In a recent post, I alluded to my forays into the various gardens at Heritage Park during a morning spent meandering around that venue. You may recall I visited the Taylor Conservatory Botanical Gardens and Goodwill Gardens.
It was a very warm morning, with lots of humidity, just perfect for checking out the beautiful tropical flowers. Even in an outdoor venue like this one, multiple signs encouraged safe practices for COVID-19.
Today I’m going to spotlight some of the beautiful blooms. Later this Summer, I’ll return as they have a garden with purple flowers that the Tiger Swallowtail butterflies adore, but unfortunately that large purple perennial was not ready for prime time yet.
Sigh … hummingbirds remain on my bucket list, just sayin’.
Sadly, Homer, the Hummer has not put in an appearance at my two feeders in a while. I am left feeling like the hot dog vendor who cooks up a bunch of hot dogs and has them on the steam table in his cart, wilting away, while no one shows up. I dutifully make up some fresh sugary brew three times a week in anticipation of a visit, but there have been no sightings. I guess I should have tempered my expectations a little more. With the squirrels, you usually know where you stand – bring peanuts, happy squirrels come running over to greet you. 🙂
In lieu of hummer paradise at the house, I made the long trek from the historical village to the Botanical Gardens, hoping to see a few hummers sipping on nectar in some of their favorite flowers. So, I was happy to find Cannas and Cardinal Flowers already thriving and in bloom – these are like magnets for hummingbirds.
I walked around and around the grounds and through the huge latticework Conservatory. On that moist and humid morning, as beads of sweat began forming on my forehead, I thought “surely a hummer or two would be stopping by these flowers” … but nary a hummingbird, butterfly, or even a bee, was around the entire time I was at the Gardens. Was I giving off bad vibes or something? Hmm.
Roses – beautiful blooms which smelled heavenly!
The roses here at the Botanical Gardens are always plentiful (and a good way to practice using the “flower setting” on my camera). I gazed at these beautiful blooms and bemoaned my poor red Home Run Shrub Rosebushes, which are just limping along, despite copious amounts of fertilizer in the form of spikes, liquid feed and magic organic nuggets sprinkled around the base of the bushes. Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, they bloom, between the dead canes, so as long as they show a sign of life, I will nurture them as best I can.
As to the roses at this venue, I saw them in every color, but these were my favorites.
The annuals were all the colors of the rainbow as well.
I could have taken another 50 shots of the miscellaneous and sundry annuals, including the petunias that were overflowing out of pots and trailing toward the ground; these were the most gorgeous in my opinion. This planter, just like the header image, screams out “Summertime” doesn’t it?
There was a plethora of purple and yellow flowers, a glorious combination whether paired or on their own.
This venue was decked out for the 4th of July.
Yes, it seems hard to believe that the Independence Day holiday was only two weeks ago. If you’re like me, you may feel that once 4th of July has passed, in a four-season state the days begin to shorten ever so slightly as we now begin our slow crawl toward Winter. Ugh! It was a festive atmosphere at the Gardens with the patriotic swag marking the 244th birthday of the U.S.A. and interspersed between the colorful annuals. While there were no sparklers, loud kabooms, nor cake and ice cream, there was a flavor for the Fourth as you see below.
My next pit stop was at the Community Gardens and I’ll tell that tale in Friday’s post.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Looking forward to hearing about it. When you go back here soon again they may have different plants, too.
I’m seeing more and more kinds wherever I go…
Love, light and glitter
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Well Friday’s post will be all about the community gardens – they are mostly veggies, but I will be getting back there to try and get some butterflies and hopefully hummingbirds. In a few weeks, the lotuses will be blooming at Lake Erie Metropark. Given all the hot days, they likely are already in bud. I was at another marshy area last Sunday and the pads were already huge, so any time now. They are gorgeous and at Lake Erie Metropark it is one of the largest water lotus beds in the state.
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What an assortment of flowers all in one spot. I really need to find a spot like that around here. I could spend a long time at something like that. It must have smelled wonderful also. I know summer has a lot of hot weather, but the flowers this year have been so gorgeous.
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Yes, it is gorgeous and in another month, there will be more perennials and the cardinal flowers should be climbing up and over the lattice part of the Conservatory. The photos I showed you last year, showed them climbing like a clematis or trumpet vine. It does smell wonderful with all the roses, especially when it is so moist in the humid morning.
