Category Archives: Rocky Mountains

(Wild)flowery Friday.

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In around the packing for our move across the city, the brutally lengthy commute, and working at a new location (not to mention, utterly failing to reply to the thoughtful, wonderful blog comments people have left or find the time to read anyone else’s blog entries) , there have been few spare moments to do any hiking or wildflower hunting this spring…and I’m dearly missing getting out.  My hubby and I did manage a whirlwind couple of orchid-hunting trips a couple of weeks ago, first to a spot we know southwest of the city, near the mountains, to look for calypso (or fairy slipper) orchids.  We found a scarce few, and I hope it was just a timing thing, because their numbers were sorely depleted from our last visit in spring 2015 (when I took the above photo).

Later in the same week, we went out to a place in the foothills of the Rockies, and scoped out the brilliant yellow lady’s slippers I mention here.  In this place, this year, the orchids had spread abundantly – a fantastic sign!

Speaking of lady’s slipper orchids, I recently came across a great article about the pollination and seed development of these gorgeous plants.  Enjoy the interesting read here.

Hopefully things will settle down in the next month or so and I can catch up with all of you very soon!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Flowery Friday.

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Yet another week of not-spring has gone by…but I’m feeling optimistic. Looking very forward to sunshine-filled summer hiking trips and a possible sighting of this fascinating Alberta wildflower, striped coralroot (Corallorhiza striata). To find out why this plant isn’t green, check out a previous post I did about coralroots way back in 2013.

Enjoy your weekend!  What projects are you working on (gardening or otherwise)?

Flowery Friday.

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Today’s flower is an interesting one (and a native, to boot!) – woolly gromwell (Lithospermum ruderale).  According to Plants of Alberta (France Rover, Richard Dickinson), there are only thirty species of the Borage family growing wild in Alberta, of which this is one. In early summer, the west slopes of Nose Hill here in Calgary are dotted with these strange spiky-leaved plants, in full bloom.

What ruderal plants are common where you live?  I always think of fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium, syn. Chamerion angustifolium) – in mid-summer, it is simply spectacular in roadside ditches and in mountain meadows.

Alberta snapshot: Wintour snowshoe.

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Amazing views, bright sunshine, and perfect crystalline snow made this snowshoeing trip to the winter road in Kananaskis a few weekends ago a real treat.

 

(Wild)flowery Friday.

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These sweet little yellow columbines (Aquilegia flavescens) make me smile whenever I come across them. This one caught my eye last June while out at Grotto Mountain, and the photo is an absolute bright spot for me on this snowy, blustery day in January.

I hope everyone had a joyful holiday season and that the start of 2017 has been good to you!  I will be taking a hiatus from Flowery Prose at least until the end of January and possibly until mid-February to tackle a bunch of projects…I look forward to catching up with all of you then!

Alberta snapshot: Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park.

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The leaves are turning so quickly this year!  (And falling, too). I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise…we had summer-hot weather in April and May, and the whole growing season felt completely accelerated.

Hope you have some time to get outside and enjoy someplace beautiful this weekend!

 

Lebel Mansion Rose Garden.

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On a recent trip to Pincher Creek, Alberta, it was absolutely imperative that we stop at the historical Lebel Mansion and view the rose garden created and maintained by the Oldman Rose Society. It was a good thing there weren’t any other visitors, as I couldn’t stop making appreciative “ooh” and “ahh” noises. Also, I may have drooled a little.

A few highlights:

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‘Never Alone’ 

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‘Prairie Snowdrift’

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‘Campfire’

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‘Morden Snow Beauty’ 

And here is the beautiful mansion, built in 1910 by a local merchant named Timothee Lebel. He lived there until 1924, when he donated the building to a religious order and it became a hospital. It now houses an art gallery and several studios for artists.

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