Wide-leafed or Giant Bellflower

Back east in southwestern Ontario I had a home with a garden I maintained since the late 1960s. The home used to belong to my parents. I grew bellflowers in the garden in the back since the 1970s. These were the Wide-leafed or Giant Bellflower (Campanula latifolia) that spread easily around the yard. In fact, I found them growing in the cedar hedge row! I used to allow the seed heads to dry (brown) and then collect the seed in large mason jars. When they were young plants, it was easy enough to transplant them but once established, it was better not since they had long whitish taproots! They're easy enough to start from seed anyway. That's how I got my planting started back in the 1970s. The image above is from Wikipedia but I plan to check my own photos for some and post the best ones here. I grew other alpines, not just Campanulas! Note: This bellflower is native to central and southern Europe and is found as far east as Russia. There are 500 species of Campanula in the world. This is but one of them! - V

the bumblebee

Late yesterday afternoon (Friday) I spent a little time at Queens Park near home to photograph some bumblebee activity there. The species seen is the Yellow-faced Bumblebee (Bombus vosnesenskii) which is native the the west coast of North America from California to British Columbia. As a note of interest, there are 50 species of bumblebees native to North America. This is but one of them! The bee is taking nectar from the flowers of an Allium, a member of the onion family. Enjoy!!!- V

Davie Village Community Garden

A visit to Vancouver today gave me enough time to visit the Davie Village Community Garden. This is an assortment of photos I took while there. These include shots of foxgloves and poppies in bloom, a bumblesbee, a butterfly (cabbage butterfly, I believe). Enjoy!!! - V

peacocks

Sunday I went for a walk to nearby Queens Park just south of my place. There's children's zoo with all sorts of birds and animals. I managed to get a couple of decent shots of a peacock (male), front and back. There are two adult males and one juvenile male but the accommodations for the birds is not enough for the number. The peacocks need more space. Enjoy the images just the same! I'll have more photos at a later date. The female, by the way, is called a peahen! - V

Grimsvotn volcanic eruption 2011

This is an interesting perspective shot of the erupting volcano in Iceland, the Grimsvotn. Check with the Icelandic Meteorology Office for a lot more details on this one. If you're flying across the Atlantic, you might be wise to check on any flight delays or cancellations and news on why this might be the case. This eruption is not totally surprising given the other one that occurred in about the same region of Iceland about a year ago. The winds apparently aren't as bed as with the previous eruption. Forewarned is forearmed! - V

tulips

Spring is most definitely here and the sun and warm temperatures prove it. Locally the tulips are done for the year but these are some that were on the dining room table in April. I thought I would share the photo as you might enjoy them!

I'm off to north Burnaby tomorrow and will be taking more photos plus I have others to share as well. Have a good night! - V

comments

Hey guys, when you do leave comments do not leave anonymous ones or ones that have nothings to do with the content of the post in question. Such comments are sure to be rejected and deleted. That's why I check all comments before posting them. Anything that smells like a spam comment is rejected (pardon the pun!). So far you've been good, guys! Keep it up! - V