My Photo Journal: To Rose (1)

Photo © FieldandGarden.com. Printable copy without a watermark here.

Above, you can find a lovely nature poem entitled "To Rose" by William T. Saward, originally published in 1897. You can download a printable copy of the poem as a 5.5" x 3" @ 300 ppi JPEG here.

I am also including an initial letter "R" that has been decorated with an illustration of rose hips. You can download the 3" x 5" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

My Photo Journal: Sunny Possibilities

Listen to the mustn'ts, child.
Listen to the don'ts.
Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles,
the won'ts.
Listen to the never haves,
then listen close to me...
Anything can happen, child.
Anything can be.
― Shel Silverstein

The bright sunbeam-yellow Black-eyed Susan blooms have been a staple in every garden I've started in the last 20 years. Originally a native wildflower of North America, this perennial cultivar is easy to grow, drough tolerant and attracts pollinators galore!

I currently have two clumps of Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm' (originally just one clump but divided in its second year), and one stand of Rudbeckia hirta 'Prairie Sun' (outstandingly prolific this year) but am always on the hunt for more varieties as I expand my existing garden beds.

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My Photo Journal: Happiness (1)

We can complain because rose bushes have thorns,
or rejoice because thorns have roses.
― Alphonse Karr, A Tour Round My Garden

When life is not coming up roses
Look to the weeds
and find the beauty hidden within them.
― L.F.Young

We all live with the objective of being happy;
our lives are all different and yet the same.
― Anne Frank

Lightly textured pink rose with backlighting.
Photo © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Blackberries from the Garden (1)

You have to wait for a fruit to ripe before you harvest.
You must also learn to wait for the fulfillment of your visions.
― Lailah Gifty Akita, The Alphabets of Success: Passion Driven Life

It's that time of year when fat, juicy blackberries are ripe for plucking and eating! Are you eating yours fresh or making into pies and jam? If you love drawing out the season like me, here is a low-sugar, blackberry jam recipe from Practical Self Reliance that is perfect for putting on scones while drinking tea beside a roaring fire.

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My Photo Journal: Love (1)

We loved with a love that was more than love.
― Edgar Allan Poe

You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep
because reality is finally better than your dreams.
― Dr. Seuss

As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep:
slowly, and then all at once.
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

Flower photo showing a back-lit pink rose in three-quarter profile. Photo without words or watermark is available as a high-res 12" x 12" @ 300 ppi download here for advertising, editorials and graphic/web design. Image is not for re-sale "as-is.".

Photo © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Sunlight (1)

Don't be ashamed to weep; 'tis right to grieve.
Tears are only water, and flowers, trees, and fruit cannot grow without water.
But there must be sunlight also.
A wounded heart will heal in time, and when it does,
the memory and love of our lost ones is sealed inside to comfort us.
― Brian Jacques, Taggerung

Botanical photo showing three yellow echinacea (coneflowers). Possibly Sombrero Lemon Yellow. or Echinacea purpurea ‘Mellow Yellows’. Available as a high-res download here.

Photos © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Iridescent (1)

"Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss...."
He turned to me. "But every once in a while, you find someone who's iridescent,
and when you do, nothing will ever compare.”
― Wendelin Van Draanen, Flipped

Flower photo featuring Lilium Lily Looks™ Tiny Padhye. These dwarf Asiatic lilies were developed in the Netherlands and were intended for containers. I have planted them in front of my rock garden where they are partially in shade. They seem to be doing quite well!

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My Photo Journal: Beautiful (1)

It's not my responsibility to be beautiful.
I'm not alive for that purpose.
My existence is not about how desirable you find me.
― Warsan Shire

Flower photo featuring a light pink rose in summer sunlight. Available as a high-res download here.

Photos © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Come Into the Light

COMING FORTH INTO THE LIGHT

I was born the day
I thought:
What is?
What was?
And
What if?

I was transformed the day
My ego shattered,
And all the superficial, material
Things that mattered
To me before,
Suddenly ceased
To matter.

I really came into being
The day I no longer cared about
What the world thought of me,
Only on my thoughts for
Changing the world.
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun
Park bench beside a meandering path at the Oshawa Valley Botanical Garden, surrounded by evergreen and deciduous trees in summertime.

