Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Oak

I just loved the fall colours seen at the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens on 1 October 2016. The Oak leaves were gorgeous, some of them with tiny insect galls on them. With our autumn colour gone, it feels good to be able to look back to a photo from 1 October 2016. On that day, I finally had my very first visit to the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens, thanks to friend, Sandy. I first heard about this beautiful place from my daughter, but I had never been, because it is way out of my city driving comfort zone. In the morning, it was raining, at least in my part of the city, and I wondered if going would turn out to be a big mistake. However, the rain stayed away while we were there and, though the sky was overcast, I was still able to photograph to my heart's content. I was surprised at how many flowers were still in bloom on the first day of October and I was extremely impressed with how meticulously these gardens are kept - every inch of them. So many different kinds of trees and plants, and it was very obvious that each area had been planted with so much thought and care. Amazing that dedicated volunteers have been, and continue to be, the ones to thank for these gardens. Thanks so much, Sandy, for giving me the chance to spend an afternoon in such beauty and peace! We all knew that snow wasn't far away and about a week after this visit, Calgary had its first snowfall of the season, the whole of the Thanksgiving weekend. At least I now have some bright, colourful photos that I will be able to post in between all the coming white, snowy images that will be taken during the long months of winter. "The Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs is without doubt one of the Seven Wonders of Calgary, Alberta. It boasts 1350 square meters (14 600 square feet) of gardens which includes a spectacular Wall Garden that runs an uninterrupted 1300 feet. In the gardens you will find an endless variety of annuals and perennials ranging from artemisias to zinnias. Here indeed is a place to stop and smell the roses and the peonies and the delphiniums and the chrysanthemums and the … What makes these gardens so very special is that they were created and continue to be maintained by a band of green-thumbed enthusiastic volunteers. These hale and hearty diggers, planters, seeders, weeders, mowers, waterers, pruners and community builders work two to three mornings a week to keep the gardens in primrose shape and their efforts are truly appreciated by the many walkers, joggers, and cyclists. On any given day, hundreds of people walk the wall garden with their families, friends and out-of-town visitors. It has become a treasured destination site for many. For anyone who has spent time in the gardens, it is hard to believe that they have only been here since 2006 when a humble ornamental garden (400 square feet) was developed within the existing BirthPlace Forest tree beds. The BPF, by the way, saw 7000 trees planted in the area. The project was accomplished through a partnership of BP Energy, Calgary Parks, Regional Health and Golden Acres." From the gardens' website. www.botanicalgardensofsilversprings.ca/

I just loved the fall colours seen at the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens on 1 October 2016. The Oak leaves were gorgeous, some of them with tiny insect galls on them. With most of our autumn colour gone, it feels good to be able to look back to a photo from 1 October 2016. On that day, I finally had my very first visit to the Silver Springs Botanical Gardens, thanks to friend, Sandy. I first heard about this beautiful place from my daughter, but I had never been, because it is way out of my city driving comfort zone. In the morning, it was raining, at least in my part of the city, and I wondered if going would turn out to be a big mistake. However, the rain stayed away while we were there and, though the sky was overcast, I was still able to photograph to my heart's content. I was surprised at how many flowers were still in bloom on the first day of October and I was extremely impressed with how meticulously these gardens are kept - every inch of them. So many different kinds of trees and plants, and it was very obvious that each area had been planted with so much thought and care. Amazing that dedicated volunteers have been, and continue to be, the ones to thank for these gardens. Thanks so much, Sandy, for giving me the chance to spend an afternoon in such beauty and peace! We all knew that snow wasn't far away and about a week after this visit, Calgary had its first snowfall of the season, the whole of the Thanksgiving weekend. At least I now have plenty of bright, colourful photos that I will be able to post in between all the coming white, snowy images that will be taken during the seven (?), long months of winter. "The Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs is without doubt one of the Seven Wonders of Calgary, Alberta. It boasts 1350 square meters (14 600 square feet) of gardens which includes a spectacular Wall Garden that runs an uninterrupted 1300 feet. In the gardens you will find an endless variety of annuals and perennials ranging from artemisias to zinnias. Here indeed is a place to stop and smell the roses and the peonies and the delphiniums and the chrysanthemums and the … What makes these gardens so very special is that they were created and continue to be maintained by a band of green-thumbed enthusiastic volunteers. These hale and hearty diggers, planters, seeders, weeders, mowers, waterers, pruners and community builders work two to three mornings a week to keep the gardens in primrose shape and their efforts are truly appreciated by the many walkers, joggers, and cyclists. On any given day, hundreds of people walk the wall garden with their families, friends and out-of-town visitors. It has become a treasured destination site for many. For anyone who has spent time in the gardens, it is hard to believe that they have only been here since 2006 when a humble ornamental garden (400 square feet) was developed within the existing BirthPlace Forest tree beds. The BPF, by the way, saw 7000 trees planted in the area. The project was accomplished through a partnership of BP Energy, Calgary Parks, Regional Health and Golden Acres." From the gardens' website. www.botanicalgardensofsilversprings.ca/

