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The berries are ready...the trees are blooming...

It is already the middle of June - where has the time went? Within a week the Amelanchier berries have ripened and we have been sampling them along with the birds. The Dawycki Gold Beech trees have spectacular gold foliage I noticed while eating berries so I took a picture. In the Spring they were brighter and they will return to that brightness in the fall. These columnar plants are small now - only 10' to 12'' feet but they will be spectacular in a few years. The Hydrangea Standards are just pushing to bloom and there should be some fabulous photo ops next week. The mulberry trees are fruiting - I went to pick some berries to eat and it took days to get the purple juice from the berries off my fingers. The birds love them, they are really pretty colours with a combination of pinkish, red or purplish violet multi drupe berries. The trees are nice and full with their weeping form. The Gledistias are now forcing out new growth - spectacular yellow new foliage looks neat against the lime green older leaves. Beside them in the field is the Paperbark Maple. I noticed it because of all the neon green keys (seedlings). These are one of my favourite trees. The picutre doesn't do it justice but the bark of the Paperbark Maple is similar to that of a Birch only it is brown in colour which looks magmnificent in the winter. Not to mention the bonus of beautiful red fall leaves - so typical of the maples. Some of the plants that arrived last week are now healed in their beds. Check out the huge Japanese Maple - just gorgeous! And look how the sculpted pines look in the ground - looks like they have been there forever. The Hostas are starting to bloom - I could almost do an article on them alone! Next blog I will focus on the island bed - and add some of the pictures I took this week. Too many trees, too many plants, too many pictures, too much to say...I almost have to start doing this daily!

Serviceberry Berries

More Serviceberry Berries

More Berries!

Fagus sylvatica 'Dawycki Gold'

Pee Gee Hydrangea Std

Mulberry Berries

Paperbark Maple

Gleditsia Foliage

Sunburst Locust Foliage

Acer palmatum 'Crimson Queen'

Sculpted Pine

Queen of the Seas Hosta

Hosta 'Elizabeth'

Abies conclour Lift, New shipment from out west...

One thing about working in a nursery there is never a dull moment! As well as you plan your day - you never get enough done, there is always something changing. On Wednesday we had to move a 25' foot tree from your yard to Vaughan. We had no notice and it had to be dug, burlapped, roped and lifted on out truck and delivered to the crane site by 3:00. We got notice of this at 11:00. It is remarkable what can be accomplished when everyone works together. Not only was this beautiful specimen tucked in a back field - we had to move/lift it between trees! The Abies concolour (White Fir) has a beautiful conical shape and a wonderful bluish to grayish foliage - take a look at the photos below - it really is a gem of a tree. As usual with Mother Nature the plants are flowering and doing their things all the time - I can hardly keep up. The Amelanchiers (Serviceberries) are now producing their berries which you can eat (soon). The Pee Gee Hydrangea standards are setting to bloom and I will keep an eye on them. They will put on a spectacular show! Noticed a neat Ulmus caripnifolia (Elm) on my journey - notice its neat weeping shape and leaves. This time I did have my camera with me. To add to the excitement, we received a new shipment from the West Coast. Two trucks arrived at the same time (although they left a day apart). Some gorgeous product to look at - Japanese Maples, Boxwood specimens, large Beech trees and an assortment of evergreens. I will have more pictures shortly. As it is now I have enough pictures to view...more than usual this week...enjoy! It is always something different...

New Shipment - Weeping Japanese Maples

Astilbe 'Maggie Daley'

A view of our Island Planting

Another view of Island Planting

Amelanchier canadensis

A view of the Amelanchier Shrub

Abies concolour rootball

Aiming to go through 2 trees!

An unusual view of the top of the tree

Side view of the tree

Here comes the root ball!

Onto the truck...

Loading Abies concolour onto the truck...

On the truck

Getting ready to leave.

Ulmus carpinus

Pee Gee Hydrangea Std

Pee Gee Hydrangea STD

New shipment

Our Island Planting

Japanese Maples and Ivory Silk Lilacs

Japanese Maples come in many shapes and sizes and of course many variances of colour. There are green varieties and red varieties, weeping forms and upright forms. Of course every tree had it's own character and personality and it seems it depends one what time of day you look at the tree. They are slow growers and the red ones have an intense red colour in the fall.The green ones turn a beautiful yellow colour. The weeping varieties have lovely lacy foliage and mounding forms. Take a look at some of the pictures below and see if any tickle your fancy. The Ivory Silk Lilacs are in bloom and look spectacular against the blue sky!

June Bloom!

I know I said I would blog about Japanese Maples next time around and I will post some pictures of them soon -but there are some really good pictures of perennials that I took this week. The red peonies have popped and look so bright in the morning light. The red ones I like are the variety 'Karl Rosenfield' and are a brilliant red and double variety. The lovely Geranium 'Rozanne' has beautiful cup-shaped soft violet blue flowers - good for edging or containers. The Baptisia 'Solar Flare' has lemon yellow flowers and is a profuse bloomer. A mature plant can produce more than a hundred stems of flowers. The boxwood topiaries are a vivid bright green. I took a picture of the spiral one but there are many more forms. In the lower yard the Black Lace Elderberry caught my eye with its black lacy foliage and the bright pink turning to white flowers. And course them beside them there was the Cheyenne Privet in bloom as well as the massive ones he have in the back of the yard. The lilacs have finished their spectacular show and I miss the fragrance coming through the doors. The yard is alive with birds nesting away and doing their thing. To my knowledge we haven't sold a tree yet with bird nest in it! The tri-colour Beech are a must see! A customer came in on Saturday and saw one that had been dug for another client and wanted to know if there was more. I took them to the field and they tagged one immediately. They are literally a bright neon pink. I took some pictures today but it is cloudy and they don't seem so bright - I will take some more when it is sunny. Don't mind the rain - the trees all look greener and happier for it.