A Story - "Where to Go?" and Gaillardia, Wood Aster, Zigzag Goldenrod, American Bittersweet, and Emily Olson Art Book.

A Story

Where to Go?

It had been a year since Steven had died. Paula missed the travelling they had done together. Some of her friends had recently gone on cruises, or trips to the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, or down to Costa Rica to do a little birdwatching. She felt she should go somewhere before she got too old to travel at all, but she was nervous to go alone.  Steven was such a confident traveller and she always felt secure with him by her side.

She almost booked a cruise to Alaska but being so far away from home in a wild environment was scary.  A bus tour down to the Maritimes? More manageable but what if she got a seat mate that drove her crazy with their chitchat.  She'd never taken the train across Canada . She could book a little roommette so she could have privacy if she wanted it. But Canada was so big and she didn't know if she wanted to be on a train for that long.

Suddenly something on Youtube caught her eye. Something fun, something she'd never done before, but something that didn't look intimidating.

It was an art trip to Spain with one of her favourite Youtube artist creators. The small group would stay in a lovely villa and practice their painting under the encouraging guidance of the artist.  And she noted, looking at last year's group photos, the participants were all women. No couples, no men. 

She clicked on the link and sent off her payment. Now to buy some new clothes...

 

The gaillardia is giving the garden a nice punch of colour. It is a low-growing, spreading plant which may be why it is also known as blanket flower.  Barely hardy in zone 4, but comfortable in zone 5. The man who sold me this plant said his plants self-sow in his garden.  They are considered a short lived perennial so a bit of self-sowing would be good.

This is wood aster and zigzag goldenrod. I was not familiar with zigzag goldenrod, just the regular fluffy flowering kind, but the zigzag grows happily as a native flower here in central Ontario. Both of these plants are good pollinator plants and provide a source of nectar late in the season when many other flowers have stopped blooming.

It can form nice little clumps. Although the tall regular goldenrod likes full sun, the zigzag goldenrod seems to prefer some shade. It is only a couple of feet tall so shorter than the regular goldenrod.

I keep finding plants I didn't notice earlier in the year.  Here is some American bittersweet. It is a vining plant that can curl around trees and eventually girdle them so I'll have to keep an eye on it.  The berries are eaten by birds but are poisonous to people.  The bright orange berries are attractive for now.

I recently bought this watercolour book by Emily Olson.  I have followed her Youtube channel for a few years.  This book consists of  52 small paintings of simpler subjects. Also included are  some landscape paintings. Only 7 colours are needed for all the projects. This book would make a great gift to anyone you know who likes art, or give it to yourself. Available on Amazon or Indigo  and some other online booksellers.   Her Youtube channel, Emily Olson Art, is really helpful if you are trying your hand at watercolour painting.

A Story - "The Candy Wrapper" - Short Bellflower, Yarrow, Carnations, Boxwood, Lettuce. North Beach Provincial Park

 A Story

"The Candy Wrapper

Out for their usual walk, Julie and her yellow Lab, Sweetie, were strolling down the wooded path that ran behind their housing development. It was always pleasant to smell the leaves, notice the wildflowers and hear the birds sing. Sweetie, always on the lookout for something edible, took a lunge to the right and grabbed a candy wrapper.

"Sweetie, drop it!" demanded Julie. Sweetie wasn't about to give up the treasure without an argument so she ignored her.  Julie leaned over and grabbed the dog's collar.  With her other hand, she pried open Sweetie's mouth and extracted the wrapper.  The dog sighed and started walking again.  Not wanting to leave the litter on the path, Julie stuffed it in her jacket pocket.

A few days later, Julie saw on the news that an assault against a woman had happened one evening on the path that they usually walked on. She shivered thinking about someone lurking about in the area that she enjoyed so much. 

The police asked the public for any information that could be helpful. Anything at all. Julie remembered that she had picked up the candy wrapper and that she had forgotten to put it in the garbage. With a tissue covering her fingers, she gingerly pulled wrapper out of the jacket pocket and looked at it. Surely the police wouldn't want it. But then again they said "anything".