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It stretched my mind to see all those beautiful flowers while remembering the awful weather you had last winter. Miraculous!
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It is amazing isn’t it and if you remember what it looked like there in my Valentine’s Day weekend post – well, lots of perennials covered in ice and snow. They don’t cover them up – I babied my perennials and still lost them!!
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Your plants were ungrateful.
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Ha ha – I like that idea, rather than blaming the gardener. My red roses are awful. With all the hot weather and then all the rain – every time we get rain, we get an inch of torrential rain, the roses should look better. I’m disgusted with them.
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Our two rose bushes are looking pretty good. We don’t deserve them. I wish yours were better.
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That’s nice of you to say that Anne. I was willing to work with them when I had the few buds, but using three types of fertilizer and they look worse than when I started. Meanwhile, the shamrock bulbs the woman sent me from North Carolina from her garden, have finally got some leaves … I put lots of fertilizer on them as well and they were not going anywhere, as the squirrels dug them up three times!
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Beautiful flowers! They are a match for animal baby pictures. Hard to say which I like better!
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Yes it is gorgeous to walk around there and it’s not even the height of the blooms yet – that will be in late August. I have to get to Lake Erie Metropark to see the water lotuses in the next few weeks. I suspect this heat wave may have them blooming earlier than usual. They are beautiful and the largest lotus bed in the state., two and five acres respectively.
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Lotuses are beautiful! I’d love one in my pond but they are too big.
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They sure are beautiful and some of the ones there are so big they rise at least one foot above the pad. I took an interpretive cruise at that park and the lotuses were out at that time. We were told it was illegal with a huge fine for taking any of the seeds, especially a pod with seeds – I was amazed at that. You could only reach them by boat as you can’t swim in that part of Lake Erie.
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Wow! You can’t even take a seed!
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No, not a single seed Kate. On the interpretive trip, it was suggested if we wanted the pods with the seeds (which look like marbles), we should go to Michaels and buy them there. Those are real, but collected from a place where they have plenty and no fine is imposed.
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You also don’t know what you are getting.
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Yes, for all you know it has some type of contamination on it – like here in Michigan we get PFAS in the water so no fishing or no swimming as it is contaminated, or we have heat spikes and the water gets algae and we get botulism outbreaks. We lost a lot of waterfowl one year due to the contaminated algae bloom.
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Miss Linda……………………………..I haven’t seen any Hummingbirds at my feeder either so far!!!………………..unless they are coming when I’m not looking……………………………..georgeous flowers……………………………………you wrote this blog at 4:50??am ?….wow
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Hi Ann Marie – I didn’t know you had a feeder … you never mentioned it to me before. This is the first year for me with the hummer feeders. I hope they come when I’m not looking and not making sugar water for the fun of it. 🙂 Those flowers were really nice. I follow the Botanical Gardens on Facebook and they mentioned the 4th of July display, so I went up the next day before they took it down. No, I wrote it last week to publish this morning. There will be another post on Friday about the Community Gardens and Good Will Gardens. I have not been doing any more same-day-as-I-went posts as this way is easier and not so rushed.
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Definitely a lot of variety there….I enjoyed the rainbow colors, but not sure I could have handled the tropical atmosphere on such a hot day!
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Yes, and it is not the height of blooming season yet – that will be in late August, even early September. I was there last Labor Day and that cardinal flower vine was covering the entire top of the conservatory. They said it is almost invasive as it spread quickly but they have it as it draws hummers like a magnet. It was very tropical feeling that day – I was worn out when I got home.
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PS. Good title too – I remember the song by Ricky Nelson.
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I liked that song Joni – glad you remembered it. I wondered if anyone would. I started to put “to reminisce with some old friends” but they forgot to show up: bees, butterflies and hummers. But I left it out. I saw butterflies the day before in the park near my house and took photos – they will be this Wednesday, but no butterflies amidst all the beautiful flowers.
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Ah, you should have put the lyrics it in as it would have been cute. Sorry, I haven’t replied to your email yet….I worked on another blog draft today so I have a few ahead, and have appointments the next two days…..will try for Thursday.
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I also wondered how many people would have recognized the lyrics I used as a title, let along the first line of the song. Song titles are fun for titles sometimes. Really -don’t worry about it … it was just responding to your e-mail and mostly FYI stuff. I don’t think I’m going to make it to Reader tonight.
