(click to enlarge)
This picture is for my grandchildren Ella, Yoel and Daniel in Sweden.
entrance to Rosetta McClain gardens
this plaque shows the layout of this magnificent garden 
view from the garden over Lake Ontario 
the garden features this huge water fountain
many trees, plants and flowers are on display
remnants of an old cottage
interesting tree
another wonderful flower display
Hibiscus moscheutos
water fountain surrounded by flowers
stunning roses from the rose garden
flowers galore..
It is plum season again.. and here is my favourite cake
Plum cake with Streusel (recipe below the pictures)
Rezept von essen-und-trinken.de
Zwetschgen-Streuselkuchen (VIVA 9/2006)
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It is easy to make and the taste is wonderful .. just try my recipe.
Ingredients for Streusel
300 g flower
100 g sugar
150 g no salt butter or margarine
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Topping:
500 g prunes (Italian)
2 tbsp powered sugar
Combine all ingredients for streusel in food processor. Pulse just until chunky, keep chilled .
Turn 1/2 of the streusel into a greased 26 cm round cake pan .
Arrange pitted, halved plums over top and sprinkle the rest of the streusel over the fruit.
Bake 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
Decorate with powered sugar.. Enjoy..
My Echeverias measures 26cm high and 23 cm wide.
Perhaps a Pachyveria scheideki??
I found this plant in a small variety store nearby with no tags attached.
Echeverien sind meist immergrüne, mehrjährige, sukkulente Pflanzen, die mehr oder weniger dichte stammlose oder am Ende von Trieben befindliche Blattrosetten bilden. Viele Arten bilden auch kleine Sträucher. Die Blätter sind dickfleischig. Die Stängel der Blütenstände werden seitlich in Blattachseln gebildet. Die Blütenstände haben fleischige Hochblätter und variieren von verzweigten Thyrsen bis einfachen Trauben mit allen Übergängen. Die radiärsymmetrischen, fünfzähligen Blüten sind rot, orange, rosa, seltener gelblich. Die Sepalen und Petalen sind kantig bis gekielt und basal röhrig verwachsen; die Blütenhülle ist dadurch glocken- bis krugförmig.
Echeveria is a large genus of succulents in the Crassulaceae family, native from Mexico to northwestern South America.
The genus is named after the 18th century Mexican botanical artist, Atanasio Echeverría y Godoy.
Many of the species produce numerous offsets, and are commonly known as 'Hen and chicks', which can also refer to other genera such as Sempervivum that are significantly different from Echeveria.
Many Echeveria species are popular as garden plants. They are drought resistant, although they do better with regular deep watering and fertilizing. Most will tolerate shade and some frost, although hybrid species tend to be less tolerant. They can be propagated easily by separating offsets, but may also be propagated by leaf cuttings, and by seed if they are not hybrids. Echeverias are polycarpic, meaning that they may flower and set seed many times over the course of their lifetimes.
Most lose their lower leaves in winter; as a result, after a few years, the plants lose their attractive, compact appearance and need to be rerooted or propagated. In addition, if not removed, these shed leaves may decay, harboring fungus which can then infect the plant.
(Wikipedia)
Zamioculcas is a genus of flowering plant in the family Araceae, containing the single species Zamioculcas zamiifolia.
It is a tropical perennial plant native to eastern Africa, from Kenya south to northeastern South Africa. Zamioculcas is grown as an ornamental plant, mainly for its attractive glossy foliage.
It can be kept outdoors as long as the temperature does not fall below around 15 °C (59°F); best growth is between 18 °C to 26 °C (64.4° - 78.8 °F).
Hot temperatures give an increase of leaf production. In temperate regions, it is grown as a houseplant. Over watering may destroy this plant; erring on the side of dryness is preferable to risking tuber rot. Do not use leaf shiners. A quarter or eighth strength liquid fertilizer such as fish emulsion or worm-cast liquid may be used once a month at the warmest period for potted specimens. Bright, indirect light is best for Zamioculcas, although it will tolerate very low light. Some sun will be tolerated, very early in the morning for hot districts – morning or afternoon for cooler districts.
The Hibiscus genus has 200+ species including Tropical Hibiscus with thousands of varieties; and, the North American Moscheutos also called Swamp Mallow.
Popular Hardy Hibiscus offerings are almost all based on Moscheutos.
Here's how they differ from Tropical Hibiscus:
It is a woody perenniel, dies back in winter. Last for at least 10 seasons.
Actually requires cold weather. Plant wintering evidentally involves production of hormones required for spring growth and flowering.
Propagate by cuttings, some by seeds. Water heavily until established.
Does very well in wet soil, full sun. Tolerates drought.
Buds are 2-4 inches long.
Has large flowers up to 12 inches: white, pink, red, plum, no yellows and last 1 day.
Relatively few varieties, no doubles.
When they die back in winter, prune dead foliage, and when the ground is frozen, mulch heavily to keep it cold.
They will probably be the last thing to sprout in the next Spring, fertilize early and lightly tip-prune after initial growth. But they grow rapidly up to 8 ft in height.
Disease resistant, but look out for spider mites and Japanese beetles. On the internet you can use a special Google search to locate books containing information about hardy hibiscus.
Much of the above information is based upon the book, “Hibiscus”, by Barbara Lawton Perry.
Der Roseneibisch (Hibiscus moscheutos), auch Sumpfeibisch genannt, ist eine Pflanzenart aus der Gattung Hibiskus (Hibiscus) in der Familie der Malvengewächse (Malvaceae).
