In celebration of June's birth flower, I'm sharing some lovely rose images captured at last summer's visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG)--the largest botanical garden in Canada which was granted a royal status by King George V in 1930.
Pink hybrid tea roses in the Centennial Rose Garden at the RBG's Hendrie Park.
I wished that I had taken more photos of the gorgeous roses! Next time...
Amidst the beautiful blooms of Hendrie Park you will find the Turner Pavilion Tea House.
Since the Tea House's menu selections were rather limited (alas, they did not serve afternoon teas!), we opted to lunch at the RBG Centre's Gardens' Cafe instead.
To our pleasant surprise, the "Tea Sandwiches" that we ordered at the Gardens' Cafe came with a quarter of a quiche, a scone and preserve! The meal was the perfect serving size and tasted delicious.
The teacup I'm sharing this week is Royal Stafford's "Berkeley Rose". It was one of the first teacups that I purchased (from a consignment store for under $5) for my collection.
The hand-painted pink roses and gold trim are so pretty!
The Royal Stafford backstamp circa 1950s.
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| Photo Courtesy of My Co-Worker |
Last week, I had the unique opportunity to see the Titan arum, aka Corpse Flower, in rare bloom at McMaster University's Greenhouse. It takes approximately 7 years for the Titan arum to flower. To date, only 4 of the Titan arum blooms--out of approximately 200 cultivated flowerings throughout the world--have occurred in Canada.
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| Photo Courtesy of My Co-Worker |
The Titan arum is known as the world's smelliest plant because when in
bloom, it emits a foul stench of rotting flesh or meat to attract its
pollinators. You can learn more about this fascinating flower here.
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| Photo Courtesy of My Co-Worker |
This Titan arum was named "Magnus" and grew 6 feet tall. Magnus had closed up the night of May 31st so we were not exposed to its putrid odour during our visit. But it was still very cool to see the corpse flower up close and personal!
This 1-minute time-lapse video shows Magnus' short-lived bloom.
Smell you later, Magnus!
I'm joining the following parties this week:
Beautiful images of roses at the Royal Botanical Gardens! I love touring a rose garden! What a wonderful way to spend a summer afternoon....those tea sandwiches and scones look delicious! Pretty pattern of your dainty tea cup :) Happy week! Hugs, Poppy
ReplyDeleteHappy serendipity for the sandwiches, and very interesting plant!
ReplyDeleteI would love to visit this garden. Reminds me a bit of Butchart Gardens in Victoria. Glad the cafe turned out to be a great second choice.
ReplyDeleteVery captivating facts about the Magnus and lucky for you that you missed the odor (even though it would be amazing to see it open in bloom.) Thanks for including the video.
Your meal at the cafe' looks so wonderful! You find the best spots to visit and enjoy. The corpse flower is something that I've never heard of. How great that you got to see it and missed the terrible smell!
ReplyDeleteYour teacup is a beauty, too, and what a deal!
What an extraordinary plant! Not very pretty but unique to be sure. Your lunch at the cafe looks delicious. Love your Berkeley Rose teacup! I love the brushed on gold trim. Thanks for joining me for tea and have a lovely week.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Sandi
Wow, I have never seen anything like that plant. It is amazing. I love your roses and tea cup. Looks a lot like American Beauty.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting.
Janet
A lovely tea and flowers.
ReplyDeleteWow...what an amazing plant! It seems like I have heard of this somewhere before. I think I would pass on taking in the stinky stench though...lol! On the other end of the spectrum, the tea roses are gorgeous and surely must smell as sweet!
ReplyDeleteThe Garden Cafe lunch does look delicious and the rose beds are always gorgeous there.
ReplyDeleteYour Berkeley Rose teacup is nice and I hope you sip tea from it often.
Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday Margie.
Hi Margie, looks like a lovely botanical garden. Your meal at the tea house looks absolutely wonderful! I have never heard of a corpse flower, that's seems a little gross huh?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your recent visit and comment on my blog, I really appreciate it.
Have a great week,
Gina
Hi Margie, looks like a lovely botanical garden. Your meal at the tea house looks absolutely wonderful! I have never heard of a corpse flower, that's seems a little gross huh?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your recent visit and comment on my blog, I really appreciate it.
Have a great week,
Gina
Your roses cup and saucer is a lovely pattern. The visit to RBG is so thoughtful of you to share the beautiful photos. What I love about Canada is the gorgeous flowers when we visit. Hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeletePam
Love your tea cup! And that flower -- what a specimen! Lucky you!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post! The botanical garden sounds very interesting and the roses are really beautiful. The Titan arum is not beautiful (at least in my opinion)... but it surely is fascinating. :)
ReplyDeleteI have a peg over my nose as I visit today, but what an amazing plant, kindly you balanced with the gorgeous and sweet smelling roses!
ReplyDeleteWren x
I love the beautiful roses and your pretty teacup! The lunch at the tea house looks delicious. The corpse flower is new to me. Lovely post, have a happy day!
ReplyDeleteinteresting flower. Love the tea set this week very pretty.
ReplyDeleteThe roses and tea at the cafe must have been lovely! Looks delicious. Love your teacup...one of my favorites. I have heard of the corpse flower, but I think I'd rather see the video...Lol! Thanks for linking to Tuesday Cuppa Tea!
ReplyDeleteRuth
Oh Margie! What a perfectly delightful post...I think your tea cup is simply divine, especially as June is the month of the rose! I love the dainty gold edging too...
ReplyDeleteYou visited a beautiful garden, and what delectable looking tea sandwiches...
I am very intrigued by that flower - a few years ago I studied some botany, and I remember learning of flowers such as these which release a bad smell...how amazing!
Hope you are having a delightful week, dearest Margie!
Hugs to you!
Kelly-Anne
that rose cup is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog today.... your excursion through the greenhouse was amazing.. l love the Royal Stafford rose cup and saucer... so dainty!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog today.... your excursion through the greenhouse was amazing.. l love the Royal Stafford rose cup and saucer... so dainty!
ReplyDeleteHi Margie! Wow, that flower is HUGE! It sounds like it may have been a good thing it was closed. The rose garden is really nice, and it looks like you had a nice surprise tea (but not at the Tea House--false advertising!)
ReplyDeleteWow - what a wonderful tea experience amongst all those plants. I loved that huge "tree"? coming up and out the top. What a pretty teacup as well. I am so glad you shared your tea time.
ReplyDeleteSweet friend, what a stunning tea cup! And you found it for under $5.00! The Corpse Flower is quite fascinating and I thoroughly enjoyed the video - thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteHave a beautiful day! Hugs!
I love to find sweet bargains like this.
ReplyDeleteOMG Marge.. What an interesting post.. I love the Botanical Gardens and heritage roses ...They have the fragrances.. Your sweet teacup is perfect for the beautiful month of June( good price) ... and it's truly beautiful. I love the pink and white.
ReplyDeleteWOW that plant is a once in a lifetime experience...I have heard of the "titan arum" and it's aroma...now I have to learn more about it.. lucky you ..Thank you for sharing this enlightening post.
Wow the plant is amazing.. love those teacups from Royal Albert.. my favorite ones.. with love Janice
ReplyDeleteOMGoodness, look at that awesome plant! The teacups are gorgeous, I love everything by RAlbert.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely week ahead.
FABBY
Wow! The plant looks like something from another world...just its size alone reminds me of the film Little Shop of Horrors. Just incredible. Your teacup and saucer is so pretty, and what a find at that price! The roses look lovely, too....thank you for sharing them!
ReplyDelete