2019 – 12 Fave Garden Photos – Flowers and otherwise.

I took around six thousand photos in 2019 – most of them of and in my yard and gardens. I don’t (yet!) have a macro lens but many of my favourite shots are close-ups of bugs enjoying the pollen and nectar of things in bloom – from the first dandelions and croci (crocuses?) to the final asters and Colchicum. From the first drowsy bumble bee to the last honey bee gathering as much nectar as possible to help get the hive through a long winter. Winnowing these images down to 12 was easier than I had imagined – indeed, some of you many have seen one or two of them in an earlier post this year. In any event – this is what was blooming in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada, in 2019. By happy coincidence, the talented photographers behind the weekly Lens-Artists Challenge thought to make this week’s theme Favourite Photos of the year – do a search for that tag or follow this link to Patti Moed’s post for more favourites.

(The ‘Featured’ photo, at the top of this post, is a volunteer Blanket Flower (Gaillardia) that sprouted along the edge of the driveway this year. I took this shot on October 26 – the plant had been blooming since July. My Gaillardia stock started as seeds collected from the shores of Lake Ontario, in Toronto’s Tommy Thompson Park, about 12 years ago. This particular plant was different than the rest – the oranges somehow more vibrant than all the others growing here, even before post-processing. I hope it comes back. It’s the 13th photo in this post – making it a baker’s dozen!)

April 19, 2019 – Muscari latifolium – this was a new to me Muscari, featuring a wide single leaf that comes up in spring rather than the multitude of chive-like leaves that appear in the fall on many other Muscari. The flower becomes all blue and the individual petals open as temperatures warmed up.

May 18, 2019 – Veronica ‘Whitley’s Speedwell’ – a tough, mostly evergreen groundcover with a flush of tiny cobalt blue blooms in May, followed by sporadic blossoms until snowfall.

June 8, 2019 – even before the bee hives arrived, the garden was buzzing from morning til night. This is one of my favourite shots – a honey bee coming in for a landing on Allium ‘Purple Sensation.’

June 21, 2019 – This is a flower bud from a new Echinacea cultivated by Peter Fuller, of Fuller Native Plants and Seeds in Belleville, Ontario (no longer operating, sadly…) It’s a cross of E. paradoxa x tennenseensis. In bloom, it looks like….

…this, on July 7, 2019.

July 20 2019 – the last bee photo – it seems miraculous to me that some of my photos are even halfway in focus, like this one of a fat bumble bee hovering around the lavender.

July 21, 2019 – a titch over-processed for some, but I love this shot of my cherry tomato ‘Dancing with Smurfs’

July 27 2019 – Along with the bees were other beneficial flying insects, like this hornet sun-bathing in the Zinnia patch.

August 2, 2019. I have LOTS of Echinacea in the garden – it self seeds like crazy in my clay soil and the blooms attract lots of pollinators, including this Painted Lady butterfly.

August 10, 2019 – OK – one more bee – bumble bees were abundant this year, and were bumbling and stumbling around until frost. Here’s one on a blue globe thistle – Echinops ritro.

September 6, 2019 – I posted a lot of shots of my Kordes grandiflora rose ‘Crimson Bouquet.’ Even though it’s not, as promised, very fragrant or very disease resistant, I think it’s really really beautiful and it bloomed non-stop until mid November.

October 7, 2019 – this wasp stayed very still for a long time, watching me as I watched it through my camera lens, clicking away, trying to ensure a sharp image. I was spell-bound. The bonus for me was it was resting on a Colchicum – my favourite fall flower.

Seven months of garden photos in 13 photos. Hope you’ve enjoyed them, and hope you have a very Happy New Year!