The Club visited St. Albert Botanic Park this weekend -- just in time to catch the lilies in full bloom!
Great company and beautiful flowers -- what a combination :)
Photos by Lori.
Showing posts with label garden tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden tour. Show all posts
Sunday, 23 July 2017
Monday, 8 August 2016
Highlands Herb Walk with Dionne (YEG Community Herbalist)
Club member Dionne, YEG Community Herbalist, is holding guided tour of her Highlands herbal garden where participants learn what grows in our city and when/how to harvest, use, and prepare them as medicine.
Highlands Garden Club members receive a $10 discount!
See below for details and how to register.
Highlands Garden Club members receive a $10 discount!
See below for details and how to register.
Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Creative Fire: Artist Garden Tour
Part one of June 8th's meeting was a garden tour of Creative Fire Studio. Artist Beverly Oliwa showed how she integrates her beautiful Paverpol sculptures in the garden for a whimsical and magical effect. Sylvia and Aimee were so enamored by her work they purchased one to celebrate their wedding anniversary!
Dionne shares her photos and a few words on the visit:
It totally torrentially down poured when we arrived at Bev's house. We got soaked & huddled in her living room looking out into the garden & learned a bit more about her sculpture making process.
We wandered the garden, & enjoyed.
It totally torrentially down poured when we arrived at Bev's house. We got soaked & huddled in her living room looking out into the garden & learned a bit more about her sculpture making process.
We wandered the garden, & enjoyed.
Tuesday, 28 June 2016
2016 St. Albert Garden Tour
Posted on behalf of The St. Albert 50+ Club
The St. Albert 50+ Club is hosting a fundraising community event:
2016 ST. ALBERT GARDEN TOUR
The St. Albert 50+ Club is hosting a fundraising community event:
2016 ST. ALBERT GARDEN TOUR
Sunday, July 3, 2016
12 Noon—5 pm
RAIN or SHINE
12 Noon—5 pm
RAIN or SHINE
It will be a fun afternoon with some lovely gardens. Be sure to get tickets before June 30th!
Sunday, 26 July 2015
George Pegg Botanic Garden and Granola Greenhouses
It was another beautiful day for a field trip! Club members Audrey, Erica, Margaret, Marie, and I piled into Barry's vehicle and headed out to Lac St. Anne - only slightly breaking the law along the way.
We chatted about our gardens, ant control, and shared stories about outhouses. Before long we were at our destination: George Pegg Botanic Garden.
It certainly was the best time to visit - there were no other groups there, and we found both raspberries and Saskatoon berries were in fruit - a very lovely breakfast / mid-morning snack!
Cassidy, our guide, was amused by our enthusiasm. We toured the historic homestead, paying particular attention to the different plants. There was wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), amur cherry (Prunus maackii), heritage tree ponderosa pine (Pine ponderosa), poison ivy (Rhus radicans - clearly fenced off), St.John's Wort and many more. An edible gardening area also featured different kinds of peas and apple trees. Wouldn't you know it? Someone started weeding the rose garden.
It's probably no surprise that with such plant diversity there would also be plenty of animals and insects: multiple bees heading straight for one flower, frogs, a mouse, and even bats!
Cassidy led us also through some educational activities in the barn, a "What can you compost?" exercise. You can bet there was a lot of discussion amongst our group.
More photos of our visit click here:
We left to find lunch and was pleasantly surprised by the cafe at Gunn Esso - real soup!
Next it was to Granola Greenhouses!
The owners greeted us and shared handfuls of Saskatoon berries from their stock. We got some great deals on interesting plants - so many in fact, we completely filled Barry's truck bed. And still we probably could have filled more...
What a great day!
We chatted about our gardens, ant control, and shared stories about outhouses. Before long we were at our destination: George Pegg Botanic Garden.
It certainly was the best time to visit - there were no other groups there, and we found both raspberries and Saskatoon berries were in fruit - a very lovely breakfast / mid-morning snack!
Cassidy, our guide, was amused by our enthusiasm. We toured the historic homestead, paying particular attention to the different plants. There was wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), amur cherry (Prunus maackii), heritage tree ponderosa pine (Pine ponderosa), poison ivy (Rhus radicans - clearly fenced off), St.John's Wort and many more. An edible gardening area also featured different kinds of peas and apple trees. Wouldn't you know it? Someone started weeding the rose garden. |
| Various pollinators on common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) |
Cassidy led us also through some educational activities in the barn, a "What can you compost?" exercise. You can bet there was a lot of discussion amongst our group.
More photos of our visit click here:
 |
| 2015-07-25 George Pegg Botanic Garden |
We left to find lunch and was pleasantly surprised by the cafe at Gunn Esso - real soup!
Next it was to Granola Greenhouses!The owners greeted us and shared handfuls of Saskatoon berries from their stock. We got some great deals on interesting plants - so many in fact, we completely filled Barry's truck bed. And still we probably could have filled more...
What a great day!
Sunday, 24 August 2014
A Walk in the Park
A clear Saturday morning - perfect for a field trip to the St. Albert Botanic Park!
Lori had suggested the location and raved about the botanical garden's year-round beauty.
Even before leaving the car park, we saw a taste of its summer bounty: the dahlias were in bloom! A long bed with over 40 varieties edged the parking lot. Marie commented on the work that's needed to take care of them -- their tubers need to be dug up to overwinter.
