bloomin' 'eck!

The recent heat wave we've been experiencing has helped push this Century Plant through a sudden and unexpected growth spurt. A hole had to be cut through the roof of the conservatory at Allan Gardens (Toronto) in late March as the plant reached the glass ceiling. Almost half of its 15' (4.5metres) is outside the greenhouse.

The 75 year old agave actually bloomed a week ago and now is waning, but is still pretty impressive. if you want to see it though, you'd better hurry

Within a couple of weeks it will die and already the leaves at the base are shrivelling and collapsed. The stalk will eventually turn brown and then be cut at the base. 

WhimsicalWindows

Royal Botanical Gardens

The Royal Botanical Gardens is a 980 hectare nature sanctuary that straddles Burlington and Hamilton and is part of the Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve. It was modelled after Kew Gardens in London to be both a botanical tourist site and a conservation area. There are all kinds of plants and birds and reptiles to be found within its several gardens - the Mediterranean Garden, Hendrie Park, Laking Garden, The Arboretum, Cootes Paradise, and my personal favourite, The Rock Garden.

There is some argument whether Burlington's RBG or Rochester's Highland Park has the world's largest collection of lilacs. (hint, it is RBG)

It has just about something for everyone from music, tea houses, walks, art, exhibits, trees and flowers.

Regrettably though, what it does not have is






THE TITAN ARUM

which bloomed early this morning!
are you getting tired of me rambling on about this thing?

I had an email alert that the second rotten smelling 'corpse flower' had bloomed early this morning, so as soon as I finished work, I raced - no, I did not race on the highway - I roared through the beginning of rush hour traffic to experience it for myself. Just for the record, this is an extremely rare event. These flowers, nicknamed Morphy and Clive, are only the 150th and 151st in the world to ever bloom in cultivation (and the first in Canada)

The smell was not as bad as I feared, though there was one corner where I guess the air was not circulating as freely and it was rather ... rank. but seriously, a skunk smells much, much worse.

Apparently, within 20 minutes of opening, the spike, or (spadix, which is hollow), had started to fall over

and even as I was there (for about an hour) you could actually see the blood red petal wilting. The bloom lasts literally for only a few hours

the remains of the first flower that bloomed on May 5th is in the back.

I already posted previous pictures when I was in Niagara Falls to see it here and here 

it was all quite exciting. really.

although you might want to rub your face in some sweet smelling lilacs after your visit.

ABCWednesday

where I play tourist, part one

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine got in touch and floated the idea of us going on holiday together. When you don't work in a job that requires you to take vacation time you sometimes forget to actually make plans. It would be nice to have someone to have dinner with. To share the experience with and compare stories when we wandered off on our own. So, with a little back and forth and sharing of ideas, we had a booking. A Mediterranean cruise! It took about 2 days. We have never travelled together, so this could be quite the experience. My friend, X, is very good at the research; I am much more free spirited and will just wander and see what happens. Neither of us is particularly interested in seeing the tourist sights, preferring to soak up the local culture (as much as one can in a few hours), but it may be hard to avoid.

So on Friday, I decided I would practice playing tourist. And what better place to practice than Niagara Falls?

Anyway, I wanted to check in on the World's Tallest Flower. The first one bloomed late last Friday night and by Sunday morning the top had fallen over and it had closed up again.. It's younger brother, Clive, has been having quite the growth spurt and has been moved to the front. It is interesting to see the new growth and the decay.

When I was there last week, it was too foggy and dull to bother taking photos, but this time, it was sunny and warm and perfect. (perfect as it was still very early in the season and so not very busy.) I tried to pretend it was my first viewing... it all fell apart when I started giving directions to people. And when I laughed at the people who were amazed to see a rainbow.













But, for you, with a good blog post in mind, I took photos of the Falls. Many, many photos. I even went to the tackiest of spots, Clifton Hill, and took photos. I have never seen so many hotels and themed restaurants in such a small area. The 'fun spots' does not bear thinking about - every kind of thrill seems to scream out at you. It was loud and bright and I bet you are thinking it would have been neat to see at night when everything was all lit up. Yes, it might, but I was not going to hang about that long.

But I did gets lots of pictures of signs. And I found some cheap postcards for Postcrossing.

