snowman, and we can say goodbye to it for another year.  However, looking at the weather report, the headline is: "Brace for a second spring storm this week." We return to the Ontario Steam Heritage Museum in Puslinch, Ontario to see a few more of the engines, and that great tractor with its smoke rising up in the cold air.

Niagara Gardens - Beth Powell in Canfield

Garden art is a wide-open topic.  There are many styles of garden and possibilities for art in the garden.  Bracebridge's Artful Garden is a showcase of what's possible.  They feature more than 40 artists' work at the end of July.  This is where I first saw Floyd Elzinga's Pinecones. These pictures today are of Beth Powell's Canfield, ON garden.  Canfield is south of Grimsby on the escarpment, about 30 minutes away. There is everything from red wagons to dog houses, groupings of doors, a floating canoe garden and a Florida flamingo-inspired gazebo. And of course, there is much more than what you see here, as this is a large rural property and Beth is an ambitious garden artist. Repurposing is popular garden art style in the rural garden with the the open spaces and more relaxed settings. Beth takes familiar objects and gives them new definition through groupings and plantings. They delight and fascinate, inspire and motivate.  These are views of Beth's garden last year during the Hamilton Open Garden Week.  Beth's private garden is open to the public by appointment - one of those great public gardens in your own back yard.

Join me April 10, 2:00pm!

Join Me! Next Sunday I will be the speaker at the annual meeting of the Lily Society.  This is a free event open to the public.  And this is one of my favourite topics and activities - finding 'public' gardens within easy reach.  I would be so pleased if you can be there. April 10, 2016 2:00pm - Ontario Regional Lily Society (at the Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Road West. Burlington, Rooms 1 & 2)  Great Public Gardens in Your Own Backyard If you live within the Golden Horseshoe and surrounding Toronto area, you can visit more than 30 public gardens within easy driving distance. Some will be new to you and others will be familiar.  You'll see them all at their best.   Get your schedules out because you'll want to get to these glorious gardens so close to home and easy to visit.

Betterphoto February Contest Winner

Betterphoto's contest for February had 4700 .  My image of Peacock Feathers is one of the Second Place Winners this month int eh Details and Macro category.  Here's a link to all the contest winners. Looking at the calendar, what might we expect today on April Fool's Day? Here are two food jokes offered up on the internet: 1. Buy oreos for the office - then laugh at the bewildered and disappointed faces when they realize you've filled their cookies with toothpaste. 2. Replace the custard filling in donuts with mayonnaise. If you are inspired to participate and looking for jokes, this link has lots of possibilities here.