Flowering Trees

 The middle of May is the time for flowering trees here on the shores of Georgian Bay.  From Magnolias to Apples, the flowers come out and the bees are buzzing.  This is truly a beautiful time of year!

The very large Magnolia around a couple of blocks is the most spectacular that I have to share.  Gorgeous but its petals start to fall all too soon.

Our neighbours have a much smaller but deeper purple Magnolia.

Our own Magnolia, after several years of depredation by our resident rabbit, has started to bloom more seriously.  This is a star Magnolia.

Of course there are flowering Crab Apples all over town, perhaps the most common of our flowering trees.

Another neighbour's Serviceberry remains the only one I have seen in town, though you often see these in rural fencerows.

And the most extensive of all outside of town are of course the Apple trees, orchards and orchards of them.

Are these even Tulips?

 In various rows of the Tulip fields there were some mighty unusual Tulips.  I had no idea that Tulips like these even existed!  I just can't wrap my head around these as Tulips, but they are bright and colourful!

Of course there were some 'normal' Tulips to be seen too.  Getting close-ups is harder than you'd think though because the paths between the rows had shallow ditches down each side, preventing me from getting too close.

And finally I bring you one of those rare selfies just to prove I was really there.  Hope you've enjoyed our Tulip fields!

More Tulips

 I've got lots more pictures of tulips.  I'll just let them speak for themselves.  These are the rows where different colours of Tulips were mixed together.

Sandhill Creek Tulip Farm

 It's Tulip season and Sandhill Creek Farm is open for viewing!  This local farm, located on the road to Sauble Beach, just opened for the first time last year, and we were mightily impressed!  We have visited the famous tulip fields of the Skagit Valley in Washington State, and this is just as impressive.  The season is short though, so we went during the first week.

There are numerous rows of the tulips, each about four feet wide.  Some are a single colour and others are mixed, with all styles of blooms.

The pathways are of hard-packed sand, and wide enough for me to ride down between each row.

I personally like the various mixtures of colouirs, but let me show you the range.

There are early season, mid-season and late tulips.  These two rows are obviously of the late variety.

The tulip field has been moved to new ground from last year, but they still sit in the shadow of the old farm barn.

Among the single colour rows, these bright red were one of my favourites.

There were bright orange, ...

brilliant yellow, ...

And more subdued purple.

Mrs. F.G. was most impressed by these very large white ones, with unique variegated leaves.

If my mom had been along, these would definitely have been her favourites!

Maple Tree Flowers

 At the moment here in southern Ontario, the maple trees here are bathed in a light almost fluorescent green which I always thought was the leaves emerging.  But it's not, it's the tiny flowers of the maple trees, take a look below.  Shortly the leaves will unfold, a darker green, providing the canopy.

The photos above are of a Sugar Maple. and by the end of the summer these will form the maple keys we're all familiar with.  I never noticed these until someone pointed them out a few years ago.  At the same time the leaves are starting to emerge and will transform our world into a green one within two weeks.

These three photos are of a Norway Maple.  Same idea, but slightly different shape to the 'flowers', and ultimately there will be a different shape to the maple keys, the easiest way to identify the difference.  

So next time you're walking past any maple trees, take a close look and see if you can see the tiny flowers!

More Spring Wildflowers!

I used to wander the woods a lot in the early weeks of May.  So to build on my sister's photos of Trillium and Trout Lily in my last post, here are a few of my own favourite spring wildflower shots.

This is one of my favoujrite wildflower shots of all time, a Red Trillium.

This really weird purple flower unfolding is the Blue Cohosh,  

No, it's not purple once the leaves appear, just green.

And I've never seen a plant grow so fast; it will grow two inches a day.

Violets are plentiful on the forest floor.  This is the Northern White Violet.

And this is the Downy Yellow Violet.

Wild Ginger is one of the most unusual, as the flower lies on the ground under the leaves.

A close look shows a flower that is deep red, almost brown.

This one is Spring Beauty, a delicate little flower.

This unusual one is Squirrel Corn.

Ad these delicate little blooms are Dutchman's Breeches.

And I'll finish with my own favourite photo of a White Trillium.