Vintage Botanical Calendar

Live Laugh Rowe has created and shared a lovely Vintage Botanical Calendar for 2019 (click the link to download a copy).  

While we face the snow and plan our gardens, let these beautiful flowers inspire you!  

https://livelaughrowe.com/vintage-botanical-calendar/

Happy Holidays everyone! 

Canada 150

Canada's 150 birthday is next year -- are you planning on making your garden red and white? 

Whether you're going all in or just adding a small patch of our national colours, this might catch your attention: the Netherlands's has created a special commemorative tulip --  The Canada 150. 

Club members were pretty excited about this flower last meeting.  It's certainly pretty with its smooth white petals and "maple leaf" (inspired) red markings.

Photo courtesy: National Capital Commission

To get your hands on some bulbs, check with Home Hardware the exclusive retailer.


For more info about this tulip, photos of Ottawa's spring-time tulip displays, information about Canada-Netherlands connection visit The Weather Network News. 

July Meeting at Margaret's: Business in the Front, Blooms in the Back

Slightly overcast skies hinted at storm, but we were lucky -- the meeting wasn't rained out and we had plenty of time outside again to explore Margaret's garden.

This time (a month earlier than last year), the kale was a little less monstrous and a different set of flowers were in bloom. 

Happy bees buzzed around as we checked out some native beauties in the far far back -- no space wasted, flowers and plants right into the alley! 

We later convened back to the front yard to enjoy tea and treats.


We discussed upcoming events: The tour of Wilf Maul's acreage is on!  Also of interest is Alberta Open Farm Days at Northlands on Aug.21st.  There will be farm tours, demonstrations of honey harvesting, and talks on beekeeping, keeping chickens, and backyard farming. 

 

 

 

 

Blooming Beautiful!

Bang!  It's summer, every day what-was-a-bud is suddenly a bloom.  It's hard to catch flowers in the garden just as they're blossoming, but some patient and talented people have and shared!

See how lilies, Phalaenopsis orchids, Love-In-A-Mist (Nigella damascena), peonies, irises, dianthus, hibiscus, chrysanthemums, and others unfurl with this National Geographic video:



Katka Pruskova created a number of mesmerizing video Flowers Timelapse compilations.  Below, is Flowers Timelapse I of Amaryllis, Lilies, Easter cactus, Rose, Gladiolus, Tulip, Gardenia.  (Flowers Timelapse II and Flowers Timelapse III are also stunning.)
Flowers Timelapse from Katka Pruskova on Vimeo.

Beautiful and breathtaking... and plenty interesting for scientists to look into just why and how flowers open and close.  To find out more visit:
- Wired "The Physics of the Flower's Bloom"

- Proflowers "How do flowers open and close" 

- Live Science "Why Do Flowers Close Up at Night?"

Flowers! An Icebreaker.

Poster By Alvesgaspar, Tony Wills (10) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

My friend, an exasperated groom, once remarked, "There's no ugly flower!"  This did not help his bride-to-be choose her bouquet, because though none are ugly, there are certainly more beautiful ones in the eye of the beholder.

At last meeting, we found out just which flower struck each member's fancy. 

Here's our list with some online photos. 

Enjoy these blooms as we head through icy times.

• Daisies

• Siberian Iris

Siberian Irises from Canadian Iris Society

• Lilies

• Milkweed

• Peonies

• Poppies

• Old English Roses

Can you match the member (Dionne, Erica, Janice, Lana, Lori, Margaret, Vivianne) with their floral favourite?

Lilies from 2009 Lily Festival By Shahnoor Habib Munmun - Own work, CC BY 3.0 

Monarch butterflies on Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca from Make Way for Monarchs

'First Lady' peonies by Tracy Cox from Canadian Gardening "Peonies on Parade"

Icelandic Poppies from Decor8 blog

"Golden Celebration" from David Austen Fragrant English Roses

For All to Enjoy

“I do not understand how anyone can live without some small place of enchantment to turn to.”

— Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Did you know the Highlands Garden Club maintains a native plant garden?  The small plot is located on the southern end of Highlands Park.  Members have been slowly adding to the collection, with a Joe Pye Weed plant being one of the most recent. Come visit and you may even find some native bees in action! 

The Community Garden in front of the Community Hall is also home to many interesting flowers and insects.  Come by at different times of day and marvel at the differences!   

Club Members weed and maintain this garden and other plots throughout spring, summer, and autumn.  If you see us out there please say hi - we'll gladly talk to you about plants!

Note: These spaces are meant for the enjoyment of all - please do not pick the flowers, take the plants, or leave any litter.  With these in mind, we'll have a little place of enchantment to share. 

Neighbourhood Walkabout - June's Meeting

It was a lovely night for a walk so Erica and I took the Garden Club meeting outdoors into the neighbourhood for a walkabout.

Immediately, we could see the Club's hard work paid off: the community garden looked great! Purple irises, pink and white daisies, blue perennial cornflowers, along with the last of the yellow Icelandic poppies made a colouful display.

Happy bees circled the blooms and had the two of us snapping away.

Janis Irwin, NDP Candidate for Edmonton Griesbach, found us thus, and joined us to admire the garden.  She was impressed and thought it was great for the Club to maintain this for the community.  

