Magnolias in the Garden

Magnolia Tree in the Jubilee Garden Mississauga
[Photo by KPA]

More Magnolias

[Photos By: KPA]

Magnolia

[Photo By: KPA]

January Birthday Carnation

Redouté, Pierre Joseph (1759-1840)
Dianthus cariophyllus (Carnation)
Oeillet panaché (Variegated carnation)
From P. J. Redouté's Choix des plus belles fleurs, et des plus beaux fruits
Date: circa 1827


Illustration Label

Blog Alexandra Poppies

These are Alexandra poppies, growing by the Chappell House in Riverwood Conservancy. This wonderful park/forest is a mere twenty-five minutes from Mississauga. Just take the 26 bus East, and ask to stop by the Conservancy (or at the Erindale Go Station).

Pink Peonies

Pink Peonies
[Photo By: KPA]

Pink peonies from my local market.

This was taken with my tablet. I didn't carry my camera with me for some (strange and unusual) reason - actually I simply forgot. But, I always carry my tablet, which acts as a back-up.



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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat

Frakturs, Fotografs, Farmicia, Francois, Flames and Fighting Songs

Here is the packed schedule I had in Philadelphia and New York. Visit these places, if you can...

I already posted on my visit to the Longwood Gardens (but further down in this post, I post a photograph which was on view from the Spring Blooms competition).

The New York Public Library
Exhibition: Over Here: WWI and the Fight for the American Mind





Let's All Be Americans Now
Lyrics and words by Irwin Berlin

[Verse 1]
Peace has always been our pray'r,
Now there's trouble in the air,
War is talked of ev'rywhere,
Still in God we trust;

Now that war's declared,
We'll show we're prepared,
And if fight we must.
It's up to you! What will you do?

[Chorus]
England or France may have your sympathy, over the sea,
But you'll agree That, now is the time, To fall in line,
You swore that you would so be true to your vow,
Let's all be Americans now. now.

[Verse 2]
Lincoln, Grant and Washington,
They were peaceful men, each one,
Still they took the sword and gun,
When real trouble came;
And I feel somehow, they are wond'ring now,
If we'll do the same.

[Repeat Chorus]

All this in the New York Public Library.

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Longwood Gardens
Photographic Exhibition: Spring Blooms
From the Delaware Photographic Society's annual Wilmington International Exhibition of Photography


Ellis Underkoffer

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Philadelphia Museum of Art
Exhibition: Drawn with Spirit: Pennsylvania German Fraktur from the Joan and Victor Johnson Collection


Pennsylvania German
Birth and Baptismal Certificate for Johannes Gass
1790-1800
Pen, ink and watercolor
12 3/4 x 15 1/2
Philadelphia Museum of Art

I got this postcard from the museum's shop. I couldn't find the exact piece on line, so what you see is my photograph (I don't have a scanner) of the postcard.

From what I can find out, the designer of this piece is known as Christian Beschler, the "Sussel Unicorn artist" according to this piece.

In 2007, Dr. Don Yoder identified the words gemacht von CB (made by CB) on two newly discovered "Sussel-Unicorn" taufscheine (birth and baptismal certificates).3 These initials belonged to the schoolmaster Christian Beschler,
[...]
His taufscheine are characterized by a bright orange or orange and yellow central rectangular area that contains the text adorned with compass stars and geometric designs. Whimsical unicorns and birds with manes eating berries, lions with faces, angels, hearts, half circles, compass stars, and pots of flowers fill the colorful documents. There seems to be an obsession to fill all available space. His religious text and drawing share these motifs.

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Farmicia
Food and Tonics

15 S. 3rd Street
(Between Market and Chestnut Streets)
Philadelphia



Here is the menu, but the lentil salad, with baked goat cheese, greens and sherry dressing is more than just a salad!

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The Red Flame Diner

67 West 44th St
New York, NY 10036



Good diner food for a fair price. Here's the menu.

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Plaza Hotel's Food Hall:
Francois Payard Patisserie







The Passion fruit (with a light chocolate) macaron, for $2.50, will take you down a few blocks.

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I didn't make it to the Morgan, the Cloisters, Macy's or Bergdorf Goodman. But, so far, it looks like New York will stand for a while.

Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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The Lenten Rose

Lenten Rose

Common Name: Lenten Rose, Hellebore
Botanical Name: Helleborus
Type: Perennial
Soil Preference: Will grow in moist to wet soils. Prefers a well-drained soil with a pH of neutral.
Light Requirements: Partial Sun, Partial Shade, Full Shade
Attributes: Deer resistant, rabbit resistant, likes moist soils, good for naturalizing, rock garden plant
Pests: None serious
Diseases: Root rot, leaf spot
Good Companion Plants: Astilbe, Bleeding Heart, Columbine, Coral Bells, Corydalis, Japanese Painted Fern, Foamflower, Forget-Me-Not, Wild Ginger, Lungwort, Hosta
Care: Do not move often, as these plants are slow to re-establish. Seeds can be collected in late spring or early summer.
Planting Instructions: Perennials
[Source: Dayton Nurseries]

More information on growing requirements:

A great plant for the woodland environment. It dislikes summer heat, so avoid afternoon sun. Once established, do not move as they are slow to re-establish. Blooms late winter or very early spring.
[Source: Dayton Nurseries]

Cold Hardiness for the Lenten Rose: USDA zone: 4-8


[Image Source: Hartmann's Plant Company]

Tips for Successful Lenten Roses

- pH should be about 7
- The Lenten Rose plants are cold hardy in USDA zones 4-8
- Expect your plant to grow about 18" tall and 18" wide.
- If the evergreen leaves begin to look like they are dying, simply cut them off before the flower stalks begin to stretch.
[Source: Hubpages: [An] open community of passionate people - writers, explorers, knowledge seekers, conversation starters.]

Title: Lenten Rose (Helleborus orientalis)
Artist: Paul Jones
Nationality: Australian
Publication: Flora Magnifica, 1976
Image Source: Panteek Antique Prints

More information on the book Flora Magnifica:

Title: Flora magnifica
Author/Artist: Jones, Paul, (1921-)
Text By: Wilfrid Blunt (1901-1987)
Published: London, Tryon Galery, 1976
Printer: Curwen Press
Physical Description: 75 pages; Colored illustrations
[Source: National Library of Australia]

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat

At the Art Gallery of Mississauga

There are some photographs scattered through the Mississauga City Hall. They are from the Art Gallery of Mississauga's permanent collection of Lynn Huntley-Wyczolkowski's work. It is a creative way to get people to see these pieces, and if you're like me, to look find out where they come from.

These are two (I think of three) that I found as I did my errands around the building.


Lynn Huntley-Wyczolkowski
Toast
Cibachrome photograph
51 x 41 cm
Collection of the Art Gallery of Mississauga
Donated by the artist, 2000


Lynn Huntley-Wyczolkowski
Minuet
2000

Dimensions and material are not available online for Minuet, and I didn't copy the information from the source, but Minuet looks similar in size and technique to Toast.

And from what I can figure out, Minuet is of a freesia flower.

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Garden Fillers

[Photo By: KPA]

These are "border" flowers, used to frame other, more eye-catching plants and flowers. But, a closer look shows how perfect they are.
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Flowers, Coffee and Books

Shadows at C-Cafe


Rose of Sharon, behind glass protection
Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Garden, Mississauga


A place to sit by the hibiscus


Roadside Hosta

[All Photos By: KPA]

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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The Billowy Blossoms of Hydrangeas

Blue Hydrangeas
[Photo By: KPA]

Hydrangeas!
By: John Kaprielian

Hydrangeas blooming everywhere
throughout the park
At each turn another
Different yet the same.
Pale snowballs dot
one verdant bush
While another thrusts
her gaudy pink
pom-poms in my path.
A third holds blue globes aloft,
like a celestial clown
juggling earths.
Flattopped soldiers in
variegated uniforms
line one walkway
their soft blue flowers
intricate and lacy
undermining their authority,
while at the gate
spiky red giants
stand guard.

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Hydrangeas, From The Old Farmer's Almanac

With immense billowy blossoms, hydrangeas flaunt an old-fashioned charm that is hard to resist. Colors also beguile with clear blues, vibrant pinks, frosty whites, lavender, and rose—sometimes all blooming on the same plant!

The colors of some H. macrophylla flowers are affected by the relative availability of aluminum ions in the soil. Acidic soils with a pH of less than 5.5 produce blue flowers; soils with a pH greater than 5.5 product pink flowers. White flowers are not affected by pH.

