Devonian Botanic Gardens

The Devonian Botanic Gardens, in Devon, Alberta, southwest of Edmonton, are connected with the University of Alberta. These pictures were taken last summer and this summer at the gardens while visiting family members who live in the area.

This group was taken in the tropical and butterfly house:

These in the bromeliad house (more a small room):

These in the cactus and succulent house, small but very beautifully arranged:

A few in the temperate house:

And a few outdoors (though the weather was rainy the first time I was there and we didn't see everything on our second visit this summer):

Around Devon

The last few days we spent with our daughter, son-in-law, and new granddaughter in the Edmonton area were mostly rainy and cool.  We did, however, get one good day on Wednesday, July 14, and took advantage of it to visit the Clifford E. Lee Nature Sanctuary and the Devonian Botanic Garden, both near Devon, where our daughter and her family live.

Here first of all are a few pictures from the Nature Sanctuary: http://cliffordelee.com/

And a few notes on these photos:
(1) Not sure what this is, possibly one of the hedge nettles,but I stand to be corrected.
(2) Harebells, probably Campanula rotundifolia, the Common Harebell.
(3) A pink Indian Paintbrush that we found in only one place in the Nature Center.
(4) A wasp we found sunning itself on an old bench.
(5) Moths in a an Evening Primrose flower - didn't realize they were there until I got home and looked at the photo - if I had realized at the time, I'd have tried to get better pictures.
(6) Grasshopper in Edward's hand.
(7) Seed heads of an anemone.
(8) Green Bog Orchis - we found just one plant though I'm sure we would have found more if we had looked farther.

I also saw a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers on an old dead snag, but to my dismay was unable to get any photos before they flew off.

The Devonian Botanic Gardens are connected with the University of Alberta:
http://www.ales.ualberta.ca/devonian/

(1) Cedar Waxwing - there were a number of these flying about a pond in the Japanese Garden, apparently catching insects.
(2) Ditto.
(3) A Spotted Sandpiper hanging around the wild pond in the back of the gardens.
(4) Water Striders.
(5) A bee (I think) on a Fleabane flower.
(6) Ants on a Bluet bud - there is one red ant in the mix and I was not sure whether he was being attacked, or whether something else was going on.
(7) Butterfly on a marigold flower.
(8) Under one of the trees there was this huge spread of mushrooms - the smell was rather disagreeable and some of them were past their prime and were starting to "melt" or so it appeared.
(9) Ditto.
(10) Something in the composite family growing in the water at the edge of the wild pond in the back of the gardens - the yellow flowers were rather insignificant and the plants quite tall, about three feet.
(11) Grasses at the edge of the same pond.
(12) Ditto.

I'll post pictures of the gardens, butterfly and tropical house, and other things of interest from the DBG in another post, but these are pictures of a few of the natural "encounters" we had while strolling the grounds.