Poinsettia Fever - keeping away Cabin Fever

My theory goes that cabin fever starts in November as the horizon lowers and the day shortens drastically.  Poinsettias seem to be the perfect 'pick-me-up'.  They are vivid eye candy to the eyes.  They are so varied now with all sorts of variations on red white and pink (aside from the horticultural spray painting of blue). They signal a good time ahead. So you can guess what makes me visit Sunshine Nurseries. A visit to Sunshine Nurseries last week was a feast of poinsettias.  As far as you can see are stripes of red, white, pink - all the colours and varieties of poinsettias imaginable. There are three locations for poinsettia trials in North America - Florida, South Carolina and Niagara.  This year it is taking place at Linwell Gardens, one of the growers.  Last year it took place at Vineland Research Station and there was a great public showing and voting. There are over 160 varieties on trial this year, and I hope to see them on Monday afternoon when I interview Wayne Brown, the chair of the activity.

Justin Trudeau and the Queen

Isn't it so great to have a Prime Minister who makes headlines for saying funny, witty things.  Justin Trudeau's toast to Queen Elizabeth told her he was the 12th Canadian prime minister to serve during her reign and his father, Pierre Trudeau was the fourth.  Her Twitter response was: "Thank you for making me feel so old",  It isn't every day that the news headline is a light-hearted remark. I took these pictures last Saturday - the last of the grape leaves on the vines.  These had red, orange and yellow in such intense tones.  I drove by later in the week on Thursday and everything was gone - the leaves and the colours.  It is so remarkable how quickly the colours can disappear.

Boston Ivy Days are Finishing

I have the leaf-retaining Red Maple out front.  It will be the last tree to lose its leaves and is still holding on to them. Last week I saw the last of the boston ivy.  I was fascinated by the wall at Vineland Research Station with the long leafless stems about 8 inches long.  They must have adapted to the light conditions and are able to reach out beyond the shade to catch the sun.  The more typical boston ivy habit is shown in the bottom two pictures with the brilliant golds and reds..

Sumac Serenade

These are sumacs in Grimsby on the hill where the QEW goes over Bartlett. They are a great colour - at their peak!

Christmas Greetings Countdown

Hi everyone,
It's the countdown to Christmas with 10 days to go.  I thought I'd start the countdown with a season's greeting card.  It's one of the species likes with a twist to give it the traditional Christmas colours.  It is one of my favourite lilies.

This is the same image that asked whether there might be a blue lily, which we know is highly unlikely with our current knowledge and techniques.   This one has more Topaz filter effects, which I enjoy using.

All my best to everyone during this memorable season.

The Last Leaves are Lasting

I am so impressed with the colours of the Japanese Maples this year.  My own mature tree is a Versicolour, and the leaves range from intense orange-red to yellow to green.

Here are a few shots from this week:

Leaves into November

Most of our native trees lose their leaves by mid-November.  However, there are trees that keep their autumn colours long into November.  I was reminded of this when I visited RBG last week,  and spotted the Japanese Maple Osakazuki tree in the courtyard garden at the Main Building.  It is next to the Mediterranean Greenhouse.  It is a mature specimen so about 15 feet tall and holding its leaves extremely well.  The show was extraordinary.  I visited my great nursery, Cole's, on Saturday.  And now I have one of these beauties of my own.