Transitions in the Garden

 We're in the middle of growth and change in the garden.  Daffodils are finished, the leaves just building strengh for next year's flowers.  The Primrose are nearly finished too.  But other plants are growing fast!  Hostas are virtually exploding out of the ground with their big leaves and our first Peony is in bloom, as well as several other plants.

This is the first of the Peonies to bloom, out in the front garden in full sun.  It's the very unusual Fernleaf Peony.  I love the deep red colour.

You saw the leaves of this one in the spring plant quiz.  It's Leopard's Bane.

We have both white and pink Bleeding Heart.

And a few Alliums.  Sorry about the neighbour's distant wheelbarrow.

I think the name of Coral Bells is most appropriate at this stage, when the tiny blooms haven't really opened yet.

This is an Azalea, but I don't remember it being so white last year.

Our Redbud Tree!

 There is no other tree that I love more than our Redbud tree when it's in bloom!  Redbuds are native a little further south, and they're a small understory tree in the forests of places like the Great Smoky Mountains.  But they do survive well here if they are planted and cared for.

It's feeling like early summer here as the world turns green and the leaves come out on the trees.  The garden is looking great!!

 

One of our two Redbuds is out in the front yard, in full sun, and it's been in bloom for a week or more.

The flowers are so tiny and jammed together, it's really hard to get a good picture.

But there's no denying the pink colour!

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!