The Nature of Things

What’s In A Name

June 1, 2013 · Filed under humor, life, nature, photography · Tagged colors, flowers, garden, names

I’ve always been intrigued by the fascinating names that are given to the different species of hybrid garden flowers and none more so than those of the stately iris family.

I have currently appearing in the garden such soubriquets as Superstition, Pink Horizon, Blue Staccato, Love The Sun and, one name of which I’m particularly fond, Pass the Wine.

Several years ago I was attending an iris show and sale at the Botanic Gardens and was immediately drawn to a specimen with the unprepossessing name of Ozone Alert. I bought it because I felt sorry for it, I suppose. I couldn’t help but wonder why anyone would go to the trouble of cultivating a bloom (any flower, to my mind, is a miracle of nature) and name it something so depressing.

I took the shriveled-looking rhizome home with me and tenderly planted it in what I hoped would be a good spot. I’m not an expert gardener and don’t necessarily follow the prescribed method for growing prize-winning blooms so it’s always a bit of a hit and miss thing whether anything will survive in the garden long enough to actually flower, and of course there are always those darned rabbits with which to contend, but the following year I was gratified to see one or two healthy looking buds and eagerly awaited their opening.

The result wasn’t extravagantly colorful, I have to admit, but it had a delicate hue that wasn’t altogether unpleasing and I could think of plenty more flattering names that would have described this unpretentious beauty without falsely advertising its somewhat uncertain qualities. Subtle Secret or Mysterious Maiden for instance. I mean, after all, give a girl a break! Ozone Alert! What kind of a name is that!

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The Remnants of Summer

September 20, 2012 · Filed under life, nature, photography · Tagged birds, flowers, summer

I knew it was time to wave goodbye to summer when I saw frost on the neighbor’s roof early yesterday morning. Where did those months go! It seems like only yesterday that we were bidding farewell to winter. Because the weather has been so hot for the past few months I feel like I’ve been doing nothing but languishing in the air-conditioned comfort of the house, achieving little in the way of outdoor activities such as gardening and walking.

Thankfully the dahlias in our garden, Tahiti Sunrise and Wanda’s Aurora pictured above, and the gigantic Croydon Masterpiece and Spartacus shown below, survived the heat and have given the place a splash of color if you don’t count the brown of the lawn which is, in many places, scorched beyond hope and the green of the weeds that took advantage of my absence.

At the Chicago Botanic Garden I caught a glimpse of an egret as it waded about looking for something to eat. I expect they are already making their way south. This one didn’t stay for too long, probably mindful of the long journey ahead.

There are still plenty of flowers at the Garden but these sunflowers particularly caught my eye; their last hurrah before Autumn takes hold.

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Angry Birds….Really Angry Birds

August 21, 2012 · Filed under humor, life, nature, photography · Tagged birds, swans, wildlife

Whilst taking a walk around the Botanic Gardens the other day, I came across a family of swans paddling about among the water lilies. As usually happens when I have the camera with me, they were too far away to get any kind of clear picture so I contented myself by just watching from a distance. There were two adults and three young ones, the older birds vigilant against any danger that might threaten their brood.

As I observed them, two things happened. A cormorant landed in the water near where they were swimming and a third adult swan arrived and began cruising around at what he considered to be a safe distance, nearer to where I was positioned.

The cormorant was the first one to get it in the neck! If you click on the picture above you’ll get a clearer view of what happened. He had just taken a dive underwater when the larger of the two parent swans flapped across the surface with wings outstretched and began beating the water as though trying to prevent the intruder from resurfacing. After a minute or so the cormorant bobbed up behind the swan and, no doubt blowing his adversary the proverbial raspberry, paddled off, discretion being the better part of valor.

It was then that the victor spotted the third adult swan and, gathering his family together, sailed over towards the bridge upon which I was standing and under which the object of his by now boiling temper was hiding. The third swan decided to head for the hills and I watched him as he waded ashore and took cover behind a clump of reeds or some such.

While all this was going on, another lady who had also been watching the preceding scene play out, walked down to the water’s edge, her camera poised ready to catch a prize-winning shot. Now I may not know a lot about the intricacies of wildlife behavior but I do know that you don’t bother a swan when it’s mad especially when there are young ones about. There was a case, not too long ago, in our local paper, about a man in a kayak who had been drowned after a swan attacked him and knocked him out of the boat and I also remember tales that my grandmother, who lived near the river Thames, had told me about people suffering broken arms and legs as a result of swan attacks so I remained on the bridge in what I hoped was well out of harm’s way.

As the swan family drew nearer, the adults began that honking noise they make when they’re really getting aggravated. I think the lady finally got the hint when their fearless leader started opening his wings and began climbing out of the water with his mate lining up behind him in case he needed assistance, and she beat a hasty retreat while the third swan joined her as they both headed for the path and safety.

I imagine if the father or mother (I’m not sure who the major player was in this drama) had been able to, he or she would have dusted off their hands, adjusted their cuffs and said “Well, that’s taken care of them!” As it was, the two birds returned to their offspring and nonchalantly paddled off.

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Rain At Last!

