Flowercents

Finally Winter

2012-01-24T11:53:00.000-08:00

Winter finally arrived in Southwest BC last week, and along with it snow, wind, and cold weather. I brought my container grown pieris in to the garage, and tucked up my other containers right next to my patio doors. I hung the hummingbird feeder on the butterfly bush's branches, only a few inches from the door. I have been bringing in the feeder at night, but even so the nectar has needed thawing out during the day. The cold weather has brought a large number of birds to my feeders, so I have been busy taking pictures of them all. I was really surprised to have a varied thrush visit my feeders for the first time. He's a cute fellow even if he is a bit of a bully.

Pine Siskins

New Visitor, the Varied Thrush

Anna's Hummingbird carefully guarding the nearby feeder

Anna's Hummingbird

Varied Thrush

Song Sparrow

Junco in Pink Dawn Viburnum

Junco sitting on my sad looking pansies

Junco trying to stay warm

House Finch

Owls at Boundary Bay

2012-01-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! On January 1st my husband and I took a trip out to Boundary Bay to see if we could find the snowy owls that I had been hearing so much about. After what seemed like a very long drive, we finally arrived to see many people gathered in small groups along the dyke, carrying their impressive cameras, lenses, and spotting scopes. The first owl was right near the parking lot, and we were delighted to see many others along the dyke, some far off in the distance, and others closer. This was my first time seeing these beautiful owls, and I was so happy to be able to get a few pictures, though a nicer camera would have come in very handy. Wishing you all a great 2012!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-16T08:37:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! Yes, it is in fact Christmas, and I always find it odd when people are afraid to call it such. Not a whole lot happening in my garden, but I am thankful to have pansies blooming cheerfully out on my patio. Inside, I have been taking pictures of my favorite Christmas ornaments, my poinsettia, and our cat Tiger. The cat photos were a joint project with my daughter, who bought the accessories, and arranged the cat and chair just so. She is a professional photographer (my daughter, not the cat) and will be sharing her pictures of the cat photo-shoot on her website: Alyssa Schroeder Photography

Pansy

Pansies

Poinsettia Jingle Bells

Tiger

Tiger not exactly liking the hat

Snow Globe

Angel

Autumn Color

2011-11-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower" by Albert Camus is one of my favorite fall quotes, and so very true in the case of many trees, shrubs, and even perennials. I grabbed my little camera and walked around my yard snapping photos of fall color. I even found a few flowers still blooming, including hydrangea flowers long past their prime but still looking lovely. Had a hard time choosing between photos, so there are many. What is your favorite plant for fall color?

Hydrangea


Hydrangea

Path to the Back Yard

Burning Bush


Burning Bush Leaves

Enkianthus

Geranium Leaves

Balloon Flower Leaves

Hansa Rose Leaves

Spriea

Spriea Leaves


Viburnum

Yarrow

Feverfew

Mystery Plant, is it fennel?

Persicaria affinis

Houttuynia Leaves are this color year round

Ground Cherries & Tiger's Birthday!

2011-10-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of ground cherries before? Me neither, until I spotted the seeds for them in a garden catalog this past spring. The flavor sounded intriguing, a cross between pineapple and citrus flavor, so I ordered some seeds and grew them this past summer. After a long, long wait, and being a little nervous about poisoning myself eating an unripe one, I finally tasted my first ground cherry! Nope, couldn't describe the flavor but not pineapple...or orange. I had to get a second opinion, and my son figured it out: a cross between a pear and a tomato. Ok, so now what to do with them? Recipes are few and far between for ground cherries! First of all I made a pie, it tasted similar to apple. Next I cooked up a sauce and made a spice cake. Between the two, I preferred the pie, but then again, I love pies. Not planning on growing them next year, but it's always fun to try new plants in the garden. Our cat turned 12 yesterday, so I made cupcakes in her honor.

Ground Cherries in their husks

Ground Cherries

Unripe Ground Cherry...Don't eat!


Ground Cherry Sauce

One Last Gladiola

Yarrow

Dahlia

Our Kitty on her 12th Birthday

Yum!

Fall Booms

2011-09-23T08:05:00.000-07:00

I love sunflowers, for both their cheerful yelllow flowers, and their ability to attract birds to my garden. I planted two types of seeds this year: Autumn Beauty, and the black oil seeds I feed to the birds. I had to replant three times, because of our unseasonably cool spring. The Autumn Beauty was a no show, but the black oil ones grew & grew, once the weather finally warmed up. Most of them are very tall, and have multiple flowers per plant. Then there was the little one, the smallest sunflower I've ever seen.

