Last week, I visited the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington ON on a beautiful sunny Friday. It is the largest Botanical Garden in Canada covering over 2400 acres of formal gardens and a nature sanctuary with 27 kilometers of trails. My coworkers gave me a full year's membership to the gardens in February 2020 when I retired from my full-time job but I never had the chance to use it because of the pandemic. On my recent visit, I started at Hendrie Park and admired the Wisteria vines in full bloom on the side of a pedestrian bridge.
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| Wisteria at Hendrie Park, Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington ON |
I don't recall seeing Wisteria in the past and have never seen it growing in our region. It is a member of the legume family, Fabaceae. The fragrant flowers turn into long pods containing seeds poisonous to humans and animals. The heavy vines grow aggressively and need support from a rail, fence or other structure.
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| Black Locust Tree, Kitchener ON |
There is a stand of Black Locust trees near our home. They are also a member of the plant family Fabaceae.
The trees are coming into bloom now with white-hanging flower clusters. The flowers are fragrant and the long seed pods are typical of bean and pea pods.
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| Black Locust blooms |
I remember the Golden Chain trees (Laburnum) that bloomed in St John's, Newfoundland when we visited the province in July 2015. The flowers were extravagant and unexpectedly beautiful during the grey, foggy week we were there. Sure enough, they are also from the legume family Fabaceae and are related to Wisteria vines and Black Locust trees. Laburnum grows best in moderate climates and does particularly well in coastal regions.
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| Golden Chain Tree, St John's Newfoundland, July 2015 |
Big-leaf Lupines are native to Western Canada and the United States but have become invasive in eastern areas of the continent. I have planted them in my garden several times but they do not thrive in our soil. They are also members of the Legume family Fabaceae.
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| Lupines at Gros Morne Park, Newfoundland, July 2015 |
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| Lupine seed pods |
These Lupines covered the hillsides in parts of Gros Morne National Park on the west side of Newfoundland. The picture on the left shows the seed pods that form when the flower finishes blooming. They add beautiful colour to the landscape but threaten native wildflowers as they compete for space to grow and reproduce.
I also visited the Rock Garden at the Royal Botanical Garden in Burlington. Naturalized native plants are featured and the gardeners are moving away from formal plantings. Consideration is given to native trees and flowers which grow well in that particular environment, are beneficial to insects, birds and animals, and require minimal maintenance. Hendrie Garden's large formal rose garden will be at peak bloom in the next few weeks. But I preferred the rock garden in the ravine with peaceful water features and plenty of places to sit and relax.
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| The Rock Garden, Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington ON |
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