I posted this photo immediately after posting the other two this morning, hoping that people would see my photos in the order I wanted. However, this image was still obviously barely being seen at all, so I decided to delete and repost. Apologies to the two people who had made this photo a fave! Flickr has made such a mess of view stats for some members, myself included, the last maybe month and a half to two months. Flickr has done nothing to fix this, despite many people complaining.
Four days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including this beautiful European Pasque Flower with its tiny visitor.
"Pulsatilla vulgaris (pasque flower, pasqueflower, common pasque flower, Dane's blood) is a species of flowering plant belonging to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). It used to be considered part of the Anemone genus, to which it is closely related." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulsatilla_vulgaris
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Reader Rock Garden nature flora plant garden flower European Pasque Flower Pulsatilla vulgaris Family: Ranunculaceae single flower open purple leaves foliage insect Hoverfly tiny macro close-up outdoor spring 27 April 2016 FZ200 FZ200#3 annkelliott Anne Elliott
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Six days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including several shrubs/trees covered in blossom. I wasn't sure if I was going to be too early or too late for Tulips, especially as this year has so far been most unusual, weatherwise, but there were a number in various colours. There was also a bush of gorgeous pink Hellebore flowers, hanging their heads as they tend to do. There was enough colour and variety of plants to make this visit worthwhile - and it should only get better and better with the coming weeks, hopefully.
We desperately need rain, though. In fact, this week's botany walk was changed, as either the wildflowers were already over or else they just hadn't grown because everywhere is so dry.
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Reader Rock Garden nature flora flower blossom pink tree garden macro close-up bokeh outdoor spring 27 April 2016 FZ200 FZ200#3 annkelliott Anne Elliott
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Lol, I'm staying up all night, tonight - will explain later tomorrow or the following morning when I post my next shots. Thought I'd post my daily three now, otherwise I might end up missing a day : )
Four days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including a scattering of these attractive Tulips. I wasn't sure if I was going to be too early or too late for Tulips, especially as this year has so far been most unusual, weatherwise. There was also a bush of gorgeous pink Hellebore flowers, hanging their heads as they tend to do. There was enough colour and variety of plants to make this visit worthwhile - and it should only get better and better with the coming weeks. We do need rain, though. So good to see colour!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Reader Rock Garden nature flora plant flower garden Tulip Family: Liliaceae Lily family orange & yellow two-tone bright pattern close-up macro depth of field bokeh outdoor spring 27 April 2016 FZ200 FZ200#3 annkelliott Anne Elliott
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Ten days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including several shrubs/trees covered in blossom. I wasn't sure if I was going to be too early or too late for Tulips, especially as this year has so far been most unusual, weatherwise, but there were a number in various colours. There was also a bush of gorgeous pink Hellebore flowers, hanging their heads as they tend to do. Also a few clusters of these vibrant Elephant Ears / Bergenia cordifolia. There was enough colour and variety of plants to make this visit worthwhile - and it should only get better and better with the coming weeks, hopefully.
Bergenia, also called elephant-eared saxifrage or elephant's ears, is a genus of ten species of flowering plants in the family Saxifragaceae. It is native to central Asia, from Afghanistan to China and the Himalayan region.
“Bergenia are incredibly hardy, and reliably evergreen throughout nearly the entire continent. Plants form a low clump of bold, leathery green leaves, which often turn bronze during winter. Short stems of magenta-pink flowers rise above the shiny foliage in mid spring. The winter leaves are a valuable addition to cut flower bouquets. Most effective when mass planted or used as an edging along a walkway.” From perennials.com.
www.perennials.com/plants/bergenia-cordifolia.html
We desperately need rain, though. In fact, this week's botany walk was changed from a natural area to the Reader Rock Garden, as either the wildflowers were already over or else they just hadn't grown because everywhere is so dry. I wouldn't be surprised if this year is a bad one for wildfires. Already, the massive fire in Fort McMurray and surrounding areas has been devastating to many thousands (80,000?) of people. They need rain so badly.
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Reader Rock Garden nature flora flower garden plant Elephant Ears Bergenia cordifolia magenta-pink cluster flower cluster spike macro close-up bokeh outdoor spring 27 April 2016 FZ200 FZ200#3 annkelliott Anne Elliott
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HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
This photo was taken at the Reader Rock Garden on 27 April 2016, when I called in after a volunteer shift. These Hellebore flowers are so beautiful and I was happy to see that a couple of the flowers were growing so that I could just see the inside of the flower. Usually, the flower heads are hanging down more. I didn't realize, or had forgotten, that this plant bloomed so early in the year.
"Commonly known as hellebores /ˈhɛlᵻbɔərz/, the Eurasian genus Helleborus comprises approximately 20 species of herbaceous or evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae. The scientific name Helleborus derives from the Greek name for H. orientalis, ἑλλέβορος helléboros, from elein "to injure" and βορά borá "food". Many species are poisonous. Despite names such as "winter rose", "Christmas rose" and "Lenten rose", hellebores are not closely related to the rose family (Rosaceae).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellebore
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Reader Rock Garden nature flora plant flower garden Hellebore deep pink leaves macro close-up outdoor spring 27 April 2016 FZ200 FZ200#3 Panasonic Lumix annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2016 © All Rights Reserved
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