Unrivaled in the shrub world, these elegant ladies are easy to cultivate, tolerate almost any soil, and produce flowers in mid-summer through fall (when little else may be in bloom). Hydrangeas are excellent for a range of garden sites from group plantings to shrub borders to containers.

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Plant type: Shrub

USDA Hardiness Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Sun exposure: Part Sun, Shade

Soil type: Any

Soil pH: Acidic
, Slightly Acidic to Neutral, Neutral
, Neutral to Slightly Alkaline

Flower color: Red, Pink, Blue, Purple, White

Bloom time: Summer, Fall

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Planting
- Most hydrangeas thrive in rich, porous, somewhat moist soils. Add compost to enrich poor soil.
- They prefer full sun in the morning, with some afternoon shade; however, many will grow and bloom in partial shade. This is especially true for the bigleaf hydrangeas (see Recommended Varieties below).
- Plant in spring or fall.
- Dig a hole as deep as the root ball and 2 to 3 times as wide.
- Set the plant in the hole and fill it half full with soil. Water. After water is drained, fill the rest of the hole with soil.
- Water thoroughly.
- Space multiple hydrangeas about 3 to 10 feet apart.

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Care
For the first year or two after planting and during any drought, be sure hydrangeas get plenty of water. Leaves will wilt if the soil is too dry.

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PRUNING
When growing H. macrophylla varieties in Zones 4 and 5, don't prune unless absolutely necessary, and then do so immediately AFTER blooming. Otherwise, remove only dead stems in the spring.

If you need to prune an older hydrangea, it depends on which variety you have.

- The common Bigleaf hydrangea should be pruned AFTER flowers fade (late spring/early summer). If you prune before bloom, you may not have blossoms the following spring.

- Oakleaf, panicle, and smooth hydrangeas blossom on the current seasons' wood so they should be pruned BEFORE bloom when plant is dormant, i.e. late winter or early spring.
In the fall, cover plants to a depth of at least 18 inches with bark mulch, leaves, pine needles, or straw. If at all possible, cover the entire plant, tip included, by making cages out of snow fencing or chicken wire, and loosely filling the cages with leaves. (Do not use maple leaves.)

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Shrub Roses

Rosa glauca (Red-leaved Rose): Rose Flowers and Hips (...like little cherries)
[Photo By: KPA]

I took the photograph on the left in June (two months ago). The photo on the right I took today.

For some reason, I had a hard time identifying this rose. Today, I simply put "rose with five petals" in google, and found it!

Rosa glauca (Red-leaved Rose or Redleaf Rose; syn. R. rubrifolia) is a species of rose native to the mountains of central and southern Europe, from Spanish Pyrenees east to Bulgaria, and north to Germany and Poland. It's also found as an introduced species as far north as Scandinavia and Finland.

Rosa glauca is a deciduous arching shrub of sparsely bristled and thorny cinnamon-coloured arching canes 1.5–3 m tall. The most distinctive feature is its leaves, which are glaucous blue-green to coppery or purplish, and covered with a waxy bloom; they are 5–10 cm long and have 5–9 leaflets. The fragile, clear pink flowers are 2.5–4 cm diameter, and are produced in clusters of two to five. The fruit is a dark red globose hip 10–15 mm diameter.

Cultivation and uses
This rose was not widely grown in gardens until the end of the 19th century, when its refined wildness and beauty out of the flowering season first began to be appreciated. The flower petals fall off easily in the spray from watering hoses, as well as from wind and rain. The species is naturalised in northern Europe north of its native range, particularly in Scandinavia.

A hybrid with Rosa rugosa has been given the cultivar name 'Carmenetta'.[Source: Wikipedia]

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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New York Stories: The Capacious Hand of God

William Morris
Thistle Design

The short story The Thistles in Sweden, by William Maxwell, in New York Stories, is a lovely montage of interiors. Of course, the most important interior of the story is Margaret's place for her new baby. And all are aided by "the capacious hand of God."

The Thistles in Sweden
By: William Maxwell

p. 16

The living-room curtains are of heavy Swedish linen: life-sized thistles, printed in light blue and charcoal grey, on a white background. They are very beautiful (and so must the thistles in Sweden be) and they also have an emotional context; Margaret made them, and, when they did not hang properly, wept, and ripped them apart and remade them, and now they do hang properly.

p. 239

...I think if it is true that we are all in the hands of God, what a capacious hand it must be."