At the police station, she handed over the baggie with the candy wrapper in it.  She explained the circumstances around finding it and that they would find her fingerprints and her dog's slobber on it. The policewoman looked skeptical but she took it anyway.  Another useless piece of nothing from the public trying to be helpful.

A month later, the police still weren't making any progress on the case.  A junior officer reviewed their paltry pieces of evidence.  Pictures of footprints that could belong to a thousand different people,  some hairs that probably belonged to a poodle,  some dirt that maybe came from elsewhere.  Then he picked up the bag with the candy wrapper. What?  He read the note that was attached.  Had anyone tested the wrapper for DNA? Apparently not.  He arranged to have it tested and the results were surprising. Julie and her dog's DNA showed up but also the DNA of a convicted violent criminal.  

With this new-found lead, the police were able to apprehend and eventually tie the him to the latest assault.

Sweetie was hailed as a heroine and had her picture featured in the local paper. Grateful citizens dropped off bags of fancy treats for her.  Julie was thankful that the crime was solved and that, for a time, the man was in prison. Sadly though, she never felt like walking on her favourite trail again."

This pretty little bellflower (campanula carpatica) is a variety I got from W H Perron near Montreal. I had a hard time sourcing this type of bellflower. I used to buy them as small plants at the local stores in the spring but this year I had to buy seeds and W H Perron was the only source I could find. They are a good seed company so that was fine. This variety, Rapido Blue, is replacing Blue Clips. I started the seeds inside in May and now they are finally blooming. Next year, they should bloom in July.  They are hardy to zone 3 but do not like being wet through the colder months.

I wanted a short mounding plant to go with the 4 miniature roses I planted out.  The roses are the usual grocery store variety which happens to be hardy. They have been blooming all summer.  The campanula will work well with the roses because it stays low and although the mound will get larger, it is not an aggressive plant. It should bloom for about six weeks in the summer.

I like the feathery leaves of yarrow and the fact that it is quite drought tolerant. This lovely variety is called Apple Blossom and I got it as a bare root plant from Veseys this spring. I am really pleased with it. It is shorter than most yarrow and the flowers start out as vibrant pink and slowly fade to almost white. Great plant. There is some pink agastache and sedum near it so it is my very pink section of the rock garden.

The Chabaud carnations that I started in February are blooming like crazy in a wild sort of way. Although each stem is quite stiff, it often flops at the base. They will enjoy the cooler temperatures and I should get flowers right up until frost, likely in October.

Such a lovely deep red with a rich cinnamon scent.  The more orangey red flowers don't have much scent.

I'm not a big fan of boxwood. This one came with the property. Now it's really not adding anything to the garden.  I was busy dog sitting for a couple of weeks and wasn't paying attention to the boxwood. It had been growing very nicely, full of dark green leaves, but now, obviously, some bug has stripped it. Perhaps boxwood mites? Fortunately, whatever attacked the boxwood hasn't gone after anything else. I'll leave it for now and see if it regrows next spring.

Every summer I try to do successive plantings of lettuce and every year I fail. The first planting always does very well but when I try to get seedlings going in late June, they never survive. This year, it was earwigs that ate them even though the lettuce was planted in a raised planter. Finally, in August I have managed to get some going.  The days are already getting shorter so I am not anticipating a great harvest in September but I least I will have a bit.  The onions are green onions that I bought at the grocery store. My daughter-in-law planted green onions from the store last year and found it handy to have the green leaves to pick if she just wanted a bit of onion flavour. I did the same this year. I'll pull the whole onion out when a frost is expected.

This is North Beach Provincial Park near Belleville, Ontario. It is on the shore of Lake Ontario. A really nice beach with lots of space and accessible parking. It's busy in July and on summer weekends but it is a large beach so it can accommodate quite a few people comfortably.  Only day use - no overnight camping.

