Early Bloomers in my Garden

July 7, 2013July 11, 2013 | Beth Walsh's Photoblog

This year I made a real effort to get out between rain showers and photograph some of the flowers blooming in my garden. The bleeding hearts and the stem of delicate multi-blooming flowers are shade perennials. The lilacs and rhododendron are flowering shrubs and for the first time this year they were both quite showy with blooms. The lilacs especially were weighted down with all the rain.

The old fashioned bleeding heart is also known as lady’s locket and lady in a boat. This classic perennial is well loved for its early blooms and ability to thrive under myriad conditions. Generally, the cooler the location, the longer the blooms will last. Most species come from the forest floors of deep woods and moist canyons and are thus well acclimatized to shade gardens.

Lilac is a very popular ornamental plant because of its sweet-smelling flowers, which bloom in early summer just before many of the roses and other summer flowers. Apparently lilacs tend to flower profusely in alternate years, which can be improved by deadheading the flower clusters after the color has faded and before seeds form.

Large, leathery leaves that persist through winter distinguish a rhododendron from the smaller azalea. Clusters of bell-shaped flowers, often fragrant, appear in early to late spring. All members of the rhododendron clan must have adequate moisture and a well-drained acidic soil to prosper.

Solomon’s Seal – An Elegant Shade Perennial

June 28, 2013July 11, 2013 | Beth Walsh's Photoblog

Solomon’s Seal is one of my favourite perennials. It is an elegant perennial that is native to North America. The slender, arching stems have alternating green lance-shaped leaves. In late spring, the delicate, white bell-like flowers hang underneath these gracefully arching stems. The small flowers drop off naturally and the foliage remains attractive all season. So the plant is virtually maintenance free, which makes it my kind of perennial. In the fall, the foliage turns a golden yellow. Mine are in the backyard with many other shade garden plants, like Bleeding Heart, Astilbe, and many ferns and hostas.

These pictures were taken during a break in the rain. So they are coated in lovely raindrops. I shot wide open trying to isolate the some of the flowers under the stem and blur the rest of the busy background.

A Peek at My Shade Garden

June 27, 2013July 11, 2013 | Beth Walsh's Photoblog

There are a number of large trees providing shade to most of our lot. When it rains, like this year, the lawns in my neighbourhood are very green. When the rain stops and we have a dry spell, the lawns turn dry and yellow. Years ago I started with a small garden in the front and back, which has since grown to surround the house. Over a number of years I added good soil and planted mostly perennials. Once established, a garden like mine is not a lot of work. There is some in the spring and fall but the rest of the time its up to you. Some years the people cutting their lawns are working very hard while I watch my garden grow. Other years the lawns look terrible and you can tell who waters and who dosen’t. Many of my neighbours have come to the dark side so there are a lot of gardens on my street now. This is great for me because I don’t have to go very far to find flowers to photograph.

Every year I try to capture the Lily of the Valley in bloom. They are one of the first to bloom in the spring. I processed this year’s photo but I will be at it again next year to see if I can do better. With all the rain this year I had plenty of opportunity to photography flowers covered in raindrops. Also included are a couple of the angels currently playing in my garden. They were very dirty after the rain so I cleaned them up a bit in photoshop but otherwise I did not worry about it. I tried to take some pictures of the whole garden but that turned out to be very challenging. So instead you will see individual flowers and small parts of the garden. Here’s a first peek at my shade garden with more to come.

Snapping Turtle Laying Eggs in the Garden

June 22, 2013June 22, 2013 | Beth Walsh's Photoblog

It was a beautiful sunny morning and I was out photographing flowers. I was walking back home when my neighbour called out to me. I thought that he was pretty excited over me photographing a flower in his garden. But I hurried after him anyways and to my surprise a Snapping Turtle was laying eggs in his garden. My neighbour had noticed that something was digging a very large hole at the edge of his garden. His house is an end lot with a creek and the woods on one side of his garden. So from time to time wildlife munch in his garden and my neighbours are learning through trial and error what they do and don’t like to eat. He thought a ground hog or raccoon or something rodent like was digging up his garden and he wasn’t pleased. So he started watching for the culprit. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw her. Who knew there were snapping turtles in the creek.

The Snapping Turtle is Canada’s largest freshwater turtle. They have large shells typically covered in algae. With ours it was hard to tell because she was covered from head to toe in dirt. Their tails have “dinosaur-like” triangular crests along their length. Snapping Turtles spend most of their lives in water. They prefer shallow waters so they can hide under the soft mud and leaf litter, with only their noses exposed to the surface to breathe.

During the nesting season, from early to mid summer, females travel overland in search of a suitable nesting site, usually gravelly or sandy areas along streams. Our neighbourhood is built on packed sand. The area where she was digging is well hidden with easy access to the creek. She gave me plenty of time to photography her. When I arrived she had dug her hole and was laying her eggs. She then stood up and used her back legs to cover them. She climbed out of the hole, walked forward and turned like a truck carrying a wide load. She labourously turned herself around at an incredibly slow pace and made her way back in to the foliage and I assume down to the creek.

I wondered if she was bothered by us watching her, but she never pulled into her shell. I have since learned that Snapping Turtles have small lower shells, and cannot pull their head, tail and limbs into their shells for protection. This is why they may bite when threatened. However, Snapping Turtles rarely bite when in the water, and there is no risk to sharing lakes and rivers with them.

It takes 15 to 20 years for a Snapping Turtle to mature. As a result, adult mortality greatly affects the species’ survival. During the summer, many turtles cross roads in search of mates, food and nest sites. This is risky for turtles as they are to slow to get out of the way of moving vehicles. Eggs in nests around urban and agricultural areas are also subject to predators such as raccoons and striped skunks. So if the predators do not find these eggs we will have some hatchlings, which are about the size of a loonie, making their way to our creek. I hope they make it! Its wonderful to know we have such amazing wildlife at our doorstep and these guys will not make their homes in our attic which makes them very welcome neighbours.