Blooming Successes

Around the house here in Hants County, there are a few blossoms that please me a great deal.  Even the Easter Lilies, above, are sort of a novel and fun addition to the weedy border by the driveway.  

This Trumpet Vine brings me great joy, finally blooming this year.  (There was one stem of three blooms last year, which waited until I was out of town for a few days to do it's thing, so I missed it!)  In a way, these flowers are a bit anticlimactic, being rather sparse and faded looking, and the vine refuses to stick to the stone wall.  Now it has loose branches breaking down again. Yet the novelty of having this rather tropical (in my eyes) vine prospering now is something I count as a success.

Along the sunny and dry side of the house the hardy Glads are starting to bloom!  As I write this, we are getting some more well-needed rain. 

 And the solitary Eggplant is looking promising.  I think a slug has already sampled the fruit.

Around the other side, in a shady nook, the random combination of things is rather pleasing.  The Hydrangea was put there temporarily, but now the Aralia "Sun King" sets it off nicely, I think.  

I hope you all can enjoy the random combinations that turn out as if you had well-designed them.  

A Friend's Garden

Since I started blogging, a mere five months ago, I thought it would be great to feature the gardens of others.  As we head toward the backyard of this friend in Cumberland County,   NS, and view the geraniums hanging along the porch, one might expect a fairly traditional yard.  

And in a sense, it is traditional, but the collection of clematis, roses, and daylilies is truly wonderful.  And it is filled with plants in every corner.

These first shots I took on June 22, in the gardens of my friend Phil.  Roses and Daylilies are two great loves in his gardening.

When I returned, a few days ago, other roses were blooming.   This one, below, is Crocus Rose, a beautifully scented David Austin.  I was impressed with it so much I bought myself one.

And, of course, it is now daylily season here in Nova Scotia.  In the background there are also some Asiatics and others.  mercifully, the dreaded lily beetle has not yet arrived in this part of the province.  

Daylilies are not affected by the lily beetle.  The unidentified little critters above seemed merely to be revelling in the nectar and pollen.  Phil said there had been a multitude of these in the daylilies just lately.  

     This yard is packed with botanical treasures, well tended by the gardener, who has recently retired.  

Of course, there is much more than roses and daylilies.  Here are a few parting shots around the yard.   

 

Whenever I get to this town, I visit my friends here, see how things are growing, and we share our horticultural wisdom over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.  
     Well... maybe I should say that we talk about what grew and what didn't!  And we never mention goutweed.

  

Historic Gardens

In the midst of vacation time, I stopped by the Historic Gardens in Annapolis Royal today.  Here are just a few shots - things that caught my interest.  Of course, the roses are performing well.

And there is plenty of perennial stuff putting on a show.  Puts my gardens to shame. 

I've been watching the Pawpaw tree progress through the years, and for the first time today glimpsed some growing fruit.  My own trees at the Cottage are about four inches tall!

Asimina triloba 

My wife says this trio of fruit looks like a propeller.  
     Most gardens have sculptural elements these days, and here is a whimsical one among the grasses.

Look closely.  I think this is a marvellous use of Burdock burs!

     And the Japanese Umbrella Pine is looking grand.  I planted seeds of this "hard-to-start-from-seed" tree this spring.   None have sprouted.   It will be many a year before I have one this size.

Sciadopitys verticilliata

 Just look at the cones of this maturing specimen in Annapolis.

There, that's my quick tour of the Historic Gardens.  There is so much more; I've just scratched the surface.  Enjoy it when you get the chance.

Mostly Wild Nova Scotia

A week ago I was hiking at Cape d'Or, doing a bit of birding, a bit of botanizing.  It was a spectacular day.  I happened upon this pink version of the usually blueish Heal-All, a wildflower common in the woods and in people's lawns.

Prunella vulgaris

The usual violet coloured version you can see below, with this pink individual.  I suppose this is how many new varieties of plants arise - out in nature, without our help.

I was on this particular short hike looking for some uncommon Nova Scotia plants.  I found a couple, including this member of the legume family, going to seed...

Oxytropis campestris

Nearby, in the garden of a friend, her Globe Centaurea was just starting to bloom.

Centaurea macrocephala

I love this plant, and must get some seeds from my friend.  We went on a couple field trips, and along the roadway checked out this wildflower, Bladder Campion.

Silene cucubalus

In the middle of last week my wife and I headed out to go camping and exploring in south-western Nova Scotia. 

That chipmunk was one of the local critters that lived around our campsite at Thomas Raddall Provincial Park.  We explored this park, and a few other areas in Queens and Shelburne County.  In the boggy, barren, and woodsy areas there were plenty of native orchids blooming.

Ragged Fringed Orchid, Platanthera lacera

White Fringed Orchid, Platanthera blephariglottis

Grass Pink, Calopogon tuberosus

Rose Pogonia, Pogonia ophioglossoides

I think this is Blunt-leaved Orchid, Platanthera obtusata

A couple of other small orchids I missed taking pictures of, including a Rattlesnake Plantain.  But I did snap a few shots in some wet places of a bladderwort (not an orchid).  Invisible except when blooming, the rest of the plant is under the mud.  

Utricularia cornuta

Bladderwords are carnivorous, capturing tiny critters in small bladders that suck them in and digest them.  Also saw some very vigorous Poison Ivy.  I don't usually see it vining up a tree like this.  I kept my distance, though I've never had a reaction to it myself.  Better safe than sorry.

Toxicodendron radicans

 

We have one mistletoe in Nova Scotia, Dwarf Mistletoe: very small, very common on spruces along the coast, and very seldom noticed, I'm guessing, by most people.   

Arceuthrobium pusillum

Each plant is not much longer than the Spruce needles they grow among.  Among some dead Spruce branches I saw this lovely lichen growing. 

Speaking of Spruces, how do you like this odd one, below, centre, growing in the wild?  Looks like a strange variety someone would buy at a garden centre for a pretty penny!  If I knew anything about growing cuttings of Spruces, I would have tried to gather a couple shoots.

This post is getting lengthy, so I'll just close with some photos of some of the fauna among the flora.  

How many seals can you count among the rocks?