Sunflower

Little Sunflower

Black oil Sunflowers

Here is a late blooming Gladiola called Purple Flora

Another view of a Cobaea Bloom also called Cathedral Bells

A Pretty Pink Poppy

Humming Bird Visiting Cerinthe Flowers, which she visits everyday now

Interesting Berries I found at Aldergrove Bowl Park

The rudbeckia, garlic chives, daisies, morning glory, sweet peas, and even a few roses are still blooming.

Rudbeckia, Oregano with daisies in the back

What's Blooming Now/ Flaunt Your Flowers

2011-09-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

For the first time I am participating in Tootsietime's Fertilizer Friday/Flaunt Your Flowers so here are a few photos of what's blooming now in my garden, with a few other pics thrown in. I have been patiently waiting all summer for the Cathedral Bells to bloom, and it finally put out it's very first bloom on August 31st. This is my first time growing this vine, and it has definitely outgrown the little three pole trellis it is planted by. Not quite sure what this little chickadee was doing but I quickly took a photo before he flew off.

Cobaea Cathedral Bells

Garlic Chives

Rudbeckia

Morning Glory

Chickadee

My Garden Inspector

Birds & Blooms in my Summer Garden

2011-08-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

The Summer weather has finally arrived much to our delight here in the Pacific Northwest. A visiting chickadee considers a bath, since the water is just about perfect, and a female and male hummingbird visit my nectar feeder. This is my first time growing Cerinthe, and I am happy that the hummingbirds like feeding from it. The petunia called pretty much picasso from Proven Winners, is also new to me this year. It is happily filling in an unused fire-pit in my backyard. The Monarda looks like a flower one might find on an alien planet. Last of all is the one Jay who figured out how to get the peanuts, from my bird IQ test. (see last post) What birds & blooms have been gracing your space lately?

Chickadee considering a bath

After his first dip

Hummingbird


Anna's Hummingbird

Cerinthe

Pretty Much Picasso Petunias

Daisy

Monarda or Bee Balm

Perennial Dianthus

Balloon Flower Bud

Shirley Poppy

Dahlia


Stellar's Jay

July Blooms & the Bird IQ Test

2011-07-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

In spite of much cloudy weather and a general lack of sun & warmth, my garden is full of color and blooms. Every July I fall in love with my dark pink & yellow daylily, variety unknown. I can't help but take oodles of pictures of it. For the last two years it has been effected by what I believe is gall midge, with some of the buds never opening. (see last pic) I hope removing the affected buds will be enough to keep it under control.

Spirea blooms look so amazing up close, it is so easy to overlook their interesting flowers. Clematis seed heads are just plain interesting, and my Nikko Blue hydrangea has three different colored blooms on it once again.
I finally captured a Stellar Jay in a photo that wasn't blurry! I strung some peanuts up from a bird feeder to see just how smart they are, thus the bird IQ test. So far they haven't had much success. Comments and suggestions always welcome.

My Favorite Daylily

Strawberry Candy Daylily (Hemercallis)

Spirea Shirobana

Hydrangea Macrophylla Pink

Hydrangea Purple

Hydrangea Blue

Clematis Seed Head

Balloon Flower (Platycodon Grandiflorus)

Fleabane Daisy (Erigeron)

Shirley Poppy

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)


Steller's Jay

Bird IQ Test

Daylily Bud Problem, gall midge?

June Blooms & Ducklings

2011-06-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

There are many plants blooming in my garden in June, and one of my favorites is my Rugosa Rose, Hansa. It has a wonderful fragrance, with a big show of blooms in June and keeps on blooming throughout the Summer. Best of all, it never gets black spot, which can be a big problem if you live in a wet climate.What is your favorite rose and why is it your favorite?

My neighbor's Clematis has been sneaking a stem or two under the fence, and is now happily growing up on my side. I am more than happy to share it's pretty pink blooms. The other neighbor just shares weeds.

The birdbath was a mother's day gift from my daughter, and I am eagerly waiting to see if the birds will be using it. The cute ducklings were hanging out at a local park.

Hansa Rose

Columbine

Iris

Clematis

Close up of Clematis

Birdbath

Geraniums

Mallard Ducklings

May Blooms & Friendly Birds

2011-05-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

Spring in my garden has been later than usual with the cool weather, but blooms are happily starting to open, and some are just on the verge of blooming. It is interesting to see the way the same tulip looks so different after a few days, and in different light.

