Today, I celebrate spring and mid-week with a trio of flowers.
First, a local wildflower, the fawn lily.
Then, a local garden flower, the echinacea. With visitors.
And finally, something very tropical, from a greenhouse.
Happy midweek.
Tag Archives: flowers
Weekend Report
Above: close-up of a flowering tree on East Point Road, Saturna Island, BC. Roadside poetry…
What follows is a visual report of my weekend. It involved a little commute on the ferry, a little road trip on Vancouver Island, and a little excursion to Winter Cove park on Saturna Island.
On Friday morning, we left on the mid-morning ferry and I got to admire the fog that was caught between islands, hanging on before the sun could do its thing and burn it out…
This is the cute islet that lies just off North Pender Island. I don’t know its name, but it stands out in a lovely silhouette, against a fog backdrop.
While on Vancouver Island, I got to admire the greenery in bloom, including this tall Oregon grape…
And while walking in a meadow, I caught a glance of a hawk overhead. I was a little slow on the photo op, and got him a little bit “fuzzy”.
Patrolling the fields for mice and other goodies, no doubt.
Back on Saturna after a pleasant road trip and a return ferry commute, we all headed to the pub for sundown.
The sky and water had a dramatic moment…
You have to keep a watch on the sky and water, at sunset. It pays off handsomely.
And this morning, I headed to Winter Cove with a friend, and looked for spring wildflowers.
We were rewarded. Lots of Fawn lilies (Erythronium oregonum) and what looks like soon-to-open chocolate lilies (maybe).
There is always one that stands out. This was the pinky one:
There were masses of them, right up to the edge of the rocky shore.
And there were also daisies here and there.
At the water’s edge, a solitary heron was watching the shallows.
It is good to get out and breathe some fresh air.
Spring flowers on Saturna
Above: today’s header photo is a budding Fawn lily (Erythronium oregonum), a sweet sign of spring if there ever was one!
First day of spring, and here is a report of the flowers that are starting to appear on this shore.
Took a walk at Winter Cove, an area that is part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve (there’s a mouthful) and pointed my camera at assorted blossoms. Above: salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis), looking a tad bedraggled after an iffy late winter.
And this warm golden yellow is a gift of the Oregon grape (Mahonia oregonum), which was blooming on a bluff, out of the reach of our ravenous black-tailed deer…
Above: the assertive pink flash of Flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum), another sure sign of spring on this island.
Above: another shot of a Fawn lily (Erythronium oregonum), starting to open up.
And if you wonder about the setting, here is a shot of the salt pond by Winter Cove.
On the right, above, you can spot a weed – Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) – that is incredibly invasive. It’s the tall thing bearing yellow blooms.
At my house, I keep pulling seedlings out of the yard, the neighbourhood paths and meadows… But it is a losing battle. The park is losing the broom battle, and the weed keeps marching forward, taking over. More info on this link.
Scotch broom blooms in the spring, and its blossoms redeem it somewhat…
And finally, because my garden is also offering interesting yellows of a more tame variety…
Spurge (Euphorbia), starting to get its alien-like flowers into position.
And the stars of my spring garden:
Flowers, intimately – Photo Wednesday
Above photo: winter clematis in bloom. A real winter treat. Scented too!
Today’s garden visit is an intimate one. Up close and personal.
Meet crocus.
Should you need to get closer, I am glad to oblige.
That is the stigma. I had to look it up.
And the bees are out… in February. This is certainly a mild winter!
Time to get out in the garden and do some weeding. And enjoy the buzzing activity.
My garden in January – Photo Wednesday
Header photo above: rosemary plant in bloom, in January.
Right now, it is raining. It has been raining for two days, pretty steadily. But I don’t mind, because it is definitely better than shoveling snow, like back East.
Before the rain, three days ago, I checked out all the things that need to be done in my garden. A lot of work awaits me. This post, however, is a visual report of what I found (not the jobs, just the beauty, life, and colours!)…
First, the orange flash is a self-seeded Calendula (Pot Marigold), one of the great-grand-children of the original Pacific Beauty seed packet I purchased years ago. Very hardy plant, that one. It keeps giving back all through the winter (I have even found blooms under a blanket of snow, one particular winter!).
Among the jobs: replenishing the bird feeders (there are 8…). This Chestnut-backed chickadee (Poecile rufescens … had to look it up) and friends really enjoy sunflower seeds.
Naturally, it wouldn’t be winter in the Southern Gulf Islands without a batch of Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) blossoming in the lawn, between the rocks and even in the gravel driveway…
One of my feeders is known as the “party feeder”: it offers assorted nuts, including cashews (they must be the industrial rejects of packaging plants for human party mix, I tell myself). All manner of woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches are regular visitors of the party feeder. Above: a Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis), one of a gang of very lively and argumentative little birds.
And elsewhere, the first few Crocus are starting to come out, a little timidly, but all the rain is going to encourage them to blossom. And the weather is still decidedly above 5 degrees Celsius… so…
The winter flowering heathers are also coming into bloom. Above, a close-up, with a little filter play to make it more “painterly”…
This is a close-up of one of the larger rosemary plants in bloom – right now – on Saturna Island. The first winter after we moved here, ten years ago, I was amazed at this show of bright blue in the winter garden (it was a very large and old plant, about three feet wide and high, and covered in blossoms).
And finally, a reminder to all Gulf Islanders, and people on Vancouver Island as well: don’t forget the Anna’s Hummingbirds (Calypte anna), who are spending the winter in the area. One of them flew by my kitchen window, paused and looked me straight in the eye. Almost saying: “Hey, you forgot to refill the feeder!”…
No worries, my friend. Fresh mix of sugar water replenished!
And below, I found a video from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that illustrates how a seemingly all-green Anna’s Hummingbird male can just turn his head, and flash you an extraordinary brilliant red colour!
The marvels of iridescence…