Frogs Galore!

The first few weeks I was getting outside into the garden I just saw one or two frogs, but after that it was as if they'd all returned to the little frogpond.

A friendly frog who didn't even move.

This is the frog pond where all these photos were taken.

Four of them sitting in the sun.

Late in the summer the staff put some floating Water Lettuce plants in the pond, trying to increase the shade for the goldfish.  Water Lettuce is a seriously invasive plant in the southern U.S., not to be confused with the similar Water Hyacinth, but it may not survive winters in Ontario.  I wonder what will happen here, but the frogs love it.

I got a lot more pictures than good ones, but it provided a lot of fun.

Bugs and Butterflies

The diverse mix of vegetation in those raised beds I described in the last post provide great habitat for bugs and butterflies.  I saw a surprising number while I was there.

Can you guess what this one is?  No, it's not a Monarch caterpillar.

It was a little harder to spot at first, and could be easily mistaken for a Monarch caterpillar, but it's a Black Swallowtail caterpillar.

One of the Clear-wing Moths that I think of as 'Hummingbird' moths.

A Cabbage White, hard to find sitting still.  It flutters around without ever landing.

A poor picture of a rather tattered  red-spotted Purple.

Probably my best picture.  All of these taken at Parkwood over my time there were taken with my iphone 7.

The highlight of the summer was the number of Monarch butterflies I saw, all over the property - probably 40 or so altogether.

A few other interesting elements the gardeners have included!

The Raised Beds

Part of the gardens that I quickly got excited about were the raised beds.  There were 7 of them, built of concrete blocks, and about wheelchair height.  Soon I was visiting them every day, watching to see what new plants were on bloom or fruit.

These planters were intended for use by patients, and were mainly planted up in the spring.  Behind those windows on the left is a day-care centre and they get a chance to help too.  one day I saw dozen pre-schoolers out with a few elderly veterans helping weed the garden.

The seven different beds were planted quite differently, some mainly flowers, some veggies, and some a happy mix.  These are beautifful pink and white Cosmos.

 Hollyhocks in the morning sun.

Butterfly Weed - did you notice the bumblebee?

Some bright-coloured Maeigolds

This beautiful stayed in bloom all the time I was there.

Veggies would grow, and then disappear.  Obviously someone was harvesting them,

There was quite a lot of dill grown in one of the beds.

 And ever-bearing raspberries, which disappeared as soon as they were ripe.

A little bit of second planting went on in my time there.

I was inspired so much I hope to create some raised beds here - perhaps planters around the sides of the deck?  Watch for that next spring.

*****

I have just realized that I passed 500,000 pageviews of my blog yesterday!  Thank you all; it means so much to me.

Birds at Parkwood

One of the first signs of 'nature' I saw at Parkwood were the birds.  They were all common birds, and I only got a few very poor photos, but it connected me to the natural world I love.

Most of the birds were House Sparrows, but you might notice the Red-winged Blackbird in the back right corner.

A little closer.  The medium size birds is a female Red-wjng.

 Only once I saw a Cardinal.

A female Red-wing.

A Mourning Dove.

Many of the birds were attracted by seeds provided by another patient who regularly brought birdseed to the edge of the frogpond.  Although the Chipmunks were attracted as much as the birds.

I kept wondering how much they were eating, and how much they were storing away for the winter.

One more, a Canada Goose carved from a big old stump.

Parkwood Gardens

I've said it before, but I'll say it again, the gardens at Parkwood were far beyond anything I've seen associated with a hospital.  They were the best sort of therapy gardens, and I spent a lot of time in them.

This screen shot off Google Maps shows you the area of the gardens, behind the main hospital.  There aren't a lot of flowers, but there are lots of trees, shrubs and grasses all of which make it a wonderful place to be outside.

The pathways are cement, and easy for wheelchairs, wide enough for two chairs to pass each other.  Along the way there are about 10 different small sitting spots like this, designed for family visitors.

This is the largest shelter, with about 10 tables and 40 chairs.  There was almost always someone there.  The beautiful yellow rose garden bloomed twice while I was there.

There was a small frogpond nearby, another nice place to sit.

This shelter was formed by a huge Wysteria vine that provided shade while it kept winding it tendrils into a tree above.

The architecture of the hospital is interesting in it own right.  This 5 story atrium provides a place to look out from every floor.

Spotted on a therapist's door....

Parkwood Institute

In the midst of winter snow and cold, I'm going to turn the clock back 6 months and share my pictures of the gardens at Parkwood Institute.  If you remember, from July 25 to sept. 20th, I attempted to keep up my posts using my ipad - but I was unable to add any pictures.  so you can go back and read those posts to accompany the pictures over the next week or three.  If you haven't read about what actually happened, you can find that here.

Before I ever got to Parkwood, I clung to the little bits of 'nature' at University Hospital, even though I depended on Mrs. F.G., my son or my sister to push my wheelchair around and the dominant motif was monstrous concrete!

It wasn't much, but there were a number of planters taking the edge off the stark concrete, and I enjoyed everyone.

  And there was a shelter where we gathered to visit everyday the weather was ok.  Tomorrow - I get shifted to Parkwood.