Orchidized

Today's pictures show Longwood Garden's Orchid Festival.  Their docent information package said there were 6,000 orchids on display.  Arches were formed of 600 orchids and the huge hanging orbs contained 200 orchids.  This silver greenhouse had 200 hanging Vanda orchids.  I have a mere 2 in my greenhouse - and one is purple like these - an intense and rich colour. In the Mediterranean greenhouse, I was double lucky - the arches had blooming Hardenbergia - a delicate purple flowering vine that looks like miniature wisteria.  This is the first time I've seen them blooming. The second 'lucky' was the couple doing engagement poses - this pose was perfect.  You can see the photographer's camera bag at the far right - I'll crop that out later.  Do you know how many orchid species there are?  There are 25,000 - 30,000 different species of orchids - that's just species.  At Longwood the Orchid House displays 200 - 300 of the 6,200 hundred orchids at Longwood.  They and the Asteraceae family are the two largest families of flowering plants.  And you likely know that Vanilla is a climbing orchid. Since the introduction of tropical species into cultivation in the 19th century, horticulturalists have produced more than 100,000 hybrids and cultivars.  I would guess that orchids are a hybridizing dream. We don't think of orchids as an ordinary plant in our northern gardens.  Our orchids are in woodlands and don't adapt well to our gardens.  Yet they have adapted to every corner of the world - the only place that orchids don't grow is on glaciers.  And it seems strange that the world's richest diversity of orchid genera and species are to be found in the Arctic Circle and in southern Patagonia.  With this many flowers in one family, it won't surprise you that there is a National Orchid Day.  It's on April 16th.

Countdown to Christmas

We had Black Friday for two days, and now we're into Cyber Monday.  These two pictures are motion blur images of scenery along the route to Longwood a few years ago.  For me they match the hyper-reality of the retail bombardment that launches Christmas for us now.

Once at Longwood, there's a splendour of Christmas that is magical and makes us want to savour its spirit for as long as we can.

Here are two of the weird and whacky, splendid and entertaining creations.  This first one is made of parsley!

This second one is made of Spanish moss and tropical succulent hens and chicks draping its long branches.  

Longwood knows how to create Christmas - and there sill be more to see this month.

Poinsettias Are Here

This is their only month here in the Norther Hemisphere.  Known for their Christmas status, they lose favour quickly after the holiday passes.  

However, for this short time, they rule as the King and Queen of flowers.  Here are a few selections of the display at Centennial Greenhouses in Toronto, along with a scene of the  traditional display of dried fruits and pine cones. 

Garden Explorations - Longwood Gardens May 2012

Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA is a magical garden with the distinction of vast conservatory greenhouses and massive waterworks fountains.  This year is the festival of light and there were lighting installations throughout the gardens.  

These are a few images of the floral displays on May 19, 2012. 

Beautiful Allan Gardens Toronto Canada

While I haven't had a chance to visit Allan Gardens this winter, here are some images from last winter's beautiful display - from the floral wall that I've decorated with textures to the cold greenhouse with azaleas and cyclamens in soothing pinks.

A Little More Christmas

Allan Gardens is no ordinary garden. It is situated in the heart of Toronto and is more than 150 years old. The garden and the main part of the property was donated by George William Allan, a one-time Mayor of Toronto and long-time Senator.

The park, one of the city's oldest (since 1858), is bounded by Jarvis Street on the west, Sherbourne Street on the east, Carlton Street on the north and Gerrard Street East on the south in Toronto's Garden District. In the centre of the park is a Victorian conservatory known as the Palm House, built in 1909 to replace the pavilion burned in 1902. Rare tropical plants from all over the globe are nurtured inside. Admission is free. 

The trees in the park represent the northern tip of the Carolinian forest with species such as black cherry, American beech, red oak, sugar maple and sassafras. Most are over one hundred years old. The park is home to three varieties of squirrel, the gray, the black, and, unique to this park, the red tailed black squirrel. The park is also home to the city's largest flock of pigeons, a roving peregrine falcon and a statue of Robert Burns. The University of Toronto greenhouse (1931) was moved to the site.

A Little More Longwood

The gardens were so very beautiful 2 weekends ago, that I thought I'd share a few more images from the Chrysanthemum Festival at Longwood Gardens, south of Pensylvannia.

Chrysanthemum Festivals

November's flower is the Chrysanthemum, and Longwood Gardens, south of Philadelphia has a masterful display of trained chrysanthemums.  The most spectacular is the Thousand Blossom Tree - shown in the photos here.  Each flower has a metal stake and loop frame around it to keep it in place.  

Longwood Gardens Visit

I went to Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia, PA on the weekend.  We stayed with friends in Reading, PA about an hour away.  With the head, there was a mist each morning, so I had a chance to take some photos of the lovely picket fences and house lines in Roger and Irene's neighbourhood.   

At the Longwood entrance are some beautiful flower gardens - this year there was a bed of verbena bonariensis.  The butterflies were constant on the bed, so gave me the opportunity to get a few butterfly shots as well.

The big attraction this time of year is the water lily courtyard.  There are hundreds of flowers and likely a hundred varieties of water lily, plus all kinds of water garden plants.  I'm posting a sampling of the water lilies on display.

More to come...