Photo © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Maple in Sunlight and Shade

How can I be substantial if I do not cast a shadow?
I must have a dark side also If I am to be whole.
― C.G. Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul

So don't be frightened, dear friend,
if a sadness confronts you larger than any you have ever known,
casting its shadow over all you do.
You must think that something is happening within you,
and remember that life has not forgotten you;
it holds you in its hand and will not let you fall.
Why would you want to exclude from your life any uneasiness,
any pain, any depression,
since you don't know what work they are accomplishing within you?
― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

A mature maple tree (Acer) casting a shadow as the sun shines against its back.

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My Photo Journal: Linden Leaves in Sunlight

leave me a smile
just warm enough...
to spend a million
golden afternoons in.
― Sanober Khan, Turquoise Silence

Happiness is not found in anything,
nor can it be achieved by any means;
It is a state of being your true self,
It is your very nature;
Happiness lies in self-knowledge.
― Shiva Negi

Newly emerged foliage of the little-leaf linden (Tilia cordata) glowing in the spring sunlight.

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My Photo Journal: White/Pink and Pink/Yellow Garden Peonies

Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty.
Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.
― Franz Kafka
Showy and fragrant Paeonia lactiflora 'Do Tell'. Heirloom variety, first exhibited in 1946. Vigorous bloomer.
We applaud in silent awe
at how something as simple
as the alignment of
water
trees
light
creates a masterpiece
every single day,
just by existing.
― Heidi Barr, Cold Spring Hallelujah

Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development,
invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.
― Edgar Allan Poe

Still waiting to identify this variety. Possibly Paeonia lactiflora 'Bowl of Beauty' or 'Raspberry Sorbet'?

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My Photo Journal: Abstract Views of the Common Pepperweed

If you pursue happiness, you are an ordinary person.
If happiness pursues you, you are an extraordinary person.
Do not chase happiness; let it chase you.
― Peter Deunov

Whereas the beautiful is limited, the sublime is limitless,
so that the mind in the presence of the sublime,
attempting to imagine what it cannot, has pain in the failure
but pleasure in contemplating the immensity of the attempt.
― Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason

Three abstract views of the common pepperweed (Lepidium densiflorum).

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My Photo Journal: Red-winged Blackbird in a Wildflower Meadow

FLOWERS AND WEEDS
by GEORGE COOPER
(originally published March 8, 1887)

HAVE you ever heard what the fairies say,
Little girl, little boy? Oh, hear and heed!
For each smile you wear on your face today
There's a flower grows; for each frown a weed.

So to make this world like a garden bright,
Little girl, little boy, keep frowns away.
Oh, the loving lips that can say tonight,
We have scattered flowers o'er the earth today!

The image above shows a red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) perched on top of a wildflower stalk (it looks like a goldenrod not yet in bloom).

These throwback photos were taken in 2012 on a walk through the DuPont Gordon Richards Park located near the waterfront in Whitby, Ontario. The park is a great place to spot many diffent types of birds and wildflowers, such as the strikingly pretty but incredibly invasive broad-leaved everlasting-pea or Lathyrus latifolius (below).

I hope you are enjoying beautiful weather where you are and wish you many hours of walking along happy trails filled with birdsong every step of your way.

Photos © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.


Public domain poem is from my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

My Photo Journal: Morning Light at Stone Street Park

These are the magic moments that you will remember on your deathbed.
The things that made life worth living. Your first love, the birth of your child,
achieving that lifelong dream, sharing great food and sights with friends and loved ones.
— Richard Heart

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people
when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers,
and when they realize at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit,
and that its center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.
― Black Elk
Throwback photo of a bare willow tree in morning light at Stone Street Park in Oshawa. Stone Street Park is a large park along the Oshawa segment of the 1400-km Great Lakes Waterfront Trail. The Oshawa portion of the Waterfront Trail runs along Lake Ontario for 15.5 km from the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve to Whitby Harbour. The ever-changing views along the water at Stone Street Park make it one of our favourite destinations to walk the dog.

© FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Morning Light at Lakeview Park

If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy.
If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem.
But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world
and a desire to enjoy the world.
This makes it hard to plan the day.
— E.B. White

A crisp and brilliant morning at Lakeview Park in Oshawa. This is one of our favourite parks to walk in with the dog; it has lots of paved paths from which you can see and hear the water of Lake Ontario. Easily one of the most popular and accessible parks in the city.