A Story - "Rewriting The Story" - and Butterflies and Insects in the Garden - ( Monarch, Giant Swallowtail, Damselfly, Praying Mantis, Baby Grasshopper, Mud Dauber Wasp, Bumblebee)

A Story

Rewriting The Story

"Amanda, the hospice nurse, arrived at Margaret's home and, as usual, found Margaret settled in her bed with a cozy hand knit shawl draped over her shoulders. Margaret's daughter, Julia, was helping her to drink a nutrition milkshake.

"Good morning, Margaret," Amanda said cheerfully.

Margaret didn't answer as she had become nonverbal as the dementia had progressed.  She did, however, glance at Amanda briefly before going back to her drink.

"Anything new I should know about?" Amanda asked Julia.

"She seems about the same. I got some new lotion which is helping with her dry skin. I've been making sure to turn her every two hours, even at night. So far no bed sores."

"You are taking such good care of her, Julia. You're a real blessing to your mother."

Julia smiled at the compliment. Her mother no longer recognized who she was, had forgotten her name almost a year ago. That's when the story began to be rewritten.

The relationship between Margaret and Julia had been contentious over the years. Margaret was so often critical of Julia, and reminded her regularly that she was disappointed in Julia's life choices. Julia had moved to the other side of the country to get away from her and spent decades building a life without her mother but it still hurt that they were estranged.  When her mother developed dementia, Julia felt sorry for her mother and came back to help with her care. At first the destructive patterns of behaviour were present but slowly as her mother became more confused, the conflict lessened. Her mother forgot her old grievances as her memories faded. When finally she no longer knew who Julia was, the tension was released.

Margaret had enough money to pay for full-time care givers in her home but gradually Julia took on more of the care herself. She imagined that she was taking care of a mother who had loved her and that she was just returning the love. Sometimes Julia just sat in the recliner in her mother's room as her mother slept and she reinvented the past. A trip to a beach resort that had been ruined by her mother's constant badgering was transformed into a story about them both having fun in the surf and shopping for souvenirs. She pretended that her mother was proud of her career as a teacher and that she hadn't disparaged her for not becoming a doctor.

Julia spent extra time making her mother look well.  She brushed and styled her hair each day.  She made sure Margaret's nail polish was well done. Even as Margaret became bed bound, Julia picked out pretty clothes for her to wear spending extra money on adaptive clothing that were easy to get Margaret in and out of.  Every morning, she gave her mother a massage with lotion soothing her skin and relaxing her muscles. 

Sometimes her mother smiled at her in a way she never had before and she let Julia hold her hand, and gently rub it. In those moments, Julia felt she was in a loving relationship with her mother. She was able to block out the nasty years. A part of her knew that this was a fantasy but she didn't care. She wouldn't have much time left with her mother and she needed to create this new story while she could."

I've been happy to have some monarch butterflies visit the garden. They always like purple coneflower. A few feet away there is some young milkweed. I'm hoping that next year, I will see some caterpillars, as well, as mature monarch butterflies.
 

Viewed from the side, the monarch's colouring is more subdued- more light brown than orange. 

Several Giant swallowtail butterflies have been flying around the yard. They are the largest butterfly in Ontario but aren't much bigger than the Eastern tiger swallowtail.  They also like the coneflower but I have seen them sipping nectar from the marigolds and coreopsis, and even pansies as well.

Viewed from the side, the colouration is the opposite of the open wing colouration.  It is mainly pale yellow with black markings instead of black  with pale yellow markings.

The Giant swallowtail also has a small red and blue accent in the middle and near the back of its hind wings.

Another visitor to the garden was this bright blue and black damselfly.

For about three days, this brown Praying Mantis hung out in the half-barrel planter among the pansies and carnations.  Such an interesting looking insect. I really like his pointy fingers on the front legs. Mantis are not good fliers so I have no idea where he came from or why he left. They are a good insect to have in the garden as they will eat other pest insects.

This is a young grasshopper. Not generally viewed as a positive inhabitant of a yard as they eat various plants.  However, he is pretty cute and possibly he will end up being lunch for one of the larger birds that frequent the garden.

