Calceolaria

Calceolaria or Calceolatia crenatiflora is a tropical plant that has the appearance of a lady slipper.  It is used typically as an annual or a houseplant.  The plant likes a cool, well ventillated spot with morning sun.   I just love the little pouches with the freckles.  I saw this on a recent visit to Allan Gardens in Toronto.  Visit

http://www.murrieta365.com/search/label/SOOC%20Sunday for Straight out of the Camera Sunday.

Only 14 More Sleeps till Canada Blooms

It won't be long now.   I wait all winter for the smell of flowers at Canada Blooms. The theme for the show this year is "Passion".  This year's event will be held from March 17 to the 21 at the Direct Energy Bldg at the Exhibition Grounds in Toronto.  This is one of North America's biggest annual flower shows.  If you have never been you should do it this year.  You will not be disappointed.   There will be garden designs to inspire you, a huge market place to buy just about anything horticultural and fantastic speakers. 

The Master Gardeners of Ontario will have our own stage for the third year in a row.  There is an excellant line up of Master Gardeners ready to tell you about their Passions.  Every day at Lunch there is a lunch panel of Master Gardeners ready to answer your most burning gardening questions. Presentations follow the lunch panel from 1:15 until the last one of the day at 4:15.  The Master Gardeners "Ask the Expert " booth will be just outside the presentation room to answer any gardening questions all day.  I will be there most days so if you are attending hunt me down and say hello.  I would love to meet you.

Tickets are available from http://www.mgoi.ca/ website.  A donation of $2 from every ticket sold goes back to the organization.

If you are a member of the Garden Writers Association Region VII I will see you at the luncheon.  I am looking forward to that.

New Bloom on the Phalaenopsis

For Macro Monday I offer this close up of a fresh phalaenopsis bloom.  It was not taken with a macro lens but with my old trusty Lumix camera.   For more marvelous macros visit http://lisaschaos.com/

Who Invited These Guys?

I looked out the window yesterday just in time to see a flock of pidgeons circling the feeder.  There was not much in it at the time but they devoured what was there.  Last year I had my husband put those bars up on the birdfeeder because they became such pests.  No other birds could use the feeder because the pidgeons would swoop in and wouldn't leave until they emptied the sunflower seeds.  We eventually stopped putting seed in the feeder at all.  We had not seen them since until yesterday.  

For more camera critters visit http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

The Significance of the Shamrock

On March 17 of each year all of us who's Grandparents came over from Ireland celebrate with the wearing of the green.  It made me think of the shamrock and what its significance might be.  I brought home a packet of shamrock seeds from Ireland a couple of years back and grew them.  I did not find a four leaved one in the bunch.  

I even dried some in the pages of our guide to Ireland. Apparently, according to the website of eircom.net I found out that the shamrock dates from 1571 and was worn as a badge to be worn on the lapel on the Saint"s feastday.  The shamrock was used as an emblem by the Irish volunteers in the era of Grattan's parliament in the 1770's before 98 and the Act of Union.  So rebellious did the wearing of the shamrock eventually appear, that in Queen Victoria's time Irish regiments were forbidden to display it.

Other facts:  the the shamrock symbolises the Trinity to Christians as one God but three Persons being God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  St. Patrick used the shamrock to illustrate this meaning in his teachings. The druids believed that the shamrock was a sacred plant and the number three was a mythical number in their religious practice.  They believed that the number three was a magic number.  It multiplies to nine, which is sacred to St. Brigid.  Three signified totality: past, present and future, sky,earth and underground.  Everything good in Ireland comes in threes.  Three accomplishments well regarded in Ireland are a clever verse, music on the harp, the arto of shaving faces.

So, now we are all the wiser.  I hope on the 17th of March you will wear your green proudly.

Floral Design Mosiac

Saturday was Get A Jump on Spring at the Toronto Botanical Gardens.  This is an annual event put on by District 5 of the Ontario Horticulture Society and the TBG.  My friends Jennifer and Judith and I heard some good presentations looked at the marketplace and visited with people we knew and did not know.  My mosiac is showing some of the winners from the Floral Design Competition.  The two at the top were floral designs in a purse and the bottom two were hats.  Colourful for sure.  More mosiacs can be found at Mary's http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/

Webster's Falls in Winter

This is a photo of Webster Falls on the Spencer Gorge near Hamilton, Ontario taken last week. For more photos Straight out of the Camera visithttp://www.murrieta365.com/search/label/SOOC%20Sunday

Snowy Owl

Last Sunday afternoon my husband and I took a drive. We knew where one of these beautiful birds had been spotted a couple weeks earlier. It was a bitter, blowy day and we spotted this one up on an aerial. My husband took the photo, hand held, out the window of the truck. It did not seem to be bothered with us taking its picture. It did eventually fly away and we came away happy. For more Camera Critters go to

http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/ for more interesting photos.

Anybody for sledding?

This photo was taken on the weekend. It looked like the perfect hill for a toboggon run. For more sepia scenes visit  http://sepiascenes.blogspot.com/

Flowers in February

Here it is the middle of February already.  How time flies.  Garden Bloggers Bloom Day has rolled around again.  My mosiac shows the new orchid that my husband bought me for Valentine's Day.  He even brought me a bouquet of tulips today too.  Our Christmas Cactus has put out a few more flowers.   More blooms and mosiacs can be found at http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/ and http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/

Have a great day. 

Macy's Wonderful Organ on Straight out of the Camera Sunday

A couple of years ago on a trip to Philadelphia my husband took this photo of the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ in Macy's Center City at 13th and Market Street.  It is the World's largest operational pipe organ.  It was massive.  My husband and I listened to the organist play for quite a while.  It was amazing I came out of the store having bought nothing.   Please join Murrieta 365 for Straight out of the Camera Sunday at http://www.murrieta365.com/search/label/SOOC%20Sunday