Enchanting Essex

Tag: poetry

  • The Traveling Weigela

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    A Weigela with a very special story: We had a spectacularly beautiful Weigela tree. In three of our gardens! It began life as an Oldfashioned Weigela shrub but my friend Theresa’s dad grafted it onto a sapling and created a Standard Weigela for me. We had it in the gardens of three homes – first…

  • The Flower Hour #48: STUViewing In Essex County

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    STUViewing In Essex County The woods awake in April showers,To host a quirky hour of flowers.First Springbeauty wakes up bright,To carpet forest floors in white.Then nodding Trillium takes the cue,With triple petals, clean and true. But look! A strange, inverted sight:An “Upsidasy”—blooming, right?She grew askew, head to the dirt,A cheeky, woodland floral flirt!Thank goodness Valerian…

  • Lanterns of Shade

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    Tuberous begonias are what is known as tender perennials, meaning that they can survive for many years, just not in our freezing winter temperatures. Rather than overwintering them indoors, many Canadian gardeners (me!) consider them to be annuals, and every spring when the garden centres reopen, treat ourselves to new ones. These beauties are a…

  • Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: Mother and Daughter

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    This is a a Peace Rose blossom and yes, I know it looks oddly “peachy” in colour for a Peace. My dad had an amazing rose garden at the wee house on Joy Drive — 300+ bushes and 150+ species. The Peace, however was Dad’s favourite, so I’ve planted one in every garden since, for…

  • The Sapphire Tangled Ribbon

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    Bird Vetch is an herbaceous, non-native, now invasive, perennial of the Pea family. Its purple flowers have a “wing” on each side, hence its common name. Ontario farmers would combine Bird Vetch seed with hay seed, to produce a higher-protein, richer fodder for their cows, ergo its fanciful name, Cow Vetch. Hummingbirds, butterflies and bees…

  • Cheeky Usurper

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    A rogue and uninvited guest makes for the perfect poetic muse. Motherwort is an herbaceous, non-native, invasive (and very pretty) perennial plant in the mint family. Also, colloquially, known as Lion’s Tail. Originally from Central Asia and southeastern Europe, it was brought to North America by Herbalists and Naturopaths because of its supposed efficacy in…

  • Ground-Level Geometry

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    Here in southwestern Ontario, the normal blooming time for Sweet Woodruff is from May to June. The late September frost is no longer miles away, but here it is, a small four-pointed star holding onto the hem of the season. She absolutely is a little warrior! September is a massive stretch past her usual June…

  • Summer’s Ruffled Gowns

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    The Peonies most of us enjoy in our gardens came to North America from China, making them non-native, herbaceous, perennials. They’re one of the showiest flowers in most gardens and, ‘though the individual blooms have a relatively short lifespan, the overall display on a single mature plant often lasts a full month. Two Fun Facts:…

  • Graceful Line

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    Goosenecks are an herbaceous, hardy, non-native perennial of the Primrose family. In the Victorian language of flowers, Goosenecks symbolise peace and tranquility. We were gifted a pot of these beauties for our new garden when we moved into our home on Frei Street. It wasn’t long ’til they filled the entire flowerbed along one side…

  • Ode to a Mosquito

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    We had an interesting but unpleasant experience today. It was mid-afternoon, we were sitting outside enjoying the forest behind us, it was not damp, neither was it sunset time, yet we were suddenly bombarded by Asian Tiger Mosquitoes. And they were biting. Ode to a Mosquito A striped little monster from Hell,Decided that mid-day went…

  • The Flower Hour #47: The Sunflowers

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    Fun Fact: Vincent van Gogh is probably most well-known for his paintings of sunflowers. Indeed, they were a “lure” of sorts, for his good friend Paul Gauguin. When Van Gogh rented his famous “Yellow House” in Arles, France, in 1888, he desperately wanted to create a communal artist colony. To that end, he invited the…

  • Vetchling’s Variation

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    There’s no happier surprise than to walk out to our garden in springtime and see a clump of Vetchlings in full, glorious bloom. Spring Vetchling is an herbaceous perennial in the legume (pea) family. It is native to European and Siberian woodlands. A couple of fun facts: This beauty is a self-feeding phenom! Its roots…

  • Great Garden Showdown

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    Great Garden Showdown Rozanne is a sprawler, a lazy-day queen,The longest-lived bloomer you ever have seen!She lounges in borders, her purple eyes bright,And hogs all the sunlight from morning till night. But Rock Cranesbill scoffs from her cracks in the stone,And rules her dry kingdom completely alone!With leaves smelling sweet and magenta so loud,She doesn’t…