There are many kinds of wasps.  This one is a Mud Dauber wasp.  They are generally a quiet wasp and do not bother people, unlike the yellow jackets or hornets which can be very aggressive.  Wasps can help with pollination and also eat garden pests.

This pink agastache is very popular with the bumblebees.  Any agastache (hyssop) will attract bees and other pollinators. Agastache is a sturdy plant and can survive winter in zone 4- 6 if the fall and spring weather isn't too wet.  Otherwise it can be grown as an annual.  I started these plants in mid March.

A Story - "Goals" and Mulberry Tree , and Dramatic Sunset

 A Story

Goals

"So much money, so much fuss. It's just a ball getting kicked around and maybe going into a net.  

Fine for kids but it seems a bit excessive for adults.  A lot of money changing hands though, what with betting being involved.

Oh well, let's watch the highlights of the Canadian game. TSN is putting up short videos on Youtube of the crucial moments.

It's surprisingly entertaining to watch the highlights of the game. Hum, maybe I could watch some other videos.  Soon I am familiar with the names of star players : Messi, Mbappe, Haaland.  I find out that Messi is 39 years old. That's impressive. I watch a video about his life and find out that he was a small boy from a working class Argentinian family. He was missing growth hormones and his family couldn't afford to pay for them. Eventually a soccer club paid for them. He grew to 5'7" - still quite short. He had to really develop his technique because he wasn't as big or strong as the other boys. In 2022, he helped Argentina win the World Cup. Honestly, his life is like a Disney movie.

Maybe I'll find out more about Mbappe and Haaland.

Now the games are not just about a ball whizzing around a field.  It is about real people with dreams, gifts and challenges.  It's about life. "

I discovered a while ago that we have a mulberry tree on the property.  I cut away some buckthorn from one side and now you can see the lovely graceful shape of the mulberry tree.

The tree is full of berries.  They ripen gradually over time and most of the ripe ones have been picked off by the birds and squirrels.

Here you can see the deep purple colour of a ripe mulberry.  I tried one and it tasted a lot like a strawberry with a hint of raspberry.  No wonder the birds love them so much.

Here is a robin, who blends in quite well with the tree, having a snack. We have a pair of robins that live in our front yard.  We see them all the time, picking up bugs off the lawn and then flying over to the mulberry tree for dessert.

So many lovely sunsets at our house.  This one was especially striking.

A Story - "Hummingbird Competition" - and Unusual Hanging Basket and Spirea

A Story

Hummingbird Competition

As a newcomer to the neighbourhood, Stella was going to have to try hard to attract hummingbirds to her yard. The ruby-throated hummingbirds were only in the area for a few short months and not many travelled that far north.

Wanda, who lived next door, had the advantage as she had several feeders up and had been creating a pleasant habitat for the hummingbirds for years with gardens full of colourful flowers.

It felt a bit sneaky to be trying to lure some hummingbirds over to her feeder, but Stella really wanted to see and hear these little dynamos in her garden. She planted some salvia and bee balm near her solitary feeder. Occasionally, she saw a flash of green but most days her feeder saw no action.

When she bumped into Wanda at the store, Wanda enthused over her busy feeders and Stella couldn't help but feel disappointed at her lack of attraction.

One morning, she started watering the flowers with a fine mist.  Suddenly, a hummingbird zoomed in and carefully flew into the spray.  It fluttered its wings as it enjoyed the shower. Stella held her breath. Just before it flew away, the bird gave Stella a keen intense stare.  "I'll be back", the bird seemed to say.  "Thanks for the bath."

I found an interesting hanging basket at the local store. I like the W shape to it and the unusual use of the tradescantia.

Tradescantia Nanouk is usually used as a houseplant but it is just fine in an outdoor setting for the summer.

The flower buds are covered in fuzz and the little white flowers are delicate. The variegated leaves are thick and the stems are sturdy. If I wanted, I could take cuttings in the fall and have it as a houseplant.

A couple of fuchsias in traditional fuchsia pink and purple add whimsy to the basket.