I found a friendly little pine siskin that let me get quite close to take a picture. Most of my bird pictures are taken through my kitchen window, but this little bird let me come right outside on my patio to take his photo, before he flew off. I also captured a slate-colored Junco visiting my patio, most of my Junco visitors are of the Oregon variety. The Northern Flicker was successful attracting a mate with all his drumming, though I have yet to get a photo of the female.


Tulip Upstar


Tulip Upstar


Chives just opening up

Lilac starting to Bloom


Little Flowers of Oregon Grape


Northern Flicker


Slate Colored Junco

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Pine Siskin

Pacific NorthWest and the Zone Challenge

2011-05-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

The Pacific Northwest is an area of North America roughly covering Southwest B.C., Washington, and Oregon, west of the mountains. In the gardening world, our climate is unique, and considered a modified Mediterranean climate with wet Winters and dry Summers. In fact, 80% of our precipitation falls between October and April.Our Winters are mild with occasional cold snaps, and our Springs are long, cool and moist. Our Summers are warm and dry, with cool evenings and our Autumns are warm and dry until late October, when the rainy season starts.

So what does all this mean to the gardener? Mild Winters mean insects overwinter readily and the rain encourages fungal diseases, moss and algae. Cooler Summers mean late-ripening of tomatoes and limited success of other heat loving plants. Plants that would normally be considered hardy in our zones (6-9) don't always succeed. Our lack of hot summers to ripen new growth on shrubs can result in Winter die-back, and our mild Winters trick plants into thinking Spring is here, when indeed it is not. Zone 7 in the Pacific Northwest is nothing like zone 7 in the Eastern United States, and our zone 9 nothing like Texas or Florida. Zones indicate nothing about humidity, summertime heat, or even how long the growing season is.

Plants described as "difficult" are sometimes the very ones that do best in our area, while "easy" ones do poorly. I have experienced this myself with many annuals. The best advice I can give when it comes to choosing new plants for your garden is to buy from local nurseries, which tend to offer plants that do well in the area you live. I have found my local library to have a good selection of gardening books, many focused on the Pacific Northwest. Comments always welcome and appreciated. Happy Gardening!

Tulip Purple Flag

Interesting new growth on Platycodon (Balloon Flower)

Spring Blooms in my Rainy Garden

2011-04-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

I took a few more photos of flowers blooming in my yard in the last week or so. The Pink Dawn Viburnum put on an amazing show this Spring, the photo doesn't do it justice. My Camellia blooms look like they have been either damaged by the cold, or may have a blight. If any of you can tell me what the problem is, I would appreciate it. Their flowers looked like this last year too.

Anemone Blanda 'Blue Star'

Chinodoxa

Hyacinth

Pink Dawn Viburnum

Camellia

Hand Feeding Chickadees!

2011-03-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe I have lived in the Fraser Valley my whole life and had never visited Campbell Valley Regional Park, until recently. I heard that it was possible to hand feed chickadees at this park, so I just had to drive out and give it a try. Chickadees are my favorite bird and it was a real thrill to have them eating out of my hand for the very first time.

There are also some nice buildings to photograph, which my photographer daughter enjoyed, and a lovely boardwalk. I hope to return in the Summer when everything will be lush and green, and will definitely be bringing more black oil sunflower seeds! The last three pictures were taken by my daughter.


Little River Loop Trail

Choosing the Right Seed

This looks tasty


Mmmm

Chickadee

Old Farmhouse

Farm Buildings

Signs of Spring

2011-03-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

Crocus

Pink Dawn Viburnum

Skimmia Buds

Fresh New Growth on Chives

Spring Dreaming

2011-02-04T12:07:00.000-08:00

Spring is just around the corner here in the Pacific Northwest! I can hardly wait to get planting, though it is a little early yet. After much, much catalog browsing, debating, and researching, my seed orders have finally been sent off! I ordered seeds for the following Flowers & Veggies: Cerinthe purple bells, Cathedral bells, Sweet peas (old heirloom variety), Poppies, Sunflowers, cleome, Ground Cherry, Corn, Cucumbers, & Dill. I still have lettuce seed left from last year and I purchased Tomato seeds at my local garden store. I also ordered some beautiful purple gladiolas. Some of these are brand new to me, so it will be a fun adventure to grow them. Now, I just hope I can manage to squeeze them all in!

I brought home some tulips that someone had thrown out at work, and took some pictures to share. I also bought a pretty primula, which my camera refused to focus on, well all but one photo. Yes, it is my camera's fault, never mine :) More backyard bird photos as well.