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You never know…..I find most of my followers are around my age?
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I should have gone for it then Joni. I had it in there and said “nah, people will think I not only think squirrels are friends, now I’m counting hummingbirds, bees and butterflies too!”
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Your photos of the flowers are amazingly colorful. So cheerful. I don’t know that I’d put that many flags in one place, but they do make a statement. I agree, the Fourth of July seems like it was months ago.
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Thanks Ally – they will be more colorful and plentiful in another month’s time. I follow the Botanical Gardens on Facebook and saw they decked it out for the 4th, so I went there the following day. They don’t usually decorate except Christmas lights on the Conservatory. They have weddings and concerts in the pavilion area so it was similarly decked out with lots of swag, but I didn’t take pictures of that.
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Sorry Homer has been a no-show, Linda. I never had very much luck attracting hummingbirds either. My son who lives in Colorado has some hummingbird feeders up and they look like Grand Central Station. Several different types of hummingbirds, all whizzing around getting that sugar water.
Thanks for sharing the flower pictures with us. I love to view and take photos of flowers. They don’t move around as much as the wildlife you usually feature! 🙂
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My next-door neighbor had the bigger feeders and the hummers used to swarm around each of the feeders. I have just seen Homer once or twice, but not in several weeks now. I blamed his absence at the feeder on feasting on my neighbor’s peony bushes, but they are done blooming now. I went on a few hummer websites and they recommended putting some surveyor’s red tape out by tying it near the feeder, so I did that to lure in a few more.
Yes, you’re right Laurie – you can take all the time in the world when taking photos of flowers. No rush before they fly or scurry away. 🙂
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WOW so many beautiful pictures! I would have been in heaven to see them all! Thanks for sharing this it was very uplifting Linda!
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Glad you liked this post Diane – so many blooms to see. There will be more as some of their perennials were not in bloom yet and that cardinal flower vine had not climbed much yet – I will go back in August and September as well to get more photos (and, if lucky, maybe a hummingbird pic).
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Oh Linda – what a garden delight!
And the roses might e my fav of this post…
They are not my favorite flower but your series of photos showed why this is a top flower do so many!!
And I liked all the photos And your experience – and feel all lifted Up now
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Glad to give you a smile and lift you up about the beautiful blooms in this post Yvette. It is really a nice venue and it will be even better when all the rest of the perennials are out. I was amazed to see no butterflies or bees that day, but a couple of blocks from where I live is a garden that is tended to by volunteers. A few decades ago, some older women planted a rose garden – many rosebushes and put them in an area separated by a gate and fence, so only these ladies went in there with the key. Then they stopped going – the roses got raggedy and unkempt. About a decade ago, a group of volunteers started taking care of the garden again, planted Milkweed and lots of perennials. So I walked over there about ten days ago – bright orange flowers (I think they are Lantana) everywhere and a Monarch and Tiger Swallowtail. I was in my glory. They are the subject of today’s Wordless Wednesday post.
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I will check out the post.
And the only sad thing about gardeners that excel with roses is that when they leave – they can leave a huge hole.
Our first house had rose shrubs out front and I killed a few before I learned what they needed.
And to be honest, I never quite really found a groove and in the five years we lived there, the ones that did survive looked “so-so” – ha
then the next owner took out everything – even removed the tree in front yard.
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and that story about the small group of women who tend the rose garden was a good one. I bet that area was surely a treat for the entire neighborhood.
and now the revamp sounds nice. and I LOVE lantana – 🙂
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When I first started growing roses, I bought tea roses as I thought they were pretty and delicate – they were delicate all right. It took forever to get a bud and then if we had a strong wind, they open and petals would be strewn around the ground. I thought they looked sickly on top of it, so I tried shrub roses instead. I’ve been pretty lucky with them, except this year they look bad – I already revived them after the 2014 Polar Vortex by cutting them down to the ground, but this year they did not rally back. I’l try cutting them to one foot tall next Spring and if that doesn’t work, I’ll pull them out.
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Well it sounds like you have had a good number of years to explore different roses. I hope you do not have to pull them out- but I guess time will tell.
