alpines and other flowers - 1970s

I found some photos I had taken a long time ago (1970s) early on when I first started gardening. The top image shows the Bell Flowers (Campanula latifolia) in the spring before the flower stalks were sent up in a growth spurt. There are more of them shown in the photo below along with a white-flowering plant (name escapes me at the moment). The Bell Flowers had to be transplanted early after the seed sprouted before the taproots developed. The transplant would not survive easily after that point.
The last photo gives a good view of what the section with the flowers looked like at the time. The rest of the planting area contained vegetables and some fruit. At one point there were a couple of red currant bushes planted at the back of this vegetable garden. When I decided to move them, the bushes were far too back, so I took cuttings and rooted those in the area where I wanted those new bushes next to the cedar hedge on the west side of the property. As for the flowers, I planted a new flower bed in the front yard near the porch and incorporated those flowers there. Amazing what happens when you plant a few packets of alpine seed. Its a surprise what comes out! If you would like to see more photos in this series, I plan to post more on my photo blog, so check that source out! - V

alpines

These photos were taken of some of the alpine and other flowers I was growing in the 1970s in the backyard. Most of the alpines were later moved to a flower bed in the front yard. My other passion was growing vegetables, something rather practical. The garden itself involved considerable effort in the springtime with turning the soil, sometimes even double spading. I grew some of the plants, like tomatoes and peppers, indoors to give them a head start. I was living at my parents' home at the time. - V

alpines and other flowers

Back in the spring of 1969 I started up a vegetable garden but I did grow some flowers too. I was 16 years of age at that time. Alpines were some of my favourites as you can see in the two photos here taken in the late 1970s. The one at the top is a Bell Flower (Campanula latifolia) and the one below is called Speedwell (Veronica longifolia). I started my collection from seed packets ordered from a Canadian seedhouse and progressed from there. Both grew easily from seed and eventually were found in various places around the garden (backyard). I even grew Edelweiss (Leontipodium alpinum) both from plants purchased from a local nursery and also from seed. At one point I had jars of seed that had been collected for sowing later. The alpines were later moved to a bed ahead of the front porch. In the late 1990s when that was overgrown, I replaced that planting with heathers. - V

alpine garden

I have just scanned some colour slides taken with a 35mm film camera I had back in the 1980s. Back in London, Ontario during the late 1980s I had an alpine garden in the front yard which I had moved from the backyard where it had been next to the vegetable garden. For the moment I cannot remember the name of the plant with the pink flowers but I believe the Latin name starts with an "L." I'll do some research to determine the correct name. I would trim them back after flowering. Sometimes I would be rewarded with more flowers!

The plants in front and low to the ground bore white flowers (need to research this name as well). I trimmed those flowers back after they had flowered as well.
Another view of the garden (triangular shaped) with two spruce trees in the background, a Hoopsi Blue Spruce on the left and a silver-green needled spruce to the right at our home in southwest London, Ontario. I planted the blue spruce along with the help of my younger brother Norbert. We stuck in an old broom handle and tied the young tree to that but we never thought the thing would grow straight. Eventually it did and the tree even served as a nesting place for Tree Sparrows and a pair of Cardinals!
Another view with the front porch with its bay window in the background.
I also grew other plants such as this Edelweiss plant (Leontopodium alpinum). Even when I replanted this bed with heathers in the late 1990s I still had a couple of Edelweiss plants mixed in with the new plants.
I also had some Sedums (Hens and Chickens) along the edge of the flower bed to keep things interesting. That's all in the past since the home was sold in 2005 six years after my mother had passed on. She was the last of my parents to pass on! Like everything in life there is a beginning and an end. Its accepted! - V

Alpine flowers

From the late 1960s until I sold and moved in 2005 I was growing alpine flowers somewhere on the property. For a while it was in the backyard next to the vegetable garden and later they were back in the front yard for others to appreciate. Two of my favourite flowers were the Wide-leafed Bellflower (or Giant Bellflower), or Campanula latifolia in Latin. These spread easily and even grew in the cedar hedge row. I collected seed in mason jars when the seed were ripe. It was necessary to transplant the plants early. Once they were established they had these whitish taproots that made it impossible to have a successful transplant situation. The two images here are from the Wikipedia Commons. The lower one is by Kurt Stuber, 2004. That is also how they'd look in the hedge row!
The Edelweiss, or Leonyopodium alpinum in Latin, was taken by Friedrich Boehringer, 12 Sept 2010. I grew at least one or two of these plants at any one time. I even managed to grow one from seed. These also grew amongst the heathers I had in the front yard during the last years living in the house.
Now a species of moth called the Mouse Moth also frequented the yard. It is attracted by various plants, trees and flowers such as Campanulas, Cranesbills, Parsley, Oak, Popular and others. We had plenty of food sources for them and the bees, particularly the bumblebees! I also grew this tallish pink flower. I still have to locate the name of it and then upload the photos to post. I have plenty of photos of this flower, you'll see when they're posted! - V