Just a very quickly snapped shot, as the light was failing and I wasn't expecting the photo to come out at all. Something I liked about it, though, so thought I'd post it : ) Taken at the Calgary Zoo on September 26th. Yep, fall is in full swing.

Bur/Burr Oak is perhaps my favourite tree - though I have to admit that I don't know much about trees at all, despite being told more than enough times. In the fall, Bur Oak leaves can turn brilliant yellow, but this fall has been short. The snow that was forecast to arrive overnight thank goodness didn't arrive, other than a few snowflakes when I was walking this morning. I'm really, really hoping that it stays away. We did have rain overnight, though, and it has been grey and gloomy all day, and it's cold. Wore a fleece jacket under my winter jacket, plus toque, long-johns and two pairs of gloves!! It might just as well be winter, LOL! "The Quercus macrocpoopa or Bur Oak, sometimes spelled Burr Oak, is a species of oak in the white oak section.... Bur oak makes an outstanding ornamental tree. It is one of the most tolerant of urban conditions of the white oaks, and is one of the fastest-growing of the group.... It withstands chinook conditions in Calgary. The leaves are 7-15 cm (3-6 in) long and 5-13 cm (2-5 in) broad, variable in shape, with a lobed margin. Most often, the basal 60% is narrower and deeply lobed, while the apical 40% is wider and has shallow lobes or large teeth. The flowers are greenish-yellow catkins, produced in the spring. The acorns are very large, 2-5 cm (0.8-2 in) long and 2-4 cm (0.8-1.5 in) broad, with a large cup that wraps much of the way around the nut, with large overlapping scales and often a fringe at the edge of the cup." From Wikipedia.

An autumn shot of my favourite kind of tree - Bur or Burr Oak. I love the way the leaves turn bright yellow with red veins in the fall. This one is growing in Stanley Park (Calgary, not Vancouver).

Looks like fall is definitely with us! We saw these beautiful Burr (Bur) Oak leaves at Stanley Park (Calgary, not Vancouver!) on this morning's walk. It makes a most attractive ornamental tree and it withstands Chinook (wind) conditions in Calgary. In fall, the leaves turn brilliant yellow, with bright red veins.

Not sure what kind of Oak this is, but the leaf is much smaller than the Burr Oak. Seen in its fall colours in the garden at the Calgary Zoo.

I decided to call in at Stanley Park, Calgary, late this afternoon and found that there were still some pretty fall colours around, even though fall is almost over now. These leaves are on a Burr Oak tree. A few weeks ago, the leaves were vivid yellow with red veins, but have now turned a mixture of orange, pink and green. They are some of my favourite leaves - a very unique shape, narrowing dramatically closer to the stem end of each leaf.

This Oak leaf caught my attention this morning, on a walk with a friend around MacKenzie Lake. When we were looking at the leaves, we also saw the pink, hairy "thing" that I have posted after the Fireworks 3 photo.