Es ist eine winterharte, mehrjährige krautige Pflanze. Sie erreicht Wuchshöhen bis über 2 Meter. Die oberirdischen Pflanzenteile sterben im Winter ab; die Pflanze treibt im Frühling neu aus dem Wurzelstock aus. Die Blätter sind ungeteilt; sie sind 15 bis 20 cm lang und 5 bis 7 cm breit. Die Blätter sind auf der Unterseite samtig behaart, auf der Oberseite unbehaart.
Die Blüten sind etwa handtellergroß; sie erreichen Durchmesser von etwa 15 Zentimetern, bei vielen Zuchtformen jedoch auch bis zu 30 cm. Sie sind weiß oder rosa, teilweise zart dunkelrosa überhaucht, in der Mitte um den Stempel hellrosa bis dunkelkarmin schattiert. Die einzelne Blüte blüht nur einen Tag lang. Es gibt keine Befruchtungsinsekten hierzulande; H. moscheutos stammt aus Nordamerika.
Sources from wikipedia and Barbara Perry Lawton Book "Hibiscus" pyblished by Timber press.
Pictures are from my garden.
It's a lifer for me...
the Common Nighthawk, Chordeiles minor, is a nightjar.
The adults have dark with brown, grey and white patterning on the upper parts and breast; the long wings are black and reveal a white bar when in flight. The tail is dark with white barring; the underparts are white with black bars. The adult male has a white throat; the female has a light brown throat.
Their breeding habitat is open country across North America. They usually nest on bare ground, sometimes in raised locations including stumps or gravel roofs. They especially favor burned areas in forests. The two eggs are laid directly on bare ground—there is no nest. Incubation is performed largely by the female and lasts for about 20 days. Young fledge at about 20 days of age. There may be a second brood in the southern part of the United States.
These birds winter in South America. They migrate in flocks. The Common Nighthawk is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
They catch flying insects on the wing, mainly foraging near dawn and dusk (crepuscular), sometimes at night with a full moon or near street lighting.
The call is a short peet usually heard overhead. The male performs an aerial display during courtship, creating a booming sound near the end of a steep dive. The sound is produced by air rushing through the wingtips.
Falkennachtschwalbe (Chordeiles minor), auch Nachtfalke genannt, ist einer der bekanntesten amerikanischen Sommervögel. Sie ist berühmt durch ihre Sturz- und Zickzackflüge.
Falkennachtschwalben sind etwa 23 Zentimeter lang und haben eine Flügelspannweite von 59 bis 68 cm, während ihr Gewicht ungefähr 65 Gramm beträgt. Charakteristisch sind für sie, neben dem unregelmäßigem Zickzackflug, die schmalen und spitzen Flügel, welche eine weiße Binde tragen. Das Gefieder ist dunkelbraun oder grau mit brauner Musterung.
text and picture wikipedia
Rose of Sharon and one busy bee..
No flowers, no bees; No bees, no flowers.
After returning from our trip to Germany and Sweden we are happy to be home again. We arrived late in the evening in Toronto. The next morning I couldn't wait to walk around in the garden followed by Max, our cat. Together we inspected the overgrown flowerbeds, looked at the pond and fetched the newspaper in front of the house. Here, we where confronted by our resident skunks. I don't know who was more surprised the skunks or us. Very quickly we escaped to the inside of our house.
During our absence we received a lot of rain in Toronto. A new July rainfall record of 193.2 millimetres was published in the news media.
Besides flowers and grass, weeds grew as well in abundance.
Here are the first pictures from our August garden..
Nach unserer Deutschland und Schweden Reise sind wir froh, wieder zu Hause zu sein. Erst spät am Abend landeten wir mit LTU/ Air Berlin in Toronto. Am nächsten Morgen konnte ich es kaum erwarten, in den Garten zugehen und alles zu inspektieren. Zusammen mit Max, unserem Kater, wanderte ich im Garten herum und betrachte die verwilderten Beete, den kleinen Teich und wollte die Zeitung vor dem Haus holen. Dort fanden wir die Stinktiere (Mephitidae), die in unserem Garten leben, vor. Ich weiss nicht, wer mehr überrascht war, die Tiere oder wir. Schnell flüchteten wir ins Haus.
Während unserer Abwesenheit hat es sehr viel in Toronto geregnet.
Ein neuer Niederschlagsrekord von 193.2 mm wurde in den Zeitungen für den Monat Juli berichtet.
Bei dem vielen Regen, Blumen und Grass wuchsen sehr stark, aber auch das Unkraut.
Hier sind die ersten Fotos vom Monat August ...
Rain is grace;
rain is the sky condescending to the earth;
without rain, there would be no life.- John Updike
Hollyhocks, Lillies and Sunflowers..
Recently I found this great book how to create wreaths and garlands.
Shown are very beautiful projects with detailed instructions as shown below.
What else can I asked for...
One project got my attention:
Horseshoe of succulents.
Succulents, a.k.a. Hens and Chicken are used in many gardens throughout the world.
Lately I have noticed more and more Blogger displaying succulents collections.
Below is one creative use of succulents..
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to enlarge pictures...just point & click..
Happy Birthday Max!!
Max was born seven years ago in the small Village of Salem, Ontario.
When we brought Max home he was six weeks old..
a cute little kitten, who quickly found his place in our hearts.
Seven years of fun, laughter, love and excitement.
Thank you..but don't bite my toes so early in the morning:)