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Flowers in the Cloisters Bonnefont Herb Garden
[Photo By: KPA]
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Bush Roses

I took the following photo of a rose bush. I tried to find its name through Google Image, but to no avail. It has a slightly bedraggled look, has a very faint rose scent, and has tiny thorns on the leaves.

I've done a design project on a similar type of rose - the dog rose. I thought perhaps this darker red rose was a variation (in color) of the dog rose, but as far as I can find out, it isn't, and the dog rose only comes in a lilac/pink color.

Below are the images:


Rose bush with no name
[Photo By: KPA]


Rose still life with blue cup
[Design by KPA]


Dog rose
[Left: Watercolor by KPA]


Repeat pattern of dog rose with dove
[Design by KPA]


Dog Rose with Purple Grass
[Design by KPA]

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Station Irises

Station Irises
[Photo By: KPA]

These irises were growing before a bus depot. They were there last year, and back again this year. They appeared suddenly. Last week, nothing, and this week, here they are.

My version from last year:



I can modestly say that my 2014 version is an improvement from last year. Taking photographs is a continuously learning process. That is why photographers return to the same scene, or composition, until they feel they have got it right.

I think I will be looking for something else next year.

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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White Flowers

[Photo By: KPA]

I tried to find the name of these tiny white roses, which grow on a small tree, almost a bush. There is a cluster of five or six per stem. They have a delicate rose scent, and the larger ones have edges which have turned slightly pink, although that could be due to age. The leaves are much larger than the flowers, and act as a backdrop to these clusters of tiny roses.

I was taking the photograph as a gust of wind started to blow. I waited for a reprieve, which came, but didn't last long. I had to, at some point, just take the shot. The slightly out-of-focus effect is really the movement of the bush caused by the wind, not my camera technique! (notice that the flowers on the top, thick branch are in focus). But I like the impressionistic effect.

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Yellow Flowers

The flowers below are from a bush growing in a pathway by a high rise. The bush is part of the "landscape architecture" of the area, but it stands a lone plant amidst the concrete and glass, giving the place a surprising burst of color during these spring days.

As I took the photographs, I could smell a whiff of something sweet, a little like freshly baked cake or cookies.

I used "google image" to find out what the plant is.

It is:

Ribes aureum, known commonly as the golden currant, is a species in the genus Ribes. It is native to Canada, most of the United States (except the southeast) and northern Mexico. The species Ribes odoratum is closely related, and sometimes named Ribes aureum var. villosum.

Description
Ribes aureum is a small to medium-sized deciduous shrub, 2–3 metres (6.6–9.8 ft) tall. Leaves are green, shaped similarly to gooseberry leaves, turning red in autumn.

The plant blooms in spring with racemes of conspicuous golden yellow flowers, often with a pronounced fragrance similar to that of cloves or vanilla. Flowers may also be shades of cream to reddish, and are borne in clusters of up to 15. The shrub produces berries about 1 centimeter in diameter from an early age. Ripe fruits, amber yellow to black in color, are edible. The flowers are also edible.

Cultivation
Ribes aureum is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, in traditional, native plant, drought tolerant, and wildlife gardens, and natural landscaping projects. Unlike some other species of currants, Ribes aureum is in the remarkably drought-tolerant group of Ribes. [Source: Wikipedia]

So there you have it: cloves and vanilla.

I broke off a stalk, and have it sitting in a mug. The flowers' scent fills up the room subtly. It is more of a honeysuckle scent rather than the gastronomic vanilla or cloves.







This bottom rendition is actually an overexposed, unsaturated image. It looks like I altered it in Photoshop. I think it looks like an impressionistic oil painting. This might be what I can aim for some time.


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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Spring in a Pot

Spring in a Pot
At the Atrium, on Bay and Dundas, Toronto
[Photo by KPA]

Every spring, outside the Atrium on Bay, these giant pots come out with variations of spring flowers. This year, there are tulips, daffodils and pansies, delicate flowers which somehow fit the austere urban gray and concrete of the giant pot.
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Daisies

Roadside Daisies
[Photo by KPA]


Daisies by the Falls
[Photo by KPA]

We are just beginning to see the beginnings of spring, and here are a couple of views we can look forward to. I took these photographs last May, 2013.
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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