Friday 23 July 2010

My Fruit Trees

The Bartlet Pear, This tree in my Garden is actually very small. It stands at the max of 2 meters. However it is a real producer. This tree needs a second for propagation and it is not another Bartlet, it is a Bosc Pear that is ideal or this. This is the pear that you draw in elementary school!!!! It is a beautiful fruit and tastes very nice.

The Bosc Pair, This pear is an Ugly Duckling. However for taste there is no other to surpass it. If you love the taste of pears this is the one. This guy needs a second Pear for Propagation and it is the Bartlett. So if you do like I did and buy one of each. Your problems are solved. This tree grows very large. Mine is already at least 4 meters tall.

The Burbank Plum, If you love plums you will love this one. It has to be the most beautiful flowering fruit tree in the spring and it is always the first to show off. If I have a complaint about this as a tree is that it will grow huge. up to 2 meters a year. I always cut the years growth way back for the next year.

I have a Macintosh Apple but I am not showing it here as this is the tree's first year and I killed the Babies !!!! hard to do that really!!! so it will concentrate on producing roots.

Tuesday 20 July 2010

The Japanese Beetle

This is the Japanese Beetle. If you live in Southern Ontario or New England you will know about this guy.

If you have one you have hundreds, maybe thousands

Before you see damage this is how it looks. You will not even see them.

This picture of the Queen Elizabeth II rose was taken at 13:00 hrs to-day. The next was taken at 18:00 hrs to-day. If you look you will see one in the rose centre of the one on the lower left

It only took 5 hours for this to happen.

Here is a Chrysler Imperial Rose under attack, it is 3 meters from the Queen Elizabeth II Rose. This is about two hours after the visible attack began.

Even this Explorer Rose, Which tend to be bug resistant is no match for the Japanese Beetle.

I allowed the damage to-day to go on so I could show you all what this beetle is and what it can do.
here is a site to find out more about what they are and the controls.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_beetle

The Heir Apparent to the Monarch

Here is the little guy. He sure is growing fast. I lost sight of them for a time but I can find them easily now.
The Heir Apparent is well on his way


This generation of the Monarch will only live for a total of about 3 to 4 months. The next generation will live to be more than 8 months and travel to Mexico and back.

Here is the seed pod of the Next Generation of the Milk Weed. Next year's home for this Monarch Butter-fly's Grandkids. It is rather neat how Nature just ticks along in harmony with it self.

Monday 19 July 2010

Ruby Tuesday July 20 2010

Another great Ruby Tuesday!!!

A Star-gazer Lily, They are just so beautiful.

Rose of Sharron, These are a favourite of mine. They have a Christian Connotation attached to them.

Here is a light mauve variety of the Rose of Sharron

A Red Admiral Butter-fly visiting a Purple Cone Flower

And here it is again, same Butter-fly on the same plant.

A wonderful Lily, These are so beautiful with curled petals and they are at least 2 meters tall.I did not crouch down for this pic

No red at all here. I posted this because it is my favourite flower pic of the year so far

 And finally a beautiful baby Red Wolf Spider. These guys help to keep the harmful insects at bay, hence a good friend to the garden

Wednesday 14 July 2010

Just a few pics from the garden

A Dahlia Bloom

 Another Dahlia Bloom

A Balloon Flower opened up

A wild Morning Glory

Lemon Mint in Bloom

Some Lilies in Bloom

Monday 12 July 2010

another Ruby Tuesday, to-day July 13 2010


a hot pink Lily!!!
A very deep Orange to Red day Lily. Since I am half  Dutch I had put out a big arrangement yesterday for the Dutch FIFA Team. O well, Next Time!!!!!! Nice win Spain

Very deep Oranges and Reds here

A purple cone flower, These are a native plant to southern Ontario.

Trumpet Vine. These are just beautiful and they attract Hummingbirds like crazy

A Miniature Rose type. I do not know the name of it. It was bought after Christmas in a clearance sale two/thirds dead. But it has come back nicely.

This is a base section of what will be the Tallest Windmill in Canada when completed. It is huge. It went past my place the other day. One of the mid sections went past yesterday but I had dead batteries in my camera :(.

Thursday 8 July 2010

The Monarch Babies are Born

This young guy just hatched a short while before
These are the same two, that came from the eggs shown last week
A close up. Actually very plain at this very young stage. Now to keep track of them. I do know that they will not leave so it is just a matter a looking for them daily
The Flower head of the Milk-weed. It is actually very beautiful

Here are the Milk-weed that have the babies on. These will be all stripped down in a few weeks. they all stand over a meter tall.

Sunday 4 July 2010

Our Queen on the Hill


Our Queen was in Ottawa the other day to celebrate our 143 birthday. I will only show one pic here. What a great day of pomp and ceremony. More so it was our Nation's Birthday.

Sadly I had a few complaints when I posted a few Be Proud of Canada posts as our National Holiday approached. I just want to say here, I am not anti American, I just happen to be as proud of my Great Nation as the Americans are of their Great Nation. That said Happy Forth of July to all my American Relatives, Friends and Followers.
I am looking forward to seeing all the Fourth of July pics this week

Friday 2 July 2010

a Monarch Butter-fly and her eggs

This old Monarch was laying eggs in my Milkweed yesterday. I will send pics here as they hatch and grow and become adults. It will take about a month or more.

This is an old lady, Her wings are tattered, scales missing and her colour is lacking. She is probably 4 months old. They live about four months normally.

One of the two eggs I seen her lay. These are called

Egg-citement

a close up of the egg

Here is a second egg, there are six in total that I found.

This is what keeping nature in the garden is all about. Leaving some of the natural fona where it be, nature will come.