I did not go up the Skylon Tower or this SkyWheel ferris wheel, though really, it was a perfect clear day for views. Had I really been on holiday, I am sure I would have been tempted.

After wandering down this hill of thrills, I found a lovely quiet park, with a huge green space and perfect views

I had lunch at a restaurant with views...

as you can see, it really was not busy.

part two to follow.....

a different corpse

There has been great anticipation all week. The world's largest flower was about to bloom! There are two Amorphophallus Titanum (aka Corpse Flower) or Titan Arum for short, in the Niagara Greenhouse that is now known as Niagara Floral Showhouse. Every day since Monday last week, the staff tried to give an estimate of when it possibly might open.

As in all things natural, it is not as predictable as one might wish. So, with a day off on Wednesday, I headed off down the peninsula to Niagara Falls to have a look because I thought I wouldn't have time to go back until next Monday and by then it might be too late. This thing only blooms for a couple of days once it has opened. It also grows by inches every day and was, as of Wednesday, up to 93.5" - that is 8'!!

Sadly, it was showing no signs of opening when I got there. They started charging an entrance fee in March but it was only $5 and for an extra $5 you got a seasons pass, so I thought that seemed a good deal, and I may just want to go back.....

Here is my photo of the flower (nicknamed Morphy by the staff) with it's friend in the back at a paltry 35"

with a closer view......

The plant is exceedingly rare and this one will be only the 22nd to ever bloom in a greenhouse. Apparently they can be dormant for years and years without blooming. And since they are indigenous to Sumatra are not widely seen by many people. The two bulb like structures, called corms, were donated to the Niagara Parks Commission by someone in New Hampshire and each weighed 150kg.

Then, by Friday, the smaller of the two plants had a sudden growth spurt and grew a staggering 6 inches after a 5 inch growth the day before

photo from NPC website

The greenhouse has extended its hours to 9:30 PM in honour of the blooming, to accommodate as many people as possible who wish to see it.

Then, just in time for the weekend, and around 10PM on Friday night it opened!

Photo from NPC website

The smell, which has been described as like rotting meat, is apparently at its worst during the first few hours. So most people - including the poor staff at the front desk - will miss that rare peculiarity.

Maybe I will be able to catch the second flowering.

Scarlett and Bianca update...

yes, Scarlett has grown 2" in 2 days!!

and Bianca is ready to explode into blossom any moment

just in case you didn't believe the yardstick!

Scarlett grows a storm

Outside


Inside

Amaryllis One and Two

and I haven't even watered them yet!

I had to play with the brightness and contrast so you could see the first picture more clearly. I had intended to take another when I woke up this afternoon and was shocked! to see how much they had grown in 5 hours. Which, admittedly, isn't as dramatic in the pics as in real life.

So meet Scarlett (right) and Bianca (left)

amaryllis, turtles

At least when Otis sheds, I don't get turtle hairs all over my clothes.

But, we do have to deal with this: HE IS STILL GROWING.

Turtles shed their shells during growth spurts. In anticipation of a lazy hibernation, his body will be busy getting even bigger. Great. He should really be living within his means and that means is a 36x17x15 aquarium.

See that darker square in the centre of his back?

That is where one of these came off.

Something's gotta give, they are like fingernails and very thin and almost transparent. Tortoiseshell ornaments will also peel if they get too dry. But we don't have any of those, do we?!

In other news, it is now official that Lonesome George will have no progeny this time around as all the eggs have been verified as infertile. But, he has to deal with this: another turtle (tortoise, actually) that is 176 years old. Apparently Jonathan posed for a picture with some Boer War soldiers and he has been outed as the oldest of his particular species. Not sure how he was recognized - Boer War? So George could have many more years of interference in his social life.

Every time I hear of aged turtles, I give an inward sigh ... how long will Otis decide to keep growing?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't have a Christmas Tree, but I do have some twigs I decorate. And I have a plant stand I use for poinsettias and storing small gifts on so that as I buy them, I can easily remember what I have bought (yes, I have been known to forget. sad, isn't it?). And this year, I was given an early present of TWO Amaryllis. Now their growth spurts and the way they shoot up with such magnificent majestic blooms are a joy to watch.

I need to find a good spot for a photo shoot to chart their progress.

I also need to pick up some stuff left lying on the floor and get my laundry bag downstairs to the laundry room.