Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Saxifragaceae

Happy Thanksgiving, to everyone who celebrates this weekend! Stay warm and enjoy the snow, lol! This photo was taken eight days ago, on 1 October 2016. This weekend, we are having our first SNOW in the city! Not a welcome sight at all, to say the least. Unfortunately, the weather people got it exactly right. So, winter is here, at least for now, leaving me feeling so grateful to have had the chance to go to these gardens and photograph a good variety of cheery, colourful flowers. I was absolutely amazed to even see Passion Flowers growing in our city - I had only ever seen them in the Calgary Zoo Conservatory a few years ago! On 1 October 2016, 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. So thankful that I have been able to get out to quite a few interesting places before having to deal with roughly seven long, dreaded 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/

These teeny wildflowers are absolutely exquisite! They grow in moist woodlands and are so small that normally a person would never notice them. Each flower stem has 3-10 tiny, greenish white flowers on it. The flower is 5-6 mm (0.197 to 0.236 inches!)across, has 4 or 5 sepals, and 5 petals that are finely divided and branched. I think they look like little snowflakes : ). They are extremely difficult to photograph because they are always found in low light, very low to the ground, and they are so SMALL!

It's noon and I only finally woke up just after 11:30 a.m.. Waited up till around 3:00 a.m., waiting to see if there was another e-maill from my youngest daughter about whether she had been evacuated or not, because of the devastating flooding that is going on in Calgary right now. She lives 9 blocks from the river and was on standby for evacuation. She e-mailed again at 5:30 this morning, saying she still hadn't heard about the evacuation, but still has to go to work, so is hoping that an order doesn't come when she's away from home. Every school in Calgary is closed. The flooding in Calgary (and other places in Southern Alberta) is utterly devastating. Back in 2005, we had dreadful flooding in the city, too, but this present flooding is even worse! If I was on a path in Fish Creek near the river right now, the water would be way over my head - someone said that it was half way up tall trees. I feel so sorry for all the endless people who will have suffered so much damage to their homes and belongings. Damage to other buildings, pathways, natural areas is going to be horrendous - and I can't help but also think of all the helpless wildlife out there. This flooding came at a time when baby birds have just been hatched or are still very young. I can't help wondering if the Bluebird nest boxes have filled with water and drowned the little ones. So, from the most major devastation to the tiniest, but still so precious, losses, it is a very sad time going on here. Stay safe, everyone! It's still raining, with more to come. From the weather forecast, it looks like from Thursday 27 June onwards, the weather should be warming up and there will be lots of sunshine to help dry out our wet, wet city and province. "In June of 2005, one of the city's worst flood years on record, heavy rain caused flood damage to about 40,000 homes, and 1,500 Calgarians were evacuated. Right now, city officials warn the current flooding situation poses a much more serious threat. Mandatory evacuation notices were issued to up to 100,000 people in 20 neighbourhoods along low-lying areas of the Elbow and Bow Rivers today, as city officials cautioned that more communities will probably be told to pack up and leave as flood waters were expected to rise overnight." www.calgarysun.com/2013/06/20/heavy-rain-in-banff-canmore... Incredible YOUTUBE VIDEO OF CALGARY FLOODS from Global News: youtu.be/bRS8YfVlt3Y In case anyone is wondering what is happening at the Calgary Zoo, the Administration building, SCOW, ENMAX Conservatory and Kitamba Cafe all sit in several feet of water as they sit in some of the lowest areas on the island. However, all animals are safe and secure, many having been moved to higher ground or elsewhere. Took this photo of Elephant Ears at the Reader Rock Garden on 5 June 2013. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was the first time I had ever seen this species. Unfortunately, the only hint of what the flowers are like is the dead flower near the bottom edge. Photographed on a hike to Arethusa Cirque, Kananaskis - off Highway 40 and right next to the better known Ptarmigan Cirque - on July 30th. "Saxifraga oppositifolia, the purple saxifrage or purple mountain saxifrage, is a species of edible plant that is very common all over the high Arctic and also some high mountainous areas further south, including northern Britain, the Alps and the Rocky Mountains. It is a low-growing, densely or loosely matted plant growing to 3–5 cm high, with somewhat woody branches of creeping or trailing habit close to the surface. The leaves are small, rounded, scale-like, opposite in 4 rows, with ciliated margins. The flowers are solitary on short stalks, petals purple or lilac, much longer than the calyx lobes. It is one of the very first spring flowers, continuing to flower during the whole summer in localities where the snow melts later. The flowers grow to about 0.5 inches in diameter." From Wikipedia.

This teeny flower is so small that I can never see, with the naked eye, whether an indiividual flower still has its petals. It's hard enough to find one of these tiny, thread-like plants as it is. This one did, but I'm sure I could have found a more photogenic one. However, I was kneeling in an undulating area of such deep, soft moss which made getting down and especially getting up again really difficult, so I couldn't face trying again. I guess you'd call this a supermacro, ha. If you only knew how many times I have tried to get even a half-decent photo of one of these flowers and almost always failed! Photographed at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on July 8th. This native plant belongs to the Saxifrage family, Saxifragaceae. It is also called Bare-stemmed Mitrewort, Bishop's Cap, Common Mitrewort, Miterwort, and Northern Bishop's Cap. There are 5-8 tiny flowers on the upper half of the slender, flowering stems, 7-20cm high. Each exquisite flower has 5 greenish-yellow or white, snow-flake design petals, with ten stamens, 6mm (just under quarter of an inch) across.

Macro shot of a couple of tiny flowers growing on the stem of a Leather-leaved Saxifrage plant. Seen in the alpine meadow at Plateau Mountain on July 17th.

Don't worry, it's not your eyes, just a rather blurry of a flower that I don't normally get the chance to see! I wanted to show why this beautiful, tiny wildflower got its name : ) This was seen on Plateau Mountain, way south of Calgary, on 31st July.

Today is World Ocean Day. I don't need to say anything - I'm sure we all have the same sick feeling about what is happening to the ocean right now : ( This beautiful plant is "in the family Saxifragaceae, native to central Asia, from Afghanistan to China and the Himalayan region. They are evergreen perennial plants with a spirally arranged rosette of leaves and pink flowers.... The common name for Bergenia is pigsqueak due to the sound produced when two leaves are rubbed together." From Wikipedia. This particular plant was growing in the Reader Rock Garden here in the city.

Does anyone happen to know what this wildflower is? I haven't been able to ID it yet. We saw it in southern Alberta, south of Calgary and west of Longview, on the border of Kananaskis, three days ago. This is a zoomed in photo. Later: many thanks to aspidoscelis for the ID and to Stephen for his confirmation. Much appreciated!

This is the teeniest of flowers, and it belongs to the Saxifrage family. The stem is between 5 and 20 cm tall and the greenish white flower is 5-6 mm across. There are 4 or 5 sepals (the things that look like petals here), and the 5 petals are finely branched, giving a snowflake appearance. Grows June and July in moist woodlands. Someone out for a walk would most likely never even notice these tiny, delicate flowers, unless they knew they existed in a particular area. They are NOT the easiest of flowers to photograph - tiny, low and growing in low light! I did try, though, didn't I, Doug, LOL?! Most of the plants now only have the 5 sepals left, as the petals have withered and fallen off.