July 19, 2012 · Filed under life, nature, photography · Tagged bees, birds, flowers, garden, summer

The first significant downfall of rain that we’ve had in the past few weeks and, all of a sudden, everything is going berserk out there!

It’s been pretty quiet in the garden during these hot, arid summer days. Apparently I’m not the only one to feel lethargic when the heat is on. But now, the birds are chirping like crazy and the bees and other insects have come out of hiding and are getting on with whatever it is bugs do.

Weeds seem to have popped up overnight and even the parched perennials look as though they may live to fight another day although the flowers, for the most part, are done. The dahlias, thanks to a little judicious watering, are holding their own so I’m hopeful that we will at least be able to look forward to those blooms a bit later in the season.

It’s still cloudy so we may not have seen the last of the rain yet, but 90 degree temps are in the forecast for the next week at least, so I don’t anticipate being able to do much out in the garden for a while. It’s weather like this that makes me look forward to Autumn!

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The Buehler Enabling Garden

July 11, 2012 · Filed under family, life, nature, photography · Tagged Chicago Botanic Garden, Enabling Garden, flowers, music

Despite the fact that I’m in the process of downsizing my garden, I couldn’t imagine how awful it would be, not to be able to do gardening of some kind, for whatever reason.

Although my Mum lost most of her eyesight when she got older, she loved to potter about in the garden and particularly loved the flowers that had a strong fragrance. That made it easy for her to recognize the plants even if she couldn’t see them properly. She was lucky that she was still able to get about under her own steam in the garden but there are many people who are not so fortunate and the Buehler Enabling Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden has some wonderful ideas for those folks who still want to enjoy the pleasures of gardening even if things are a little bit more challenging for them.

The Buehler Enabling Garden is a hands-on garden that encourages people of all ages and abilities to participate and is a major learning center for horticultural therapy programs.

Raised flower beds, vertical wall gardens and hanging baskets make it easier to reach the plants in order to tend them, and for the visually impaired there are beds marked out in squares where many textured plants are grown. The more than 3,000 plants in the Enabling Garden were chosen for their appeal to multiple senses so texture and perfume are important.

As with so many areas in the Chicago Botanic Garden, water plays an important role in the Enabling Garden. Fountains and pools are easily accessible and there are two uniquely designed water walls.

The Tool Shed provides information and has resources and tools to help make gardening chores easier, while trained volunteers are on hand to assist with your enquiries.

Just down the path from the Enabling Garden is the McGinley Pavilion where on Tuesday mornings during the summer months The Botanic Garden hosts free concerts. Playing this week were Strings of Silk, a violin/guitar duo featuring Jennifer Silk playing violin, and very pleasant it was too, sitting in the shade of the pavilion’s awning, wafted by a gentle breeze coming off the lake, surrounded by spectacular gardens while listening to beautiful music. Definitely a treat for the senses.

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Heat Relief

July 8, 2012 · Filed under life, nature, photography · Tagged drought, flowers, garden, heat, summer

Finally we’ve received some much welcome relief from the heat wave that has been hovering over us for the past week or so. Although it’s still in the 80′s, that’s a lot better than the 100+ temps that we had for three days straight.

No rain, however, and everything in the garden is pretty much fried to a crisp, but still there are signs of life. One or two of the hardier plants such as the White Swan Echinacea and purple coneflower are hanging on for dear life and I refuse to give up hope that we will again see some lush growth out there once the rains come.

Before the drought we had some very nice daylilies, Red Magic, Stella De Oro and Raspberry Pixie as well as the Sentimental Journey and Cascade Queen lilies. Now I’m pinning all my hopes on the dahlias that I planted earlier in the spring.

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The English Walled Garden

June 21, 2012 · Filed under family, life, nature, photography · Tagged Chicago Botanic Garden, English garden, flowers

The English Walled Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden was created by English landscape designer John Brookes and dedicated in 1991.

It consists of five distinct ‘rooms’ the smallest of which is the secluded courtyard garden.

The sunny Daisy Garden is enclosed by yew hedges and paved with crushed terra cotta stone walkways. Here you will find every kind of daisy-like flower in bloom. Bright sunflowers, coreopsis and rudbeckia surround a central, raised stone urn and there are plenty of wooden seats around the perimeter of the garden so you can stop to rest and take in the scenery. Stone steps lead down to the Vista Garden.

This area of the English Walled Garden is designed around an octagonal pool surrounded by bluestone terraces and in the corner of this ‘room’ is a pepper pot hideaway which offers a beautiful view looking out over The Great Basin towards Evening Island.

In the Pergola Garden wisteria hangs from the wooden arbors and stone columns while a fountain plays in the circular pool. This seems to be a favorite spot for artists as we often used to see them sketching or painting there.

From a seat by the pool you can see the Cottage Garden. Here the design changes dramatically to that of a somewhat free-and-easy mixture of fruit, vegetables, herbs and perennials interspersed with brick walkways, stone troughs and containers.

Along the outside of the western wall is a border filled with bulbs, perennials, annuals and shrubs. The color and variety of the flowers is gorgeous and often attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.

This was always Mum’s favorite part of the Botanic Garden probably because of its associations with our home back in England where there were many such beautiful gardens, and she would very often sit here while I walked around taking photos.