On a beautiful spring day, gardens are usually the best places to be, and plenty of people were proving that this past weekend at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, Ontario. We were notified that, because of the unseasonable warm stretch we enjoyed for the better part of a week, the ornamental cherry trees and the magnolias in the Arboretum were blooming in full force. Neither of these flowers last very long, so the window to catch them is brief — almost impossible to plan a visit if you’re not within easy driving distance, but as my hubby and I are, we were able to make the pilgrimage.
To be honest, I prefer the cherry blossoms in the Niagara area, which are very pretty shades of pink, but the masses of pink-tinged white blossoms at the RBG are lovely as well.
Personally, I felt the magnolias stole the show, though. While they seem like a fragile flower, judging by how quickly they pass and fall off, apparently the magnolia is one of the oldest plant species existing today — they’ve been found in fossil records as far back as 100 million years ago. There are about 80 different species, and today they’re indigenous in only two places in the world, southern China and the southern U.S. Here in Ontario I think we’re the most northern spot where these warmer-zone plants will grow. There are a number of them on the street where I live, the typical small-tree version that’s ubiquitous in local yards, but the trees at the RBG towered over us, creating a dream-like canopy of lush white blooms.
But enough of the branches hung toward the ground with their heavy flowers to be able to see and sniff them close up, which many visitors took advantage of.
Something else has been blossoming over the past few days: my new Facebook page. I hope you’ll take the time to check it out and sign up to follow it for daily updates, news about the launch for Through the Monster-glass, sneak previews of the cover and more fun tidbits. I’m still getting it rolling, but if there’s anything you’d like to see on the page, do drop me a comment to let me know. Since the weekend I’ve been honouring Earth Week, leading up to Earth Day on April 22, with photos of some of the many beautiful things on our planet; I hope you enjoy them.
All photos were taken by me and all rights are reserved. E. Jurus