Appreciation: Out and About

Here's some local topiary - a lot less formal than what Acerholic has posted. I drove past this, did a quick lane switch and circled back to have a closer look.

 

What fun! If I had a hedge I could prune like that, I would.

 

A garden that makes you smile, so very important these days !!! Thanks Wendy.

 

Good morning, another very mature Quercus rubra Red Oak only 50 yards from me. Brightens up a dull day here in England.

 

Good morning, a very Autumnal scene at Hinton Ampnor yesterday. A Beech tree lined walk. Fagus sylvatica green. There is something quite pleasing about kicking through fallen leaves !!!

 

This drew out attention this morning whilst out walking, not flowers so thought this thread was best. Symphoricarpos orbiculatus Coralberry. Looked very cheerful indeed, on a very wet day here in England.

 

There were two of these beautiful trees on the green until last years storms did for one of them. Eucalyptus gunnii I believe and around 80 years old and approx 60 ft tall. The bark is so interesting having so many shades of colours, so I took photos this morning under the canopy.

 

There is some autumn colour here on a Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust), but I'm posting it for the Parthenocissus tricuspidata, Boston ivy, growing up the trunk, which has not coloured up at all and looks sort of creepy. This is at an office building on West Georgia St, a main street north of the West End neighbourhood where I live.

 

@wcutler creepy but an amazing sight to behold. But have they ever thought of removing the Ivy ?? The canopy although pretty now does look a little sparse.

 

I assumed it's doing what was intended.

 

It was gloomy but not raining so we took the dog to Trout Lake this morning to look at the colors...unfortunately I forgot to charge the battery in my camera so I was only able to get a few photos. But even on a day such as today the colors were quite vibrant and we encountered many people with cameras snapping photos.
This is one of only a few places I've seen with a live willow fence, and this one has viewing portals that have been woven into it (in the first image you can see the fence but it does need some trimming).

 

Virginia creeper is said to have a minimum of 4 leaflets:

Parthenocissus in Flora of North America @ efloras.org

 

Ron, I'm not sure which posting you're commenting on, but I was interested to see that the plant that Acerholic posted as Parthenocissus inserta at Appreciation: - Out and About is what called P. vitacea at the efloras link. I'm having trouble with my sentence here. Parthenocissus inserta - Wikipedia shows P. vitacea as a synonym, so I followed the link to that on efloras. P. vitacea differs from P. quinquefolia in, among other things mentioned, not having adhesive disks and in having lustrous leaf undersides. A few more differences are mentioned at Parthenocissus inserta (Woodbine): Minnesota Wildflowers, though for every difference, there seems to be a disclaimer that it isn't always the case. And the efloras entry on P. vitacea says that it's less like P. inserta, which (P. inserta) should be treated as a synonym for P. quinquefolia. But somebody doesn't agree. Well, I almost learned something.

And now I've learned that P. inserta (a Wikipedia query on P. vitacea goes to that) has the common name Woodbine. My father grew up in Woodbine, New Jersey, and it never occurred to me that the name referred to a particular plant.

 

Earlier I read it that you wrote "Virginia creeper"

 

I also mentioned in the Autumn Colours 2020 thread that people call the plant Virginia Creeper that's covering the Sylvia Hotel, but that's not correct.

Anyway, I always appreciate your comments, and ended up learning more than I expected, so it's all good.

 

Never having seen a living willow fence, I was intrigued to see your photo of the one at Trout Lake.

 

This was very difficult to photograph this morning, as I had to lean into the River to take it with my wife pulling me back, but I thought it was worth being an intrepid photographer and making the effort. No I didn't fall in, but it was close, Lol.
This had been planted so not suitable for the wild side thread. Euonymus europaeus common spindle.

 

Sticking with the Halloween theme, and because events like this are not happening this year, I thought I'd share some photos taken during VanDusen's Glow in the Park a couple of years ago. For those not familiar with Glow in the Park, it is a family friendly event inside the gardens that features lights, pumpkins and costumed creatures...and it's even more fun it you arrive in costume as well (the third image is my husband in costume).

 

I drive by this house several times a week but have never had my camera. Today I had the camera so I pulled over to take some photos. These topiary creatures have been here for years, located on either side of the driveway, and are maintained by their elderly homeowner.

 

@pmurphy fun and total dedication to keep them in this amazing condition. All gardens should make us smile and these photos have just brought a smile to our faces. Bet the homeowners grandchildren love these creations as well.

 

I thought this shrub looked so pretty on the iron fence and set against the changing leaves that I had to share it...

 

Pyracantha

 

Does anyone know if Pyracantha thorns (prickles) are more likely to cause blood poisoning than thorns and prickles of other plants?

Several years ago, I got some scratches while pruning Pyracantha which caused my hand to swell. I went into the emergency ward in the middle of the night where I was told that it was good I came in quickly because I had the beginnings of blood poisoning.

A friend later told me that Pyracantha, like their Rosa relatives, are famous for causing problems but I have never found much to substantiate that claim and I wonder if it is true. Whether or not, I don't grow either Pyracantha or Roses anymore. :-)

 

Hi Margot, just seen this and can I say that Pyracantha thorns have caused me a severe reaction when pricked by the thorns, Berberis has the same effect btw. Hand swelling like yours. I now wear my old Eagle glove if anywhere near doing work on these.

 

Out for a very long walk today to ease some tension, as my Son and Daughter in law both have Covid and feeling very poorly, so after some errands for them and on the way back home I took photos of the Eucalyptus gunnii as it was looking quite splendid IMO.