  • Pecking Order

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    Pecking Order [Or the beach drama of the Killdeer, the Seagull, and the Turkey Vulture.] I witnessed a power struggle between a Turkey Vulture, a Seagull, and a Killdeer—three very differently sized species—all vying for some meat off a dead fish that had washed ashore. This took place on the wee beach at the Port…

  • Starlight in the Shifting Shade

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    The wild or Woodland Forget-me-not is an herbaceous, non-native perennial of the Borage family. An element of Henry VIII’s official emblem, this miniature beauty was brought to North America by European (primarily British) pioneers. We’ve now lived here four full years and this week, for the first time, I caught sight of some flashes of…

  • Winsome Wisteria

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    Way back in the early 2010s, and after much thought and debate, we resolved that Cam ought to request early retirement.  His pension had fully vested and, prior to Cam, the Perrault men had all died around age 70 due to one form or another of heart disease.  We wanted more than five years together. …

  • I Love Daisies

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    I love daisies.  They’re so friendly.Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flower?* One of the first things I noticed when we moved to south-west Ontario is the distinct lack of wild Daisies.  Everywhere else in our province, they dominate roadsides, meadows — virtually everywhere that wildflowers grow.  But not here.  And I am a…

  • The Bee’s Teacup

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    Cup Plant is an herbaceous, native, hardy perennial in the Daisy family. These beauties adorn the meadow beneath the Caldwell First Nations’ Boardwalk from August to September. Fun Fact: Cup Plant is fancifully known as the Indigenous “Chewing Gum”. The Anishinaabe peoples (including the Chippewa/Ojibwe, of which the Caldwell First Nation is a part) historically…

  • The Flower Hour #46: PQR – One of Each

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    A single little wildflower standing bright and free,Is all the floral beauty our Flower Hour needs from me! Fun Fact:  Because it blooms early in the spring, it is a critical food source for butterflies, when many other plants are still dormant, specifically Swallowtail Butterflies. Fun Fact:  Legend says Queen Anne pricked her finger with…

  • Amethyst and Emerald

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    Swamp Vervain is an herbaceous perennial of the Verbena family.  It is native to Ontario, thriving in our province’s natural wetlands and wet meadows and along stream banks.   Juncos, Cardinals, and Sparrows eat the flower’s seeds and rabbits eat the leaves.  Amethyst and Emerald Where emerald reeds catch the breeze,And marshlands dip to muddy…

  • Rosy Crowns

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    Swamp Milkweed is an herbaceous, native, water-loving perennial of the Milkweed family.  In fact, it is a highly beneficial  plant that has belonged to Ontario’s wetlands, shorelines, and wet meadows for thousands of years.  Today’s pictures are all from the Pannes at Presqu’ile.  The freshwater pannes at Presqu’ile Provincial Park are a globally significant and…

  • Sunday Stills: It’s National #Beach Day— Inland Seas and the Wandering Heart

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    Whether it’s been playing and frolicking with family or slow, introspective walks alone, I’ve spent many an enjoyable hour on a beach — with or without my camera.  I’ve found sea glass, shells — even a perfect starfish on Clearwater Beach — driftwood, glass bottles (no messages), and so much more. I enjoy my beach…

  • Rust and Red

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    Rust and Red Old and rusty, dressed in red,A peaceful field its favourite bed.With a rumbling heart and a steady drive,Doug’s vintage Massey thirty-five. It’s worked the soil and felt the sun,A lifetime’s work that’s never done.Though years have given it a weathered grace,No newer tractor could take its place. ’Til next time, y’all…

  • The Flower Hour #45: Absolutely no advice whatsoever from the Wild Sunflowers of Essex County!

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    Here in Essex County we have three varieties of wild sunflowers: Woodland or Rough Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus): Sunchoke or Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus): False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides): At this time of year there are glorious, orangish-yellow pops of colour seemingly everywhere – roadsides, meadows, woodlands — you simply cannot escape their vibrant beauty (and why…

  • The Faerie’s Bonnet

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    Columbines — both the wild and garden varieties — are herbaceous perennials of the Buttercup family.  The only species native to Ontario is the Canada or Wild Columbine: This is the species I grew up knowing and loving.  They grow everywhere in the wild — meadows, woodlands, stream banks, and roadsides.  Its flowers are a…