The World Through Our Lens
Photography of gardens we have visited around the world.
Late this summer, Bob and I popped down to Rosetta McClain Gardens in Toronto to see if we could discover any birds of note but also to look for Monarch Butterflies given the few that we had seen in our own garden over the summer. What we found was an Eastern Comma Butterfly on one of the Butterfly Bushes. Read more
On a sultry summer day here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, I went out to the garden to tend to some chores. Imagine my surprise, as I bent to the task of deadheading my Gaillardia, when something clipped the side of my head. Seconds later, I noticed a pair of Dog-Day Cicadas mating where they lay on the pavement of the street. Read more
If ever you have seen a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth, you were probably mesmerized as we were by the sheer look of its see-through wings and the way it hovers like a hummingbird. Read more
One day in early May, as I returned home from doing some errands, I found Bob tied up on the telephone. He no sooner hung up the receiver but what he declared, “there’s a new bird in our back apple tree!” It turned out to be a male Black-throated Blue Warbler. Read more
How beautiful is a sprawling drift of Sunchokes fading into the distance! That is just what we found when Bob and I visited Lower Reesor Pond in northeast Toronto. This native species of sunflower goes by many different names including Sunchokes, Sunroot or Earth Apple. Read more
For the past several years, starting each spring and into the summer months, I have been pestered by Red Lily Beetles on my Tiger Lilies . These beetles stand out quite well on green plants, but they are a trick to catch and squash. I declare I think they see me coming because, often, as I move in on their position, they drop to the earth below and essentially disappear in the shadows.
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Bob and I paid a visit one spring to the Lower Reesor Pond in North Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and had allotted a large chunk of time in order that we might pay some well-deserved attention to the wildflowers and plants that had gained a foothold in the area surrounding the pond, which included several groupings of wild coneflowers. Read more
The grandeur of Kylemore Abbey extends well beyond the opulence of the original Castle to the expansive Victorian Walled Garden that rises from the heretofore boggy moorland in County Galway, Ireland. It is a magnificent example of what can be achieved when creative engineering is combined with tenacity and inspiration. Read more
The Poison Garden at Blarney Castle is one of the featured gardens on the grounds that span some 1,000 acres, but it is but a tiny plot sheltered behind the Blarney Castle battlements. The Poison Garden contrasts sharply with the expansive green spaces and vibrant flowers found elsewhere on the estate property, but mystique pervades the small plot and has curious visitors anxious to investigate . Read more
One summer, Bob and I drove to Montreal in Quebec, Canada, to take in the Mosaiculture competition underway at Montreal Botanical Gardens. The Garden had so much more to offer, including 31 specialized gardens. When we hit upon the Daylily Garden, I could not believe the number and varieties of daylilies covering endless flowerbeds…daylilies such as this ruby red beauty. Read more