Lantana is always fun as each flower cluster has different shades of colour - yellow, orange, pink. Lots of pollinators like to visit lantana. It enjoys full sun.

It seems like the dragon wing begonia might have been an afterthought in this arrangement.  I really like this kind of begonia but I'm not sure that this was the best spot for it. Anyway, I'll see as the summer progresses if it was a good idea after all.

Spirea is a great little shrub for any part shade or sunny locations.  The flowers can be pink or white.

They can get a bit leggy over time.

I cut this plant back to about 4" inches this spring and now it has a really nice rounded clump form. Its blooms are coming out a bit later than the unpruned plants but that doesn't matter at all. I probably won't prune it next spring and hopefully it will still be short enough next summer.

A Story -"Abundance and Scarcity" - White Native Wildflowers Late Spring - Daisy, Yarrow, Solomon's Seal

 Big brother Sam debated whether the next block on his tower would be blue or red. Just as his hand reached for the blue block, little brother Jacob toddled over and send the whole stack flying.

"Aargh!" cried Sam. "Don't do that!"

Grandma, who was nearby, swept up Jacob and asked Sam if he would like her to read the book on construction machines. Sam's anger dissipated and he clambered up on the couch beside Grandma ready to hear about giant dump trucks and complicated paving machines. Grandma settled Jacob on the floor by her feet with a toy with lots of knobs, and musical sounds.

At bedtime, Mom asked Sam if he wanted to sing a lullaby to Jacob with her. Sam gave Jacob a hug and a kiss, and after the toddler was in his bed, Sam joined Mom as they sang a soft song for Jacob.

After Jacob fell asleep, Dad asked Sam if he wanted to go to the petting zoo the following day. 

"Yes!" Sam squealed. "I want to feed the goats again."

Kevin was trying to draw a picture of an airplane. It was almost finished. It just needed another wing when younger brother Maverick wandered over, grabbed the paper and tore it half.  Then he started to chew on the corner of the page.  Kevin yelled at him but Maverick just continued. Finally Kevin, smacked his brother on the back.

"Why is Maverick crying? Did you hit him again?" Mom shouted angrily from the kitchen.  "Go to your room!"

Kevin stomped to his room where he brooded about ripping apart Maverick's favourite stuffy .

When Sam got married, Jacob was his best man. They both worked in the same town and often got together for a game of golf. Family barbecues with little cousins playing together were anticipated.

When Kevin turned eighteen, he left home.  He went up north and got work in the oil fields. He only saw Maverick at Christmas and even then they kept their distance. Kevin didn't anticipate ever getting married.  Too much hassle. And who wanted kids? Just an expensive pain in the butt.  A good drink with his work buddies was all he needed. 

I have always loved the native daisies. So bright and cheerful.  Here they are in a scruffier part of the property beside the parking area for our cars. I mowed the grass around them but left this patch so I can enjoy their sunny beauty.  When they finish blooming, I will mow them down and next spring they will come up again, strong and dependable.

I started a small rock garden. When I was mowing the grass, I noticed some native yarrow in the lawn. I dug some up and planted it in the rock garden where it will happily grow in a dry environment. Butterflies enjoy the little white flowers of the yarrow. I also like the feathery bright green leaves. All the plants in the rock garden naturally spread so over time they will fill in all the bare spots between the rocks. I'm waiting for some purple campanula carpatica that I started from seed to get big enough to transplant into the rock garden. I have some rock cress, some hens and chicks, some sedum - short and tall- already planted.

Solomon's seal has a lovely structure to it. The stems are gracefully arched and the leaves are glossy all through the growing season.   It prefers a moist shady spot but is pretty tough. It is best planted where it has room to spread and can form a nice big clump. Hummingbirds and bumblebees like the flowers. Later in the summer it will make dark blue inedible berries. After a frost, the leaves will turn yellow but still stay on the stem for quite a while.