All photos © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Trees at Orono Crown Lands

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Perfect weather for a nature walk through the Orono Crown Lands; the day was bright and sunny with just enough wind to keep the walk from getting unpleasantly hot. We took the Purple and Pink Loops today which meant we didn't get to walk beside Wilmot Creek. If possible, we aim to try the Red or Orange Loops next weekend as the path along the water can be very pretty.

All photos © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Buddleia 'Grand Cascade' and a Common Buckeye Butterfly

Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.
― Albert Einstein
It's been a while since I attempted to make any gardening notes - it always seems so overwhelming on top of tending to the garden itself. However, I have resolved to keep more conscientous observations about what I have planted in the garden and how these plantings do over the year and hopefully, in years to come.

Here to kick things off is a Buddleia 'Grand Cascade' that was introduced to the back garden in 2022:

Now, even though the tag says full sun, I have had some success with butterfly bushes in partial shade before. This shrub was planted in a full sun to part shade location, and I have to say I was quite happy with the first season progress that it made.

It started producing masses of flower buds beginning of August, and boy, did it attract a ton of butterflies when it started blooming profusely in late August. It continued to flower vigorously into early November when it started getting brown and done. I feel that my flowers came out looking more pink than lavender (see first picture at top of page) but that might have something to do with the quality of the light when I took the photo ― late summer afternoon, deep shade. Despite the profusion of blooms, I must admit the perfume was quite underwhelming ― the scent is a lot more subtle than any other butterfly bush I've ever planted.

I garden in a Zone 5B and it's been a fairly mild winter so far so I am keeping my fingers crossed that the Grande Cascade will shower me with more love next year. However, just to be safe, I did mulch about 4 inches thick and piled bags of unopened compost all around the bottom part of the shrub to provide a bit of a wind break as well as additional warmth to the surrounding soil.

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By the way, here are a couple of photos from the Walters Gardens site to show you how large this perennial shrub can grow. You can also find descriptions of the plant on their site. [Images below belong to Walters Gardens.]

My Photo Journal: Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose'

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.
― Russell Baker

Are you experiencing sweltering heat where you live? This has been a pretty crazy end of summer in our Zone 5B garden. Temperatures were in the chilly single-digits last week but headed higher into the high 20+ degrees this week (30C+ with humidity). While most of our blooms don't seem to know what to do with themselves (some are really leggy, some are very floppy, more than a few are leggy and floppy), the zinnias that I planted in late spring are thriving and trouncing almost every other plant in the late summer garden sweepstakes.

The flower images shown here are the Salmon Rose variety of Zinnia elegans from the Benary's Giant series. The Benary's Giant line of dahlia-like zinnias was developed by Ernst Benary Samenzucht, a 170-year old seed breeding company with an interesting history. Benary's Giants are truly ginormous (as my daughter likes to say), with flower heads ranging from 3 to 5 inches across, which are very ably supported by their sturdy stalks that stay upright without staking, something I can't assert about my dinner-plate dahlias (lying face down in the dirt even as I type). I haven't seen any pest activity on these beauties but this is only my first year of growing this type of zinnia so time will tell if they are as insect and disease-resistant as claimed. I think I will switch these superlative annuals around with my weak-stemmed, aphid-infested dahlias in the front yard next year, perhaps in a wider variety of colours and in greater numbers so I can also use them as cut flowers in the home.

Have you spotted any Benary's Giant zinnias in your neighbourhood or are you growing some? Share a photo or story in the comments below. :)

© 2020 FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved. (Originally published 2017.)

My Photo Journal: Paeonia lactiflora 'Lady Alexandra Duff'

I took a close-up photo of this beautiful cottage garden peony during the Peony Festival, held yearly in the Oshawa Valley Botanical Gardens.

This fully double, pale pink beauty is the Paeonia lactiflora 'Lady Alexandra Duff.' 'Lady Alexandra Duff' is an heirloom variety that dates back to 1902, having been bred by Kelway and Son, once the largest nursery in the world. It takes its name from Lady, later Princess, Alexandra Duff (1891 - 1959), the daughter of Princess Louise of Wales and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife. You can find more information about the plant here.

Do you have this attractive shrub growing in your garden or do you know someone who has? Share a picture and let us know how it's doing in the comments section. Below is a photo of the peony in full bloom (photo credit follows).

Paeonia lactiflora 'Lady Alexandra Duff' in springtime
by Andrey Korzun on Wikimedia Commons

© 2020 FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved. (Originally published 2015.)