Here are the lovlies blooming in my garden this month. Hover over the thumbnail to see the name or click on the thumbnail for a larger picture. Anyone able to help me name the hydrangeas? Extra points for identifying the bright red bloom.
August 15 2010 | Flowers and Gardening and Photography | 13 Comments »
Here is what’s blooming in my garden this July. Hover over a photo to see the name or click the thumbnail for a larger pic. Enjoy!
July 15 2010 | Flowers and Gardening and Photography | 12 Comments »
Yes, that’s right, Junuary, aka cold like January in the month of June. Well not quite as chilly as January temps but the daily cloud cover makes it FEEL colder (even though the weather guy says that we are just slightly below normal). I’ll blame Junuary depression for not posting GBBD on the 15th this month. Yes, in protest of the ugly weather and sheer lack of light in the sky, I’m posting a good 14 days late.
At very least there are some nice bloomers in my garden and many of the wee vegetable flowers have burst into food I can soon eat (or have eaten in the case of peas that don’t ever make it into the house). So here’s my long overdue Bloom Day photos which I post in hopes of some long-needed sunshiny days to tease more blooms out for July.
PS: Hover to see the names / click to see a larger photo.
June 29 2010 | Flowers and Photography | 8 Comments »
Can I get a “hell yeah!” ?
So far it has been a MAGNIFICENT May. I adore what’s blooming right now. I’ve been eating veg from the garden daily. I have plenty of warm afternoons in the garden. Now add that to the fact that the sun is out until 9PM, you need a sun hat, and my back patio officially opens for entertaining this weekend and…
Hell yeah, summer is here!
May 15 2010 | Flowers and Photography | 15 Comments »
When I posted my bloom day photos on April 15, there were a few more blooms that were not quite ready for the paparazzi – but as soon as the pressure was off they came out in full red carpet dress. I snuck out and snapped a few shots of the new blooms and I’m posting them up because they are so magnificent I just had to share. What a difference 4 days can make!
As always, hover over the photos to see the names and click the thumbnail for a larger version.
April 19 2010 | Flowers and Photography | 11 Comments »
Here is what is blooming in my garden this month. There are lots of tulips in bloom and a variety I didn’t plan – tulips just seem to appear don’t they? But certainly mine don’t compare to the Tulip Festival I was at on Monday. I really wanted to bring some back with me but I wasn’t up for illegal tulip smuggling and the possibility of getting strip searched over some bulbs. The border guards do know how crazy us gardeners are.
Here is are rest of the blooms. Hover over the photos to see the names and click the thumbnail to see a larger version. Enjoy!
April 15 2010 | Flowers and Photography | 11 Comments »
I was very excited for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day this month because Spring has arrived very early this year. I was adding top soil to the beds in January (JANUARY!), I’ve been sowing the veg seeds outdoors for 6 weeks now and it seemed like there was no end to the masses of bulbs blooming this past February, so I figured this was surely to be a glorious Bloom Day. To my dismay the 15th of this month seems to be an official lull in the garden. The crocuses, snowdrops, and bergenia that I have been bragging about for weeks are all dying down, cherry blossoms are littering the streets and garden beds with pink petals as they come to the end of their bloom cycle, and the next wave of blooms have yet to show their faces. That’s not to say that nothing is blooming. The daffodils are in full swing and the grape hyacinths have bloomed and I have lots of interesting things here and there, but I’m still waiting for my magnificent tulips and mini magnolia to open up signifying the true start the year’s flower show.
Given that other parts of the country are still fighting snow, these blooms are certainly nothing to sneeze at—well, except for all of those allergy sufferers out there. There are a few gems that are just starting while others are wrapping up which leave me wanting a bit more WOW. Hmmm, it looks like I’ll be taking a trip to the garden centre this week.
March 15 2010 | Flowers and Photography | 11 Comments »
What I find most interesting about the garden this month is how beat up all the plants are, especially the flowers, which is very much how I feel after braving winter’s cold days and long nights. The blooms, like me, have clearly struggled to make it through the colder months but regardless have pushed on to respond to the balmy weather and send out colourful, fragrant flowers even if they have a few chewed edges and some dirt on them. These early spring flowers are so different than in summer, who stand tall and strong in the warm sun and look and feel their very best. The spring blooms look just as vibrant as those in summer but it’s a found energy, one that has been regenerating for a few months and then with all the strength one can muster, has shot up to brave a new season. A beginning of a new year. A new set of challenges. A new set of opportunities. Spring is here.
February 16 2010 | Flowers and Gardening and Photography | 5 Comments »
I think that I finally have a solution to my camera needs. Last year (well, really only a few months ago) I wrote about my quest for a new camera and over the holidays I found the solution: a basic point a shoot for my purse and a new macro lens for my DSLR. So far I’m happy with this solution. The point and shoot is just a little Canon Powershot SD1200IS that I chose after trying a few different basic slim cameras. I liked this one best because it’s small, it’s fast, and it takes good pictures. The photo of the VanDusen Festival of Lights was taken with this camera with no tripod – not bad!
The much more exciting addition to the camera family is the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens I got for Christmas. While I really didn’t want to have to switch lenses for different shots, the quality I get with this macro is just so much better for close up shots of the garden. I used it for today’s Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day shots after our rainstorms cleared and the sun popped out for a brief visit this afternoon.
The theme for this month’s photos is “The Old and The New”. I’ve used my old Digital Rebel with my new macro lens to take photos of the evergreens, overwintering veggies, and spent foliage that keep my winter garden interesting as well as the mighty new growth that is already pushing the leaf mulch aside. Spring may not be here yet, but it already feels like the dark of winter is behind us. The new growth is emerging from the soil and it can also be felt in the air. That combined with the building excitement for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics is making these short days full of promise. So without further ado, here is “The Old and The New”.
January 15 2010 | Flowers and Gardening and Photography | 8 Comments »
Yesterday we were preparing for a treacherous morning rush hour as the weather predicted an overnight snowfall of 20-30cm. This may seem like a dusting to those in parts of the country who regularly get snow but Vancouver has hilly terrain, temperatures that hover around freezing (making the snow into mucky icy slush), and a lack of city snow removal equipment. This means that driving can be a real a mess. The good news is that the temperature stayed above freezing so the snow turned to rain and has kept everything relatively clear. The bad news is that when it’s dark with rainclouds above I just can’t get photos of the garden.
But…I’ve lived here for over 15 years so I’ve learned to take a sunny day when I get it. And I’ve had plenty to choose from this month. Most every day has been cold but bright with the sun shining for the few hours we get it in winter. So on December 10, a particularly lovely day, I headed out to see what I could take photos of. I’ve been working slowly at adding evergreens and winter-interest plants to the garden. Most of them are young so from a far the garden has limited appeal but up close I found lots of little gems that while they aren’t technically blooms, they are so lovely that they still make it onto my Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for December, 2009.
December 15 2009 | Flowers and Gardening and Photography | 14 Comments »