Tulips


Tulip

Primula

Tomato Choice for 2011

Cheery Chickadee

Curious House Finch

Visiting Song Sparrow

Willband Creek Park

2011-01-14T13:46:00.000-08:00

I ventured out to Willband Creek Park in Abbotsford a couple of times this Winter. While some may find this park lacking in trees, I find the mountains & wildlife make up for any lack in trees. I was hoping to capture some more bird photos, but it was cold and the birds were uncooperative.

Many Gulls

View across the Road

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-17T08:37:00.000-08:00

Meowy Christmas

I hate posing for pictures!

Our Gerbil Dash

Hello

Giant Rodent Visit Baby Jesus

Backyard Bird Buddies

2010-11-17T09:50:00.000-08:00


Chickadee

Flicker

House Finch

Anna's Hummingbird - male

Anna's Hummingbird

Junco

Historic Home in Clayburn

Blueberry Field

Blooms & Fall Color

2010-11-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

Chrysanthemum 'Clara Curtis'


Yarrow


Dahlia

Viburnum 'Pink Dawn'


Persicaria affinis 'Dimity'


Brilliant Blueberry leaves


Balloon Flower & Alyssum

"Dead" Hydrangea Blooms


Burning Bush

Deer

These two deer hung around our backyard and our neighbor's yard all day on Saturday, a rather unusual occurrence since we live in the city.

Pushy Plants

2010-10-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

All gardeners make mistakes in plant choice now and again. I learned about the invasive nature of ivy at a place we rented for several years. By the time we left, the ivy was literally growing into the basement of the house!

You would think I had learned my lesson. Our present home has a shady area with poor soil on the west side. After admiring a colorful ground cover, and even after reading about the aggressive nature of this plant, I bought and planted it. I hoped the fact that this plant liked sun and would get little, would keep it civilized. That and the fact that the soil is poor. Wrong! It started out innocently enough but a few years later, I am struggling to keep it in bounds.

Houttuynia (Chameleon Plant)

What about Ivy? Can you believe I have some, though it is varieaged, and so far has been well behaved. At the very least, it is planted far from the house.


Chrysanthemums

Skimmia Berries

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

What's Blooming Now

2010-09-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

Some Late Summer Blooms in my Garden


First Sunflower to Finally Grow & Bloom


Sweet Smelling Sweet Peas

Rudbeckia

Monarda

Lavatera

Buddleia

2010-08-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

I bought my very first Buddleia this past Spring, called Petite Plum Dwarf Butterfly Bush. My plan was to plant it in a container and leave it on my patio, year round. It didn't take long for me to start wondering if this plant would get too big for the 14" pot I planted it in. Here it is only a few months after I bought it.

It started to bloom in July and I have been thoroughly enjoying it's lovely fragrance. A little hummingbird has also been checking out the blooms, but I have yet to see a butterfly.

I don't know what to do with it this fall, whether to leave it in this pot on our patio as planned, or to plant it in a less than suitable (shady) place in my yard. Any suggestions would be very welcome!

What's Blooming Now

2010-08-04T08:16:00.000-07:00


Lily Acapulco, such a lovely fragrance!


Butterfly Bush, blooming on my patio

Daisies

Fuchsia


Balloon Flower

Daylily Strawberry Candy


Gladiola

Blueberries

Manning Park

2010-07-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

Had a lovely time at Manning Park on Sunday with my family. We fed the tame Colombian Ground Squirrels and enjoyed the beauty around us.

Twenty Minute Lake

Mmm

This one looks well fed

Checking out my daughter's Camera

Only got a few Wildflowers photos before my batteries died

Hydrangea Happiness

2010-07-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

As far back as I can remember, my dear mother always had a hydrangea or two growing in our yard. The size of the flower heads were enough to amaze me, not to mention the ability to change color as if by magic.

When we bought our first home 7 years ago, I just had to get an old fashioned hydrangea. I gave it some lime that first year to turn the flowers pink. It worked amazingly well, so well in fact, that years later most of the blooms are still pink! Not that there is anything wrong with pink, but I was ready for a change back to the classic blue.

I have read that adding aluminum sulfate to the soil should make the flowers blue, but with our naturally acidic soil, I didn't expect that to be necessary. I have since learned that other factors effect the color of the blooms as well, such as what type of fertilizer you use, soil additives or even whether it is planted near concrete.

So now my blooms are a random mix of mostly pink, some lilac, and a few light blue blooms. No matter the color, I still love my Hydrangea.

