Appreciation: Out and About

Discussion in 'How's It Growing?' started by wcutler, May 24, 2020.

  1. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    We have lots of those windmill palms, both in Parks Board and private plantings. They're not native palms! We have banana trees too. I don't know what kind they are; they often get wrapped up for the winter, and they're usually planted against a south wall. Occasionally they produce very small fruits.
     
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  2. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Not only are palm trees (and bananas) commonly grown on the Lower Mainland but on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands too. We live in the tropics of Canada. :-)
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2021
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  3. AlainK

    AlainK Renowned Contributor Forums Moderator Maple Society 10 Years

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    Same here : the more photos you post, the more I realise our climates are not that different. I probably had in minds old photos or paintings of Haida or Tlingit wooden houses covered with snow, with a central hearth place in the middle of the kind of pit inside. ;-)
     
  4. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    I think here on the coast we were all lulled into thinking that spring would soon be here and we forget what is "normal" elsewhere. I was talking with my Mother yesterday and she told me "it had only gone down to -27C last night" (unlike a few nights ago when it hit -34C)....she is jealous of our winter weather.
     
  5. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Well who wouldn't be with -7° C difference, Lol. I can't even comprehend those temperatures tbh P.
    How you cope I don't know.
     
  6. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Keep in mind that @pmurphy is talking about temperatures where her mother lives inland in BC. Here on the coast we never have to cope with temperatures so low. "The coldest temperature ever recorded in [Vancouver] was −18.3 °C (−1 °F) on December 29, 1968." I don't even own a warm jacket; never wear gloves or a hat. (I either stay indoors or run to the car. :-)
     
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  7. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    That has certainly given me a smile this morning Margot. That does sound like a very good idea though.
     
  8. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    The sun is shining, lockdown is nearing the end and these little crocus came out to make us smile on our walk this morning. Things are getting better.....
    IMG_20210223_121927501.jpg IMG_20210223_121937433.jpg
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2021
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  9. AlainK

    AlainK Renowned Contributor Forums Moderator Maple Society 10 Years

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    19°C this afternoon, but I had to wipe the windscreen because of a fine layer of ochre-orange sand from Sahara - I saw on TV that the dust clouds crossed the Atlantic to French Guyana, and probably other places in the Americas.

    A lot of people in the parks, it's the beginning of the winter holidays in our region. I spotted this tree with a very interesting bark and wondered if it wasn't an Acer of some sort :

    PMarcFloral-17_210223a.jpg PMarcFloral-18_210223a.jpg PMarcFloral-19_210223a.jpg
     
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  10. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Crocus look like "Tommies", they bloom for weeks. Tree is a Sec. Macrantha maple.
     
  11. AlainK

    AlainK Renowned Contributor Forums Moderator Maple Society 10 Years

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    That's what I suspected. I'll have to wait for the leaves and the flowers to make a better identification.
     
  12. AlainK

    AlainK Renowned Contributor Forums Moderator Maple Society 10 Years

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    Other photos from "Parc Floral" in Orléans-La Source. This area of the city, south of the Loire river is called la Source because that's where the river Loiret (that gave its name to the département) begins. It's actually a "resurgence" from the Loire river : some of the water goes underground about 20 km upstream and reappears there. It's called "le bouillon" because it looks as if the water was boiling :

    PMarcFloral-14_210223a.jpg

    The park used to be a very big estate, with a "château" that is now used for some of the offices of the university :

    IMG_6811.JPG IMG_6810.JPG IMG_6805.JPG

    Lots of different fowls in the river, icluding a colony of flamingos :

    IMG_6803.JPG

    I remember a discussion about Cryptomeria : there are many conifers in the park and they have a sort of "orientalist" area with a few Japanese maples (still dormant) and "niwaki", or rather cloud-shaped trees. They're usually Junipers or pines, but this one is a Cryptomeria. It's the first time I've seen it in its winter colours :

    PMarcFloral-01_210223a.jpg PMarcFloral-03_210223a.jpg

    PS : Don't forget to tip the guide ! ;°)
     
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  13. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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  14. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    The foliage of the 'Elegans' cryptomeria is partly dead - hence the zones of different coloring in the first shot and the entirely dead appearance of the section that fills the second shot.
     
  15. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Easier to maintain that wasy?
     
  16. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    The 1st of March and it feels as if a very difficult Winter is now behind us all. Lovely sunny day here in the South of England and these little rays of sunshine were everywhere this morning on our walk.

    Ficaria verna common names pilewort or fig buttercup in the US.
    IMG_20210301_125047041.jpg IMG_20210301_125057308.jpg
     
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  17. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    I found my favourite bamboo in Stanley Park today - Sasa veitchii, which I learned to recognize at UBCBG.
    Sasa veitchii_StanleyParkLagoonPath_Cutler_20210302_P1370836.JPG Sasa veitchii_StanleyParkLagoonPath_Cutler_20210302_P1370838.JPG Sasa veitchii_StanleyParkLagoonPath_Cutler_20210302_P1370840.JPG Sasa veitchii_StanleyParkLagoonPath_Cutler_20210302_P1370843.JPG
     
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  18. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Good morning Wendy, this is lovely to see again. Our friend had it in his Japanese style garden, but it was so invasive it took over. He asked if I wanted any rhizomes for my garden, but after seeing how it took over his I declined. A lovely bamboo definatly, but you have to keep it under regular control and install a barrier to stop it spreading where you don't want.
     
  19. Nik

    Nik Contributor

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    Finally the first signs of early spring here!
    A flowering Hamamelis close to where I work.
    I believe the yellow one is grafted on the red one, don’t know the species/hybrid for either.
    Interestingly, the red one does not lose its leaves in the fall, they just dry out and remain until new buds develop in the spring.
     

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  20. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Even without the sunshine it would glow. So bright and cheerful N.
     
  21. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Certain H. x intermedia cultivars tend to retain dead leaves.
     
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  22. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    This plum Prunus cerasifera was looking so pretty in the sunshine this morning. The blossom won't be here after the gale force winds over the next two days, so I thought I would capture it whilst I could.
    IMG_20210309_104416305.jpg
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2021
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  23. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    You're just a little ahead of us in my neighbourhood. Our white ones might be in full bloom tomorrow or by the end of the week; the pink-flowered ones are a few days behind. The white-flowered, green leafed ones were ahead of the purple-leafed ones by a few days.
     
  24. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    All the plums have been out a while now, I do enjoy the staggering of blossom with the Cherries. It extends the cheerful colours well into April.
    Hopefully yours will be out soon Wendy. Probably when the forecasted storm has blown all ours away.
     
  25. Nik

    Nik Contributor

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    I couldn’t help myself, I was out to the nearest garden center in the area and I bought Hamamelis x intermedia Arnold Promise. Flowers are past their prime, but still fragrant.
    To be transplanted in the yard tomorrow morning.
     

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    Last edited: Aug 31, 2021

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