Flowering Trees

I've been watching a particular tree at the end of the street which leafed out later than any others, to see what it was.  I realized this week when I found it covered in white flowers; it's a
Black Locust.  I haven't seen them very often.

The world has turned green, but this tree is white, quite striking at this time of year.  You can see the crazy twisting branch structure in this picture.

I couldn't get close in my wheelchair, so this is borrowed from the internet.  It's actually a member of the pea family.

The Chestnut around the block flowered awhile ago, remarkably intricate flowers when you look closely.

And of course even earlier this spring this big Magnolis around the corner was in full bloom.

My favourite is the Redbud, a small tree on the edge of its range here, that never gets very big.  The beautiful pink blossoms come out before the leaves, all along the branches.

This is not a flowering tree, but a striking Golden Locust.  It certainly stands out from the other trees!  And once I noticed one I started seeing others, this one in a backyard.

Meantime I'm surprised this a old Sugar Maple hasn't come down yet.  This is my 'before' picture for when the time comes.

Grey County Skies

There were spectacular skies all the way back on our drive last Saturday.  These pictures can speak for themselves!

Even back home, right here on our street.  And the glorious June weather has continued all week!

Linking to Skywatch Friday.

More of Rural Grey County

A few more pictures of our drive back from Grange Hollow on Saturday.  Such a beautiful day to be driving those rural roads!  Barns, fields, crops, cattle, wetlands and forests.

A typical old unused barn, though it's got a crop of corn planted beside it.

Black Angus cattle; we saw these in several fields.

Another typical scene, you can see what a beautiful day it was.

You often go by stretches of road where there are apparently no farms or homes, just trees and old fields.  These look like replanted pine, with a big old elm up on the hill.

Another  big elm on the left.  Up here, if old elms are scattered far enough apart, they seem to have escaped the Dutch Elm Disease.

More hayfields freshly mown, and corn just starting out.

I've always admired this old church.  Until last year it appeared to be still in use, though probably less than every week and with a visiting minister.  It was recently sold and is now a residence.  The camper trailer does take away from the 'old church' appearance!

It was a rare rural church that still had a large driveshed beside it, dating from the time they would shelter the horses with their buggies in it.

We saw some spectacular skies, I'll post some of those photos tomorrow.  And yes, that's my disabled parking permit reflected in the window.  Have a great day!

A Nice Drive on a Nice Day

It was a beautiful sunny blue-sky day when we visited Grange Hollow.  We drove south from Meaford and then west on #40 all the way to Chatsworth.  With a bit of a jog through town we picked up 40 again and drove a short distance west and south to the nursery.  The drive provided a lot of typical Grey County farm scenery.

A lot of the farms looked like this, an old bank barn, probably enlarged, with two silos and well maintained.  It all looks good on a sunny June day like this!

Then there are the now-unused barns that are in various states of disrepair, often with the house just rented out, the fields farmed but no-one using the barn.

This barn is on a large farm bought as a community pasture.  No house left but the barn is maintained, and maybe used for shelter for the visiting cattle.

At the moment there's a small herd of Charolais grazing in the fields.

The June hay-cutting season is upon us, this field partly cut and drying in the sun.

This one doesn't look like much, but it's planted soybeans just coming up.

I was trying to catch all the orange rooflines, but almost missed entirely.

We were surprised to find these three small planes parked on one farm, no sign of a runway or hanger..

A cluster of beehives.  Grey County is a popular area for beekeeping.

And other fields just like this, planted, probably with soybeans which would be the latest crop planted here, but nothing showing yet.  Another equally gorgeous day today.

Grange Hollow Gardens and Nursery

It's a beautiful day here, and it promises to be beautiful all week.  There's still a cool breeze off the bay, I had to wear a jacket for my ride, from which I've just returned.  Everything green is certainly looking great right now.  And there are some spectacular Spirea shrubs in full bloom at the moment.  Got a few pictures to share.

Saturday we headed off for a visit to Grange Hollow Nursery and Gardens, a small plant nursery out in the middle of nowhere southwest of Chatsworth.  This is one you definitely need to use Google Maps to find.  But it's the best source for interesting perennials around here.  Not many annuals or trees and shrubs which the big nurseries seem to be known for, but a wonderful place for the gardener who knows their plants.  Mrs. F.G. is one of those people.

When we got there, these were the first plants I stopped at, part of their display garden.  We don't remember seeing this before, but it's a pink Meadow Rue, known to serious gardeners as Thalictrum aquilegiifolium.  Stunning when seen in close-up!

A deep blue Bachelor's Buttons, and a variety of clematis that does not grow as a vine as most of them do, but just as a normal flower.

You know me, I'm a sucker for bright colours - a multi-hued Gaillardia, or Blanket Flower..

An interesting tub of Cacti, some of them in bloom.  This is one of the few that will survive in southern Ontario.

A succulent that we're not familiar with, centering a bowl of small ones.

A stunning distant red Peony in their display garden.

And a tortoise resting in the prickly Juniper.

Part of their interesting perennials for sale.  You need to know what you're looking for, or make use of their knowledgeable staff to get what you want.

I'm always interested in any garden structures in the places we visit, like this stone wall.

The small barn and windmill drew my eye too.

Just one of the many sorts of machinery farmers had to deal with, but this one was 40 feet up in the air!