new season

This is one of my early attempts at gardening, vegetable gardening in particular. The photo was taken in London, Ontario in 1973. That's a cold frame in the foreground on the right. That's where I started some plants early. Others, such as tomato and pepper plants, were started indoors and planted out after the danger of frost was more or less gone. The latter part of May or early June was usual for that.

I got the weeds pulled early to give the plants unhindered growth potential. In July 1972 I had left the garden to be tended by my father. When I returned home in early September, I couldn't see the vegetable plants for all the weeds. I tried to pull the weeds but when I was finished, I realized it was a lost cause that year. My father was working full-time and then tending to his own garden (flowers), so with everything else time was an issue. Such is life!

Usually I was able to get a good number of carrots, green beans and onions out of the garden along with tomatoes and some peppers. Later in the 1970s I added some alpine flowers in the one corner of the plot on the same side as the cold frame but the opposite corner to attract more bees for pollination purposes.

By the 1980s I also added some grapevines. Earlier I had also added a Northern Spy apple tree in the one corner plus had started several currant bushes from cuttings since I couldn't move the mature bushes to another location. The apple tree bore some excellent fruit until the next door neighbour cut down his pear tree with which the tree had cross-pollinated. I tried a number of options as you can see.

Now living in an apartment I'm restricted to a balcony where I have some potted plants and plan to add more. I'll let you know more about my efforts soon! Currently its raining and earlier we had a bit of thunder and lightning. Have a good night guys! - V

Hollyburn Peak - part II

A while back I posted some photos from a hike up Hollyburn Mountain to its peak. Well, here is a larger selection starting near the bottom of the Baden Powell Trail that leads up the mountain from the Millstream Trail. The hike was started at Millstream Road in the British Properties of West Vancouver. The first two images are of a vehicle wreck that appears to have had better days. The remains are to be found off to the side of the Baden Powell Trail on the east side of the trail as you ascend up the mountain.

I love the blue sky to be seen above the trail while climbing up. The weather on August 16th, a Sunday, was excellent. I also paid more attention to the plants, flowers and fungi I encountered along the way, more so than the last time. A close up of a fern frond appears below and of a strange fungi (for me anyway) below that. Then there is yet another fern planting, this one illuminated by the sun shining through an opening in the forest canopy above!

I encountered water droplets on the leaves of a blueberry shrub and couldn't resist taking a series of photos. This is just one of the shots. Then there is an image of the many trail markers to be encountered along the way up and then fungi on a log with the dew still on it.

There was some time taken to view Gentian Lake just east off the Baden Powell Trail. Since this was August, the blue gentian flowers were in bloom along the lake, especially along the north side.

There were plenty of alpine flowers to be seen in the clearings and I even took a series of photos of a bumblebee climbing in a gentian flower and then back out. These are just two of the series.

From the ridge to the final trail up to the peak is the nordic ski area. There were lots of alpine flowers there too, such as this Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea var. occidentalis), the only Pearly Everlasting native to North America. A good close up is found below with another photo of a bumblebee sleeping on one of those alpine flowers. There were two such sleeping bees encountered in the lower nordic area.

The photo above shows a mountain hut found in the nordic ski area and there is a view of First Lake in the photo below with the conifer trees reflected in the water.

The blueberries were in season. The ones on shrubs in the exposed areas along the upper parts of the trail tasted much better. I guess being exposed to the cooler night air made the difference as far as the taste and quality of the fruit. I was eating blueberries as I was hiking along but I did leave plenty for other hikers, and the bears of course! And again, the blue sky, along with some light, wispy clouds was lovely to see.

Here is a lovely view of the scene nearing the summit of the mountain. Looking down you see Burnaby Mountain off in the distance. North Vancouver is just ahead of that.

I love this view of trees reflected in an alpine pond (or lake they might say). Then there is a view to the west through the trees. The final photo shows a view of the Lions, a mountain to the north, as seen from Hollyburn Peak. I hope you've enjoyed these images of a hike taken in mid-August of this year. Feel free to comment or ask any questions you like. - V.