When I was visiting my cousins (from a distance) – they have a few rose shrubs that were thin – but so healthy – and they seemed so hearty and not all fussy like roses tend to be – well he was doing something right…
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hope you are having a nice month of August so far – 🙂
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I hope I can get them revived again Yvette … they were very hardy and bloomed like crazy but no longer and my neighbor’s big white fence, cuts off the sun on top of it so that compromises them a little as well. So far, so good for August and I have been walking my socks off as it’s no telling how the balance of the year will pan out weather-wise. We had a mild Winter last year and I’m guessing we would not be lucky enough to have that type of Winter two years in a row. Welcome back from your blogging break!
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thanks – it is nice to be back although I might still be easing slowly into a new routine.
and I must say though – i LOVE blogging and it is nice to come back to it
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good day and looking forward to following ow the roses do
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Yes, easing in is best. I love blogging too – it is a commitment and labor of love both. I hope they don’t disappoint … I used three types of rose fertilizer on them, but they don’t look good. I am planning to cut them to the ground and see if that helps but they have a lot of dead canes in them. I hurt my finger last year when I shut it in the garage door and bruised it badly when I smashed it. So I didn’t do anything with them most of the Summer of 2019.
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☀️🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
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Lookin forward to hearing about community gardens but might be late reading it after you post it on Friday
Have a good rest of the week my friend
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Thanks Yvette – I try to catch up every night but still have been about a day or so behind. Some bloggers are overseas or on Pacific time, or even retired and up later, so I may be all caught up when I go to bed and be behind in the morning again. I used to respond to all comments in the morning, but then I was always running out the door for my walk like a chicken with its head cut off. So I have been scheduling posts to publish at 5:00 a.m. and just briefly on the site before walking (which makes me behind at night).
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thanks for sharing that about the way you schedule and interact with your global blog friends.
And I sometimes love it when I post right before bed – and then wake up to a few comments from those overseas.
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wishing you a great day and TTYS
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I seem to be perpetually behind though, no matter my way of doing things … it has gotten better now that I only do weekends for a holiday and not doing same-day blog posts. I liked it better doing it the same day, but it’s easier this way.
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sounds like you found a system that works 🙂
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I’m behind today though as I only responded to comments on Monday’s post last night. I took my car in for service and had to be there early and then walked five miles, went for the car again at night and we were busy at work as my boss was getting ready to go on vacation and we had a few things going on. By the time I sat down, a few comments and was trailing off … went to bed instead. 🙂
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🙂 I did that last night – had a few short things I could have done but hit the pillow – hahah or “hit the sack” as my dad would say
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I still say “hit the sack” – my parents used that phrase too. It is difficult to keep up here – I’ve not been to Reader yet and it is late and I get up early for walking … the sun is already getting up so much later.
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Your comment about the walk and the sun reminded me of my walk today-
Oh Linda – it was so good – we just had a lot of rain this month and not enough sun – and so today my walk was with the dog and lots of sunshine ☀️
Hope the rest of your week
Goes well
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We had such gorgeous weather this week that it made me forget about the heat and humidity … same as you. You just celebrate being out in it … I began my walking regimen on Labor Day weekend 2011. I am going to do a special post about it as it nears. You have a great rest of the week too Yvette. I am not going to make it to Reader tonight unfortunately.
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The Labor Day weekend is a nice anniversary to have for walking – 😉
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Yes – it is when I made up my mind to begin and got it done.
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Gorgeous pictures of flowers and of your visit to the botanical garden. I especially like the overflowing of petunias from its container. There’s something so calm and dreamy about flowers spilling over to the sides.
I bet it was easier to practice social distancing at the garden…outdoors and plenty of space.
I’m glad you went to the garden to see these beautiful blooms! Relaxing outing.
If possible, I want to go back to the SF botanical again this summer.
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Yes, it is easy to social distance here Esther but I always go in the morning before the crowds anyway. I also went to the nearby community gardens where people buy plots of land and garden on them, plus the Good Will Gardens where people do their community service by tending to the veggie gardens there. I liked those petunias spilling out of the containers too. They have lots of annuals there as well as perennials – the perennials weren’t all blooming – I will go back in August and September to see them and get more photos.
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My favorite pictures are the ones with the US Flags-nice work. Thanks for sharing.
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You’re welcome – this is one of my favorite parks as there is always something new to see. Yes, that was unique what they did there Darlene. I follow the Taylor Conservatory and Botanical Gardens on Facebook and they posted some photos of this red-white-and-blue swag so I drove up there to visit the Park and check out the festive look.
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