We followed the path past a waterfall into a blooming rose garden (right) with a water fountain at its centre.
Next door, meringues of hydrangeas in the hydrangeas beds.
And next door to that, past the gate, was the most enviable cottage garden.
We snapped photos of happy bees and butterflies amongst the flowers, noting interesting shapes and colours. The time for peonies and delphiniums had passed, but the monarda (bee balm), sea holly, monkshood, Joe-Pye weed and many others were in full form.
We revelled (left) before moving on.
Deeper into the Park were the Xeriscape Garden, Lily Bed, and Daylily Bed (below).
A volunteer was combing the Lily Bed for scarlet lily beetles. Unfortunately they've caused quite a bit of damage. Her tip was to check under lily leaves with fresh holes. She used a little container of soapy water to catch and drown them. But the beetles have a trick to evade capture: Dropping to the ground onto their backs, where their dark bellies blend into the dirt.
The Park continued with shrubs and trees, with a whole area dedicated to lilacs.
The volunteers for the Park do an amazing job deadheading, removing pests, and taking care of all the plants. We can see why someone would want to have their wedding there (the Rose Garden was booked for the afternoon).
Lori was right. We'll definitely have to return at different times. Imagine all the varieties of lilies (a large collection of mortagons), peonies, and lilacs in bloom!
See more photos of the Park here.
After this nice long walk, it was back to The Tea Place in Edmonton for lunch. Who knew so many of us liked bubble tea?
Lori had suggested the location and raved about the botanical garden's year-round beauty.Even before leaving the car park, we saw a taste of its summer bounty: the dahlias were in bloom! A long bed with over 40 varieties edged the parking lot. Marie commented on the work that's needed to take care of them -- their tubers need to be dug up to overwinter.
We followed the path past a waterfall into a blooming rose garden (right) with a water fountain at its centre.
Next door, meringues of hydrangeas in the hydrangeas beds.
And next door to that, past the gate, was the most enviable cottage garden.
We snapped photos of happy bees and butterflies amongst the flowers, noting interesting shapes and colours. The time for peonies and delphiniums had passed, but the monarda (bee balm), sea holly, monkshood, Joe-Pye weed and many others were in full form.
We revelled (left) before moving on.
A volunteer was combing the Lily Bed for scarlet lily beetles. Unfortunately they've caused quite a bit of damage. Her tip was to check under lily leaves with fresh holes. She used a little container of soapy water to catch and drown them. But the beetles have a trick to evade capture: Dropping to the ground onto their backs, where their dark bellies blend into the dirt. The Park continued with shrubs and trees, with a whole area dedicated to lilacs.
The volunteers for the Park do an amazing job deadheading, removing pests, and taking care of all the plants. We can see why someone would want to have their wedding there (the Rose Garden was booked for the afternoon).
Lori was right. We'll definitely have to return at different times. Imagine all the varieties of lilies (a large collection of mortagons), peonies, and lilacs in bloom! See more photos of the Park here.
After this nice long walk, it was back to The Tea Place in Edmonton for lunch. Who knew so many of us liked bubble tea?
Saturday, 19 July 2014
Ardrossan Rocks
A magazine feature from a few years ago, was the inspiration for the road trip to Ardrossan. We were in search of a rock garden.
Ardrossan wasn't far away, but with properties not on the grid system and seeming not addressed, we relied on the owners' directions: Turn at the white fence... the road will curve right... Until our caravan was properly lost. But could it be that house peeking through those trees?
Yes! Who could have guessed just passed those trees would be a garden oasis with waterfalls, whimsical and great sculptures, and most of all, incredible rocks!
It was hard to capture the scale of this private garden -- and at every turn there was something delightful. (See more photos here.)
The owners' gave us a tour and welcomed our questions, even revealing the sources for many of their rocks and sculptures. But before the Club could plan a trip to local rock quarries (or down south to Arizona and Mexico), we were told it would be harder now to attempt to recreate the same. Quarries have closed, others have changed their pricing, and petrified wood is just no longer available (by government regulation).
Now most of us wouldn't have the space or grand vision to create the same, but I think we all left this garden thinking how we'd want to add some rock stars to ours.
The field trip continued with lunch at Katie's Crossing. The old rail train turned restaurant featured a small menu of burgers, fish and chips, and baked beans. Some of our members, though, decided to start with dessert (ice cream) first.
We then made a short stop at UnBoutiqued. The clothing store definitely had some interesting items, but outside there was a flower bed that needed weeding...
Find Johanne's write-up "A Rock Garden that will Amaze You" here.
Ardrossan wasn't far away, but with properties not on the grid system and seeming not addressed, we relied on the owners' directions: Turn at the white fence... the road will curve right... Until our caravan was properly lost. But could it be that house peeking through those trees?
Yes! Who could have guessed just passed those trees would be a garden oasis with waterfalls, whimsical and great sculptures, and most of all, incredible rocks!
It was hard to capture the scale of this private garden -- and at every turn there was something delightful. (See more photos here.)
The owners' gave us a tour and welcomed our questions, even revealing the sources for many of their rocks and sculptures. But before the Club could plan a trip to local rock quarries (or down south to Arizona and Mexico), we were told it would be harder now to attempt to recreate the same. Quarries have closed, others have changed their pricing, and petrified wood is just no longer available (by government regulation).Find Johanne's write-up "A Rock Garden that will Amaze You" here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)