What's Blooming Now

2010-06-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

Unknown Day Lily, one of my favorites

Spirea Buds just about ready to open

Persicaria affinis

Lily, Iceberg

Geranium Sanguineum 'Max Frei'

Penstemon Husker Red on the left, Polemonium Caeruleum on the right

Left: Feverfew trying to take over my Herb Garden

Right: Unknown plant that snuck under the fence from my neighbors. Anyone know what it is?

Visitor I found in my house. He wasn't eager to leave, so I snapped a picture.

Rain and More Rain!

2010-06-11T09:56:00.000-07:00

We have certainly had our fair share of rain lately. Occasionally we will have a few hours or odd day of sunshine in the mix, and then back to days of rain. It is getting wearisome, even for this local born gal. While the peas, lettuce, potatoes, and onions seem fine with it, the tomatoes are another matter entirely.
They don't look much bigger than when I first planted them out, so I don't know what sort of tomato crop I will be getting this year, if any. I bought a cantaloupe and watermelon plant also, which are longing for some sun.

My orange lilies have started to bloom, and my day-lilies are on the verge of opening up. Orange is not one of my favorite colors, but I bought this particular plant especailly for my daughter. It is a very low growing one, good for the front of a bed or border.

Verbena

What's Booming Now...

2010-05-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

Chickadees & the Battle With Hoses

2010-05-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

After finding out that weeper/drip hoses weren't subjected to our rather stringent watering restrictions, I decided to buy a flexible weeper hose for my veggie garden. I purchased a 75 foot hose and carefully placed it around my young plants, only to find it not quite long enough. So, after a few days and a bit of thought, I bought another 75 foot one, as that is the only length this hose came in. So yesterday I carefully set out the second hose, winding it around young plants, while trying not to step on any seedlings. Not an easy task. This second hose made it necessary to completely reposition the first one so they could join happily together. It took a while but finally everything was placed just so. I turned on the water and watched as it made it's way through the hose, and stopped somewhat short of the end. After some adjustments and a little help from my hubby, the water finally flowed all the way to the end, Yay!

On another note, I took some pictures of a chickadee nesting in our
yard, in a box made especailly for them by my handyman dad. I was pleased the chickadee felt comfortable enough to feed her young while I was standing only a few feet away. Here is a pic of him/her coming to the nesting box.

Chickadee feeding it's young. Their young are so quiet, I can barely hear them chirping, so unlike the house sparrows nesting nearby! I love Chickadees.

To my delight, hummingbirds did find my hummingbird feeder, and visited daily for a few weeks, but have now disappeared. I wasn't able to get a picture of them. Maybe they only stopped in on their way further North. I hope that won't be the last of them, as they are such amazing little birds.

Picture of my "Veggie" garden
with the new hoses snaked around it.

What's Blooming Now

2010-05-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

Getting Ready for Spring

2010-03-09T08:53:00.000-08:00

The last couple of weekends have been busy, first with spreading a load of mushroom manure in my gardens and around individual plants, (funny how that stuff is always smellier than I remember) then with spreading a load of bark mulch around my shrubs and along the paths. I also purchased some seeds: peas, phlox, alyssum, & cat grass (whatever that is). I always enjoy eating a few fresh peas from my garden. I grow alyssum almost every year for their fragrance. This will be my first attempt at growing the annual phlox and the cat grass. I still have many seeds left from last year, which I will be planting as well. One plant I never go without is tomato....summer just isn't summer without homegrown tomatoes! I'm contemplating growing cantaloupe, but as yet remain undecided. We don't have the climate for it, but once years ago I managed to grow a couple of these melons, and the taste was far superior to anything I have ever tasted before. I'm also going to grow lettuce, onions, & potatoes. Here is a picture of my container of pansies that have been adding cheer to my patio all Winter long.

The Crocus are coming!

2010-02-20T10:52:00.000-08:00

The Crocus are taking over the world! Or at the very least, my yard. When we moved into our home 6 years ago, that first Spring a few pretty purple crocus sprung up here and there. Lovely, I thought to myself, a beautiful beginning to the gardening season. A few years later, I was finding more and more of them, and noticed they were even growing in the lawn. This year, it seems they've put on a mighty surge, popping up pretty much everywhere, including many in my back lawn. My husband noticed the crocus in the lawn for the first time (he's not much of an outdoors sort) and he wasn't too pleased, to put it mildly. So now their secret is out, and I'm not planning on stopping them. So be prepared, they are heading your way.

Crocus creeping into the compost pile & lawn