Oh Canada We Stand On Guard For Thee

 

 

On July 1 of each year we celebrate the birth of a nation.   Canada began as a country 144 years ago.   There will be fireworks and parades and backyard barbeques to mark the momentous occasion.    Our neighbours to the south in the United States of America will celebrate the 4th of July in much the same way.   Have you put out your flag yet?   I hope you have a wonderful weekend.   Save me a burger and some potatoe salad.   Valerie

 

I will be joining Laura for Macro Friday.    The Maple Leaf is a symbol of Canada and is on our flag.   I used Pioneer Woman’s Heartland for this photo.

White Mulberry

In the last few weeks I have been gathering photos for a video to be shown at our younger son’s wedding in October.   I had to look through boxes of bad photos taken with film but I got quite a few laughs during the process and it wasn’t all the pictures of the kids as they grew up.  I started to put aside all the pictures of the house through the years and the evolution of the Sandbox.  We bought this house in 1987 as a new build.   How things have changed over those years.  As I was out this morning cleaning up piles of White Mulberry berries from the drive way I had an idea to add this post today.


We purchased a weeping mulberry tree for the front garden bed in 1991.   I can see I was an adventurous gardener back then.   This garden in no bigger than a postage stamp.  What was I thinking?????   The Mulberry did okay for a couple of years and then one winter the top died and up from the grafted roots came the suckers of the original stock.   It would be the Morus alba from Eastern Asia or Russian Mulberry hardy to Zone 3 and grows to 10 meters tall and 8 meters wide.


My husband convinced me to leave it grow as the birds would enjoy the fruit.   This is a photo I took this morning.  This tree is massive and loaded this year with berries.  The branches are heavy with fruit.   Everyday I will have to go out and sweep up piles of berries that the birds did not get.  We have already had the robins, purple finches, goldfinches eating happily away.   Next will come the cedar waxwings to gorge on them.  

 






















































I think this tree is bigger than the description in the book.    Last year we did not have one berry on the tree but it made up for it this year.   Underneath the tree there are honeysuckle shrubs from bird deposits.   I keep trying to weed them out.   All in all it is getting to be a big mess and one day there will be a major prune for sure.   According to a book called “Trees and Shrubs for Northern Gardens” the Mulberry is used for wildlife plantings.   I can see why.




Here is a photo of the fruit.    I hope you enjoyed this little look back at the Sandbox.   

Valerie

Summer Evening

Recently our Naturalists group took a last hike through the nature reserve close to us before we took a summer break.   Ontario Nature who owns the reserve put up nesting boxes for various birds and this one just caught my eye with the back lighting and shadows.   I decided to use this photo for my texture this week.  I began by using an action from Florabella called summer haze and then added two layers of Kim Klassen’s “JustCause” texture.    I think it softened the original. Last I added some text and my logo.  

 

I will be joining Kim Klassen Texture Tuesday.   Come join in.   Valerie

Lychnis or Campion in the Sandbox

 

Several colours of Lychnis or Campion reside in the Sandbox.  They are in bloom now.   Last year I purchased the newest variety called “Angels Blush”.  They make a pretty mosaic for the last week in June.   The description from my favourite reference book by John Valleau of Heritage Perennials says  that Lychnis is related to the Dianthus and have flowers in bright pink, magenta, red or orange shades, mostly vibrant, in hot shades that don’t easily fit into soft pastel colour schemes. He adds that the plant is hardy, easy to grow and are best planted in the summer border.  The gardeners who like a more daring sense of colour design find these interesting and useful.   I don’t know that I am daring but they sure catch your attention.  This plant is a biannual so leave them to reseed themselves.

 

I will be joining Mary for Mosaic Monday.  See you there.  Valerie

Red and Yellow

It rained off and on all day but I went out after supper to catch these few blooms to share with you.   I have lots of these red poppies in the flowerbeds in the back garden.   I love the brilliance of them and how delicate they look.

 

 

The Gaillardia or blanket flower is just so pretty in the flowerbed.   This plant is a great choice for hot and sunny locations. One of my favourites each year.

 

 

In a container at the front door I have one lonely Calla lily in bloom.  I tried to catch the rain drops that were still on it after the rain.

Another perennial that never fails to please me with its cut edges and bright yellow colour is the Coreopsis or Tickseed.

 

I will be joining Laura for Macro Friday and Tootsie for Fertilizer Friday.   I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  Valerie

Oldie but a Goodie

I found this challenge a bit daunting as I don’t take people photos very often. I find them hard to edit because I am afraid of making them look less than flattering. This photo was taken last winter when our camera club took a trip into Toronto for a day of shooting around town. In the Distillery District of Toronto there are some old cars to give a bit of atmosphere to the place. One of the camera club people gladly modeled for me here. To give it texture today I changed the colour photo to a black and white using Pioneer Woman “Sepia” action. I added Kim Klassen’s “porvous” texture. The first layer blending mode was softlight and an adjustment layer to take off a bit of the texture on the truck. The second layer was using the same texture with a blending mode of multiply. I made an adjustment layer to brighten the look. Hope I have accomplished what this week’s challenge asked. I kinda like it myself.




