A Sampler of Boats

 So many boats out on the water.

 Chunky ones

High-powered ones

Casual ones

 Ones with silly names.  A diving boat named "Under Where?"

and a family boat named "Sail La Vie".

A majestic boat

 A quaint old tug

 An all-equipped boat with a matching dingy

And sailing school boats dancing in the sun.

Freighter

 We went for a boat tour in the Thousand Island area a couple of weeks ago and it was a great day for boats.  Looking behind us just minutes into the ride, we saw a freighter coming up.

 You wouldn't think a big freighter would be going faster than a small tour boat but it quickly caught up to us and began to pass us.  Wonder where it's from?

 Blue and yellow.  Is that Swedish?  A closer look with a zoom picture revealed it was from Quebec.
That's not very exotic.
The ship came close enough to us that we bumped up and down over the wake.

Soon we were approaching some of the islands that explain the name of the region.  There are lots and lots of them, as well as almost-islands just below the surface.  The tour recording explained that an island has to be three feet above the water at its highest point and have at least two trees.  Two trees?

The freighter as it was starting to go through a narrow passage between two islands. Lots of skill needed to navigate that huge ship along the seaway. 

Happy Weeds

It has been a good year for the weeds with temperatures in the low 20's and quite a bit of rain.  Everything is very lush.

 Pink Joe-pye-weed is just starting to bloom. It grows best in a damp location.

 Usually the township mows the side of the road but this year they left this quiet road alone.  The blue chicory is very pretty.

 Two vines twining up a dead tree.  The Virginia creeper is already starting to turn red.

 White Queen Anne's Lace is a kind of wild carrot.

 A sunflower planted by a bird or a chipmunk.

 Purple blazing star gives a rosy hue to this natural field that is slowly becoming a cedar forest.

Poisonous bittersweet nightshade has very bright red berries.

Bright yellow sow thistle, purple blazing star, blue chicory and greeny-yellow wild parsnip make an attractive roadside border.

Now That's a Garden!

 I just love the energy of this garden and the intriguing tall things - tropical trees? people with spiky hair?

 Here's a farther out view.  The camera is struggling to capture all the colours, probably because my batteries were low, but you can still see  the overall effect.  I like the boy at the far right.  His enthusiasm goes perfectly with the garden.

 The plants haven't quite filled out in these chunks of wall but they still look great.  The curvy dark lines echo the tree trunks nearby and the bright green ties in with the green plants at ground level.

A lovely free-flowing patch of blue delphiniums. At the left of the photo, a tower of impatiens.  The mood of this garden is so different from the first one.

Function and Design

 The gardeners had fun with the vegetable garden at the Botanical Gardens.  I really like this brilliant planting of lettuce.

 An extensive border of herbs ran along one side of the vegetable area.  To give it continuity while displaying a wide variety of herbs, a zig-zag of greyish cotton lavender ran through it all.

 A handsome big bed of cabbages. 

 In with the cabbages, some bright green herb of some kind.  What a great colour combination.
At this point, the batteries on my camera were low and I hadn't brought spares so I had to be very stingy with the photos.  I didn't take any pictures of a  tomato and sweet pepper garden that had been thoughtfully laid out.  Right now it was just green, but when the tomatoes and peppers ripen it will be a really colourful, multi-level planting. Lots of other vegetables and fruit were planted in attractive ways.

In the middle of the gardens is a natural oasis with a waterfall and pond. Although you are a short distance from busy Sherbrooke St., you can't hear any traffic or other city sounds.  Just birds and insects and flowing water.  It's wonderful.  In the distance, you see the arboretum at the north end of the gardens.  You could seriously imagine that you were miles from the city.
Next time, the experimental area of the gardens and a garden that just stopped me in my tracks.

Jardin Botanique-Montreal

 We had an enjoyable visit to the Jardin Botanique in Montreal last week. I hadn't been in a few years and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the gardens as I had, on other occasions, felt that a number of the plantings were pretty ho-hum.  We didn't see all the gardens this time as I was still having foot trouble, but we saw most of them.

 A corner of the perennial garden had blooming Hens and Chicks (sempervivum). This spot was a little weedy as were some other parts of the perennial beds, but I guess that's budget cuts. But Hens and Chicks in bloom always look fun.

 This was the perennial area but the annual bed assured a good jolt of colour all summer long with its planting of celosia, zinnia, salvia, and heliotrope.

 Nice patch of pink phlox.

 Heuchera can be difficult to place so that their blooms are shown to advantage.  I like the contrast here with the tiny white flowers and bright green leaves.

 A beautiful specimen of Bear's Breetches (Acanthus Mollis).  I was surprised to see it as I thought it wasn't hardy in Montreal.  I checked on the Internet and it's only hardy to zone 7 so I guess it will have to go in the greenhouse for the winter.  In warmer climes, it is considered invasive.

 

Mulleins are quite remarkable in their sturdiness.  These ones are about 7' tall but shows no signs of flopping at all.  Very sculptural.

Puzzle for the Day

 A peaceful pond with a waterfall in the distance.

A little cabin in the woods.

And finally a wild boar looking a little shabby.
Where are all these things?  How about a guess in the comments?