Erica and I went next to Highlands Park to check on the planters.  They were showing good general growth (pink columbine, yellow day lilies, and lilies in bud), but also bald spots that could use some care.  

We continued our walk into the neighbourhood and was admiring the diverse gardens so close by.  One house in particular was luscious in the shade. As we leaned closer to look in, one of the owners hard at work noticed us and offered a tour!  

The other owner and their two dogs soon joined us and we chatted about plants, gardening, and urban bee keeping until the mosquitoes drove us away.

The neighbourhood tour certainly had us inspired.  So, whose garden is next?  

Easter Lily Rescue

Potted Easter Lilies have wilted and faded, and may have ended (pot and all) next to the garbage bin. It's a sad sight -- but you can come to its rescue!  


Photo by Wadester16

Easter Lilies are but Lilium longiflorum (a summer blooming lily originating from Japan) forced to flower in spring for Easter festivities.  The plant is sometimes ranked as only USDA zone 7*, but club member Deb confirmed last meeting they've been growing strong in her garden.  No need to dig out the bulbs to overwinter indoors: she mulches them heavily, has them in a sunny spot, and they return year after year!

So, what do you have to lose**?  The next time you have an Easter Lily past its prime or see one waiting for the binman: Rescue it! 

Here are some online resources to help you do just that:

• GardenGuides.com's Step-by-step instructions on transferring Easter Lilies from indoors to outdoors
• TheGardenHelper.com for care in the home and tips on growing outside in the garden

Do you have Easter Lilies in your garden? 

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* But also listed as zone 4 on OnlinePlantGuide.com.
** Caution: Easter Lilies are poisonous to cats. 

Spring Blooms!

Tulips and daffodils are only barely poking out of the ground, but there are other flowers already in bloom!  I visited Margaret's garden to see some of them in full colour. 

Little bulbs with big impact

Iris riticulata 'Harmony', a bulb iris, is a familiar (if scaled down) bloom on 10 cm stems.

Galanthus (Snowdrops), (with Stardust fame) come in various sizes.  This one is only 10 cm tall.

Iris riticulatus 'Harmony'

Galanthus (snowdrops)

Scilla siberica or Squill are dainty, delightful, and a true blue!  

Scilla siberica (Siberian Squill) in bud.

Scilla siberica (Siberian Squill) in bloom.

Margaret had two different colours of Glory of the Snow Chionodoxa. 

 Chinodoxa luciliae (Glory of the Snow)

Chionodoxa (Glory of the Snow)

Crocus

Crocus also makes an early appearance (though unlike the rarer fall-flowering one, also has leaves).

Perennials and Native Bee-uties

Pulmonaria (Lungwort) and Hepatica (Liverleaf) are both perennials.  But only the later is native to North America. 

Pulmonaria (Lungwort)

Hepatica (Liverleaf)

The "Hungarian violet" and Viola Tricolor (Johnny-Jump-Up) are prolific seeders (and likely to survive our winters), so even though they're pretty, they're also weeds!

"Hungarian Violet"

Viola Tricolor (Johnny Jump Up)

My favourite of the day (and perhaps also for the bees -- look closely, there's one there!), is the Native Prairie Crocus (Pulsatilla).

Pulsatilla (Native Prairie Crocus)

What's blooming in your spring garden?

Plant More Flowers!

Plant more flowers for happy bees!

Which kinds?  Bees rely on a continuous supply of flowering plants for pollen and nectar.  Look at your garden and plan for continuous blooms -- this strategy makes your garden look great and benefits the bees!

Check out these sites for some plant ideas:

• Seedland's Bee Friendly Annual Flowers And Wildflowers - Table of flowers with whether it is a nectar (N) or pollen (P) source, bloom time (Spring, Summer, Fall), and types of bees it would attract

• Seedland's Bee Friendly Biennials & Perennials Flowers and Wildflowers - List of flowers with whether it is a nectar (N) or pollen (P) source, bloom time (date range for USDA zone 5), and types of bees it would attract

• 30 Flowers in a Bee Friendly Garden - Plant list (garden flowers and fruit producing) with some photos, general growing instructions (sun/shade, water requirement), and other tips on how to make a garden bee-friendly.

• Wikipedia's Northern American nectar sources for honey bees - Tables of trees & shrubs, and flowers, herbs, and grasses with bloom time (month ranges for USDA zone 5) 

• Wikipedia's Pollen Source - Tables by season, for trees & shrubs, and flowers, herbs, and grasses with bloom time (month ranges for USDA zone 5) 

http://1000drawings.tumblr.com/post/111038695721/by-amyisla

Weeding and Wine - July's Meeting

Lori, Janice, Audrey, Debbie, Erica, Lana, Laurel, Gisele, and Johanne weeded away in the community hall garden yesterday, as the sky threatened rain.  

  

Our massive clean out of bags and buckets of weeds filled Debbie's truck!

The bees seemed indifferent to all our hardwork.  But we basked in after-weeding glow, knowing our  garden had a bit more order and some room to breathe. 

The meeting continued at the gazebo with treats and wine.  We shared some gardening tips and continued to plan for our late summer event.  Stay tuned!