garden photos

Nature Photo Challenge #14: My Haven of Peace

This week’s challenge from Denzil Nature is photos of a place where we find peace. So this is my garden, where I experience peace as well as face challenges, deal with problems, and figure things out.

This is where I struggle and strive, dig and swear, and, on windless evenings or summer daybreaks, experience peace (until I see something that needs doing).

(Blog followers have seen these photos before; hope you don’t mind.)

Silent Sunday: Gentians

Gentians, Gentiana acaulis, blue flowers

Nature Photo Challenge #11: Yellow

Here are photos for Denzil’s latest challenge: Yellow

Winter jasmine January 2023 — Winter Jasmine

Yellow chrysanthemum flowers from behind, sunlit — Chrysanthemum

Big pale yellow lily with dark brown anthers. — Lily

Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale. closeup of flower — Dandelion. Beautiful, isn’t it?

American goldfinches at feeder enjoying black sunflower seeds — American Goldfinches. Photo by Glenn Driscoll.

Silent Sunday: Fawn Lilies and Mossy Foot of Garry Oak

Erythronium oregonum at foot of Garry Oak April 2023

Nature Photo Challenge: Pink

This week’s challenge by Denzil is pinkness. I found several relatively recent photos in my Media Library without much effort. Mostly flowers, of course.

Nerine bowdenii flowers with Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) in background — Pink nerines

Pink tulip close-up — Tulip. Undoubtedly pink!

Hellebores and Pieris japonica new foliage — Pink pieris foliage

Lamprocapnos spectabilis, Dicentra spectabilis, Bleeding Heart — Bleeding heart

Pink oriental lily, last lily of 2021 — Oriental lily

Pink lacecap hydrangea July 2021 — Hydrangea

Rose "Fragrant Cloud" bloom bleached by sun during June 2021 heat wave — Rose “Fragant Cloud” bleached by the heat dome of June 2021. It should not be pink!

Hellebore "Pirouette" flower closeup — Hellebore “Pirouette”

Leaves and Berries

Around here, leaf-drop happens in November, often along with wind and rain. Southeast winds blow as rainstorms arrive and stiff westerlies as they leave. Northeast winds bring cold air from the British Columbia interior. All these winds mean the leaves from the several trees (maples, ailanthus, and birch) that surround my garden are distributed throughout the neighbourhood. But there are always enough of them to swell the compost pile.

This fall was relatively windless, so the leaves fell close to home. The compost pile is overflowing, with the surplus piled up on the side of the driveway for pickup by the municipality.

Leaves piled up for collection, OTBT in backgroun

Last Tuesday, the winds arrived. First from the southeast, and then the west. Result: a mess. Yet another major raking session was needed. I topped up both compost pile and the pile to be collected. While raking, I noticed leaves from parts unknown, i.e., from trees in other parts of the neighbourhood.

On the other hand, autumn leaves can be quite photogenic.

Yellow maple leaf caught in ornamental grass Pennisetum alopecuroides "Little Bunny" — Maple leaf captured by ornamental grass *Pennisetum alopecuroides* “Little Bunny.”

Red leaves of Bergenia cordifolia — Leaves of *Bergenia cordifolia* turning red for winter.

Yellowing foliage of irises and asters in front garden November 2022 — Iris and aster foliage yellowing in style.

Red/orange berries of Cotoneaster franchetti — Berries of *Cotoneaster franchetti*. They’ll be gobbled up by birds soon.

Cotoneaster franchetti twigs, leaves, and branches against blue sky — Since the leaf-redistributing windstorm, we’ve had some chilly blue sky days.

Last few leaves on Magnolia branches against blue sky, with hummingbird — The last few leaves clinging to the magnolia. There’s a hummingbird in the middle of the photo, next to the little cloud. It looks like another leaf!

Meteorological winter is here! It certainly feels like it today, with the temperature hovering around the freezing point.

Silent Sunday: Rose Hips and Yellow Chrysanthemums

Purple Stars, Red Snowflakes, and Pink Frills: a few glories of the autumn garden

Late purple asters — Late-blooming purple Aster.

Leaves of Hardy Geranium (G. pratense) turned red in October — Leaves of Hardy Geranium (*Geranium pratense*) turned red with autumn.

Summer’s End

It’s over…

Yes, I know summer doesn’t officially end for another 2.5 weeks. But according to the meteorological reckoning of seasons, as opposed to the astronomical one, summer ended with the month of August.

I am happy to kiss it goodbye. Summer had a late start here, but once it got going, it delivered a moderate heat wave almost every week. Nights were relatively warm too, so cooling the house (no a/c here!) was a bit of a project. It worked like this: first thing in the morning, open every window and door and get fans going to pull in the cool air of dawn. Once the outside temp starts to climb, shut all those windows and doors as well as curtains and blinds. This would keep the house at least 5 (Fahrenheit) degrees cooler than the peak outdoor temp. As soon as the outdoor temp dropped below the indoor one (usually by 7 or 8 p.m.), we opened everything up and got fans going again. Tedious, but fairly effective.

Now, I recognize that temperatures in the low to mid 80s (degrees F) are not considered super hot by many, but our “normal” maximum high temperature is 22C (72F). And most of us lack air conditioning. Hence the whining. And while I’m doing that, I’ll just add that there has been no rain at all since early July, so I’ve been best friends with watering cans, hoses, and sprinklers.

Blue Lacecap Hydrangea August 2022 — This hydrangea now has its own soaker hose, so performed beautifully this summer.

The Scarlet Bishop

Red Dahlia "Bishop of Llandaff" — Dahlia “Bishop of Llandaff”

One of my two dahlias (the other is the pink one in the featured image at the top of the post) is this scarlet variety called “Bishop of Llandaff.” It’s named after an actual person, and has been cultivated in gardens since 1924. The contrast between the bright flowers and the dark foliage adds to its appeal.

I have several plants. Three are planted in the ground, and have survived the winters. The ones in pots winter in the basement. They grow much better than the ones in the ground; this year the tallest branches exceeded 5 feet (pot included).

Red Dahlia "Bishop of Llandaff" closeup with bee — Bees like the Bishop too!

I know there will likely be more warm days, but the sun sets earlier and rises later. The fog bank in the Strait of Juan de Fuca is swelling and drifts onto the land at times. Autumn is on the doorstep, and I’m ready to welcome it.