A Story - "Legacy" and Petunias

 A Story

"A hundred and fifty years ago, Mrs. Marshall and her husband moved to their undeveloped land. They worked hard and managed to turn it into a sufficient farm. Mrs. Marshall had brought with her, from England, a rooted shoot of purple lilac and one of white lilac. She planted them near the house so she would be able to enjoy their fragrance.

Last week, Fiona attended the funeral of her aunt. It was a tense affair as the eulogies were forced and no one really had anything very positive to say about her. Fiona had found her to be an abrasive woman, who liked to monopolize  conversations and was critical of just about everything. She only came to the funeral to support her cousin who suffered from anxiety and was feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of settling the complicated estate. It was sad that her aunt's legacy was just more stress for her daughter.

Driving home, feeling rather down, Fiona turned on to the road where the Marshalls had lived so many years ago. Hundreds, if not thousands, of lilac bushes were in bloom in a profusion of pastel beauty. House after house had lilacs on their property. It felt like being in a Thomas Kinkade painting. It was impossible not to smile and feel happy in the joyful landscape.

Mrs. Marshall's legacy would bless people for a long time to come."

Petunias are a popular plant sold in the spring, especially in hanging baskets.

I was looking for an old-fashioned purple because I like their spicy scent.  Only the purple ones are fragrant, and the newer Wave petunias, while very floriferous and less apt to get leggy, do not have scent.

After I bought this basket, I found an all purple basket which I was happy about.  The other day, it was very windy and I brought the two baskets inside to keep them from being knocked around. The lovely scent wafted through the main part of the house. So nice.

My petunias will get leggy and bloom less in the heat of the summer.  To keep the baskets looking better, I will gradually prune them back. Every four or five days starting now (beginning of June), I will pinch a few stems back to about 4". Over time the whole basket will  be pruned but the pruning will be hardly noticeable. Using this technique, I can usually keep petunias looking decent into August. 

Of course, the newer varieties  have a tidier habit so they're a good option with less work.

Petunias are heavy feeders and need to be fertilized every week or two with a liquid fertilizer. They like to be in full sun.

I dead head every day and that also helps with getting more blooms. The whole blossom including the green sepals at the base of the flower, not just the petals, should be pinched off.

This fun petunia is called Starry Night. It's the first time I have seen a petunia with this sprinkled pattern.  Reminds me of fireworks.  It is not a new variety, just new to me.

It's an attractive magenta which isn't a common colour for petunias.

 I'm not sure what it's growing habit will be like but I can pinch it back if I have to. 

A Story - "Habitat" -Vinca (Periwinkle) and Changing Views of the Bay

A Story

Habitat

Perched on the side of the half-barrel planter filled with colourful pansies, the robin surveyed the front yard. He had a clear view all the way to the stand of lilacs that bordered the trees where he and his mate had built a nest.

Later, Sheryl noticed him and his mate poking at the front lawn finding worms and other insects. It made her happy to see them comfortable in their environment. It helped her to feel at home.  She missed the birds that she knew at her old home but this robin pair would be the beginning of new relationships.

On her usual woodland path walk, she found a large patch of wild columbine with red and yellow flowers.  They were a happy surprise.  She had tried in the past to grow columbine and hadn't had success. Here a whole swath of them were thriving in this unique habitat. 

Would she thrive in her new habitat? It would be an adjustment. Some things missed, some things gained.

 She could learn from the robins. They were content wherever they were, finding nesting spots in forests, or on a porch light in the suburbs.  Always with a cheerful song and never a bully to other birds.

Sheryl promised herself that she would start each morning watching for the robins, and opening her heart to her new life.
 

Vinca (periwinkle) can be an attractive groundcover in shady areas but it is aggressive. It should be planted where it can be contained and where it won't go over to the neighbours or invade a woodland area.  This patch came with the property.

 

The flowers are pretty at a time of year when not much else is blooming.

The bay is always changing.  Interesting patterns on the water even though the sky was just clear with no clouds.

At this time of year, we get lovely sunsets.

The dark blue of the water stands out well against the yellow green of the new leaves.