Destructive Beetles

These beetles are singing "all you need is love" right now and they are eating and copulating like the world is ending. Which of course it is for them right now - their life cycle is about up.
Meanwhile they have caused destruction to my climbing hydrangea.  The good news is that they are leaving my roses alone, and the hydrangea is a tough plant that can withstand the devastation.

Brown holey leaves show the effect of the Japanese beeltes voracious appetite. 

They are beautiful with their coppery brown body and green jeweled head.

badly eaten leaves have a lacey quality

Almost every leaf of this large vine hosts a beetle

Perennial Mid summer gardens

Perennial gardens are a challenge. Mid summer gardens can be bereft of flowers, if you don't know your zone and don't plan for changing seasons of colour. There is a reason most gardens tours are in late Spring when things are fresh and green and not eaten by bugs.
Of course you can always take the easy way out and put in annuals which will carry you through this time of year.
Every year I plant morning glories for this time of year and they never fail to impress.

Morning glories and hibiscus

Daylily

Phlox

My favourite phlox

Monkshood, tall and stately, but need to be staked - you don't find this colour of blue on many flowers.

Clematis

What could be prettier - clematis and roses

Clematis with a Cherokee Chief Dogwood in the background

This time of year the clematis are spectactular. Mine is just coming into bloom, but some early blooming ones have already finished. Each week int he garden reveals some new plant coming into it's own. Isn't that what gardening is all about?

Swan Song

Mute swans settling down for the night, assuming their flamingo pose.

I went to LaSalle Park in Burlington, Ontario yesterday to see if the Trumpeter Swans were there in the summer. They aren't. Where do they go? I read that rescued populations don't migrate very far. So are they in Wye March? I have a friend who feeds the swans in Wye Marsh, perhaps they are up there with him for the summer. I  like to think so, that seems just serendipitious.

Tell tale signs

Finally the snowdrops are appearing.  After having the coldest March on record for 100 years I think the worst is over.  I removed the layer of leaves that covered the garden so I could appreciate the snowdrops all the better.
The winter was beautiful with a layer of white snow covering the garden debris and making everything look sparkly and new. But once we reach the brown stage of spring I can't hlep being impatient for the flowers of Spring. I even made an urn with artificial flowers.

Now is a good time to rake the garden.  The ground is still frozen and you don't damage the tender plants.

Canada Blooms

These flower creations look like real cakes!

Sometimes the stars align and things just fall into place.  Imagine our joy when we arrived at Canada Blooms show and found out today was free parking.  It doesn't take much to make our hearts glad.
There were some very unusual displays this year.
My favourite exhibit was the Garfield Thompson Landscape Limited. His use of natural settings and water features are incredibly original.

Such detail!

Water comes out of the stone fountain, across the table, and falls into a recirculating pool. 

Incredible flower dresses.

Loved the use of natural stone.

My favourite exhibit had a fountain which tracks across a table slab. 

Trumpeter Swans

La Salle Park in Burlington has a program to reestablish Trumpeter Swans. There is a colony of about 200 swans in the basin at LaSalle Park.  They are all tagged and hand fed in the winter by volunteers.  You can see how big they are compared to the Canada Geese.  They are pretty noisy, honking, bobbing their long necks and flapping their wings.

Compared to the mute swans they are much taller.  They are easily distinguished by their black beaks.  Mute swans have orange beaks. Trumpeter swans are the largest species of native waterfowl in North America.  They were nearing extinction in North America. In 1933, Overhunting by early European settlers had reduced the numbers of trumpeters to just 77 breeding adults in Canada.
Harry Lumsden, retired from the Ministry of Natural Resources, with the help of dozens of volunteers has brought the swans back to Ontario. He started the program in 1982. There are over 1,000 trumpeters in the south-central part of the province now.  For more information go to: http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/2009/03/29/trumpeter_swans_making_a_comeback_in_ontario.html

Looking across Hamilton Harbour from LaSalle Park. this spot is a haven for ducks, Canada geese, Trumpeter swans and mute swans.

Bobbing, dancing and weaving to their loud trumpeting.

Ice storm

The ice storm was really hard on people.  Many people lost hydro power and some sewers backed up.  But if was beautiful.  The trees and bushes sparkled in the sun and it looked like a wonderland.