June 3 2020 - Forever Floral

Yesterday I made a trip to CMC Wholesale - where all manner of artificial plants can be purchased.  Here we are in the wedding month, and the aisle of white is languishing with the absence of weddings.  This week, I am creating outside container pot displays for a balcony garden rather than shopping for Fantasy of Trees decorations. I  wanted to work in a real floral shop when I was young.  When we moved to Toronto, there were many beautiful floral stores to appreciate their flowers and designs. And this tradition continues each year at the Canada Blooms Show which has extensive floral displays.  But that's a contrast with the  artificial flowers which come from China today. They are mass produced in factories in the Pearl River delta of the Guangdong province. Artificial flowers have been around for a long time.  I find that the eoncyclopedia.com tells me that the Italians were making artificial florals in the twelfth century.  Even earlier, the Egyptians made floral wreaths from artificial material.   It was the opulence of the Victorian era that brought about lavish floral arrangements of both faux and live flowers. Many were made of silk, but craftsmen used a number of other materials, including satin, velvet, muslin, cambric, crepe and gauze.  My sense is that artificial flowers became more accepted with the Victorians and led the way for our mass consumer market of artificial material.  Our modern artificial flowers - plastic and polyester -  mimic the real thing rather than being artistic renditions. which was more the case in the Victorian era and before.  That's what I was doing, seeking out flowers that would look real in an outdoor balcony container.  My vote goes with the succulents.  They are perfect mimics.  Except for scent - this is the stark contrast of artificial vs real plants.  Today's images are winners in the Betterphoto monthly contest,  The first one is a guard rail find - looks like a starched and pressed shirt to me - it was a second place winner, and the painted hostas a finalist.

Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://www.blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Traversing the Garden...continues

With so many varieties of hosta in the garden, it is wonderful to see the variations in fall colours.  Here's a golden hillside.

Traversing the Garden

This is the month when the transition from Autumn to Winter occurs in my garden.  The hosta leaves have collapsed with the frost and their delicate and intricate veins make beautiful abstract landscapes.  Here's an example:

Favourite Leaves

Trio
Hosta Tsunami
Frosty

Leaves are a great subject for garden photographers. Here are a few of my favourites from the last few months.

Trio: I would love to know what this first plant is called. I took photos of it in Florida and Australia, so it's a tropical.

Hosta Tsunami: This was taken as the plants were just maturing in the spring so everything was perfect then - no slug holes anywhere! I think this might have been Hosta Krossa Regal.

Brunnera: This looks like Siberian Brunnera - very delicate silver leaves with the green edges and veins. I know someone will send me a comment if this isn't the correct name, and would appreciate it very much! It's a spring bloomer with small light blue flowers and then has leaves that are pretty much perfect through the summer.

Hope you are enjoying all the beautiful leaves in your garden and neighbourhood!

Marilyn

Ridley Daylilies

I realize we're past the peak of the daylily (hemerocallus) blooming season and want to catch you up with Ridley Daylilies at on Ridley Blvd (Avenue Road and the 401) in Toronto.  

I got to visit their garden 2 weeks ago.  It has an outstanding collection of conifers, perennials and interesting plants and trees.  It alone is fantastic to visit.  They have the daylily beds displaying their hybridizing material and also beds with plants for sale - which they did for you right there.  There's quite a range of plants for sale besides daylilies - hostas, small conifers, and other interesting items. 

Happy gardening!