In the Land of Cotton

I went to the East Georgia Botanical Garden in Savannah, Georgia on the trip down to Florida.  I was startled by a crop in the vegetable garden.  Clearly it was cotton.  I'd never seen a cotton plant.  My picture has captured cotton that has been left on the plant over the winter, so we don't see the fluffy cellulose at its best.  It remains a major crop world-wide.  I can't think of any crop here in Niagara that has such a pretty winter show.  For me, it is pussy willows in the spring that give this sense of delicate fluffiness.   Our next picture is one that we associate with Florida.  It is a cypress tree reflecting in the water - a wonderful natural landscape within the botanical garden.  We can grow cypress here in Niagara and many parts of warmer Ontario.  Like the Dawn Redwood, it is a striking structure in the landscape - vertical, fanning out towards the bottom. No garden is complete without a reference to the human element of structures and buildings. The warm colour of the wall gives us a sense of the backdrop we can expect in tropical gardens. Our northern backdrops are most often grey, blue, white, red brick, taupe stucco - all quiet colours in the winter that blend in with a white winter setting.

Whistling Gardens Latest Accomplishment - Peonies - May 23rd 2014 Opening!

Whistling Gardens is our newest botanical garden. It was a 25 year journey for Darren Heimbecker, and became reality and opened in 2012. 

This week came another amazing announcement of a premier peony collection:


"(April 29, 2014 - Wilsonville, Norfolk County, Ontario Canada) As a "budding" new garden destination attraction located in Ontario’s Garden, Norfolk County The Heimbecker Family and Whistling Gardens Team, are thrilled to share two peony collections will be revealed on Friday May 23^rd 2014 at 10:30 am as a result of two generous donors! The two collections will represent over 700 varieties of peonies, a "Premiere Canadian Collection" while showcasing an annual floral show of over 900 plants! Witness the transformation as two Peony Collections are introduced and planted throughout the 2014 season with full blooms expected over the next two years as we are joined by special guest, The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario."



Go find out more at the Whistling Gardens site and join them on Facebook and twitter:

E: info@whistlinggardens.ca Website www.whistlinggardens.ca

Join us on FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/Whistling.Gardens TWITTER:http://twitter.com/#!/WhistlingG
Directions WG GPS: 42º 59’ 55.95" N, 80º 17’ 50.32" W or http://whistlinggardens.ca/directions.php

Located in Norfolk County "Ontario's Garden"