Joining Kim Klassen Cafe Texture Tuesday





Valerie

Places to Sit

Today was the East Gwillimbury Friends of the Library Garden Tour.   Our garden was one of 11 gardens to visit.   We had 80 very enjoyable people come through.   Garden visitors are always appreciative of the time and effort you put forth getting your your flowers to look their very best and get out all the pesky weeds and grass out where it is not wanted.    We had lots of interesting questions.   I got a nice sunburn on the tops of my feet and the top of my shoulders.   All in all a good day but don’t ask me to do it all again anytime soon.    I hope you had a good weekend too.   Valerie
Join me as I link up with Mary for Mosaic Monday.  

Apple Sprouts

 

The branches of the apple tree in our garden is loaded with little apples.  I tried to capture all the different colours in one of them.    I am joining Laura for Macro Friday

Have a wonderful weekend.   Valerie

Red Waterlily

 

I used the red water lily that is in our pond  for this weeks Texture Tuesday.   The texture I used was 2 layers of Mayzee from Kim Klassen. using blending modes of soft light and multiply.  I removed the texture from the lily and adjusted the saturation giving this texture a rather somber feeling.  

 

Valerie

Visions of Pink

 

This week in the Sandbox garden I have noticed that the flowers that are blooming now are mostly pink.   This gardener does not have beds of a particular colour but a mish mash of all colours dispersed all over.    I am not that clever to design for areas of colour so it is interesting to me to see certain colours emerge amass.   I had a period of yellows and then some whites, now pinks and I see some blues beginning to appear.    The mosaic today is showing a new climbing rose call America, a pink peony from the side garden that did not even bloom last year, clematis maybe Josephine, dainty little pink and white dianthus and pale pink daisies.   

If it is Monday I am joining Mary for Mosaic Monday.    Have a great week.  Valerie

A Sense of Calm

 

My textured photo is showing the cool calmness of the forest in spring.   I used two layers of Kim Klassen’s texture luminous with blending modes of soft light and multiply.   I then added an overlay from Shadowhouse called Box 1 to finish it off.   I hope it speaks to you too. 

I will be joining Texture Tuesday with Kim Klassen Cafe and Touch Up Tuesday with Paper Heart Camera.    My husband just called me to come outside to see the fireflies.   Have a great day.  Valerie

A Bloom in June

 

We are enjoying a very warm and sunny Sunday today.   I am happy to report that all 4 baby groundhogs and  their Mommy have been relocated.   We can get back to planting and sprucing our garden up for a garden tour in two weeks.     I thought I would show you the Bridlewreath Spirea again.   It is so pretty out at the front of the house.    Wishing you a wonderful week.   Valerie

I will be joining Mary for Mosaic Monday.   Hope to see you there. 

Oh Why Me Rant

 

 

I agreed to be one of the gardens in a garden tour given by the Friends of the Library.   I must have been delusional because I really don’t consider my garden worthy of ooohs and aaahs from visitors.   I garden on sand not lovely loam or water holding clay.    Anyway,   here I am scurring to make a silk purse out of a sows ear in time for June 18….showtime.     I had trays of annuals and vegetables under the table on the deck out of the sun.   The other morning we awoke to find most of the flats chewed to stubs.   Here is a poor tomatoe.   He will be okay but I cannot say the same for the others.

 

I found the culprits yesterday afternoon coming out of a huge hole under the deck.   In fact they had several places to emerge.

 

This one is one of a family of four.   All little fur balls that have a cuteness factor but are really eating machines and what do they like to eat you may ask?   Nice juicy plants that have been watered and pampered for a garden tour.    This gardener is cowering in misery.    Now what do I do?  Do I cancel myself from the tour?  There may not be anything to see.  Boo Hooooooo.    We borrowed the neighbours trap but they just blitzed right through that.   Right now I have a radio turned to some wild music down in the hole.   Hope they take the hint.   Next up a blast of water from the hose.  

On a lighter happier note the Bridalwreath Spirea is blooming so beautifully out by the sidewalk.

 

The dwarf lilac Miss Kim is in full bloom out in the front garden too.  St. Francis is keeping watch out there.

The red Japanese Tree peony that our boys gave me a couple of Mother’s Day ago is blooming so prettily.

I am finished crying on your shoulders now.   Have a great day.   I will be posting my rant with Laura for Macro Friday and Tootsie for Fertilizer Friday.   Valerie