January Scenes for a Bloom Day North

While continuing our tradition of showcasing local floral displays as captured on film on the 15th of each month, we've had to adapt the convention slightly to allow for Chester's seasonal climate changes. During those months in which we have no actual plants blooming outdoors, we feature either indoor plants or the appealing characteristics of foliage, bark or structure of those hardy plants that endure a cold Canadian winter. 

Today's blog contrasts the ways in which plants deal with winter's blasts. The healthy buds of the rhodo-dendron (Chelsea peach)  are primed for their opening day several months from now, while the leathery leaves are beginning to expand slightly after having contracted during a cold snap days earlier. The shrivelled brown leaves in the next close-up are those of a beech tree (Fagus grandifolia), a species native to the Acadian forest.  

These trees retain their leaves all through the winter, thus adding form and texture to the snowy landscape. The image below shows a different beech (Fagus sylvatica purpurea) as seen from a distance.

The Acadian Forest Region includes the maritime provinces and most of the New England states. Closely related to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence and Boreal regions, it is a transition forest that contains a diverse collection of trees, shrubs and other plants. According to Natural Resources Canada's classification of forests, Chester falls into the Atlantic Maritime ecozone, which has elements of both deciduous and boreal forests. On the coast of Nova Scotia, the forest has a more boreal-like appearance with formations dominated by fir, white spruce and black spruce but with a number of deciduous species such as red oak, American beech, black ash, red maple and white birch occurring in sheltered areas.

The maritime ecozone is also home to a number of berry-producing plants. In the Chester area, birds and larger animals have already harvested many of the berries on shrubs and trees. Here, a small lone clump of wild holly berries is seen against a background of still waters in a cove.

First Snow Storm of the Year

After a relatively mild winter (except for the Boxing Day debacle that brought a mix of snow and rain), Chester has received its first real snow. Despite today's above-freezing temperatures, yesterday's storm brought enough snow to lay down a 10-centimeter white blanket on the fields.


On close inspection of shrubbery, however, it appears that cold temperatures and high winds weren't enough to deter the deer from their evening's browse. The growing tips of this azalea, with flower buds that promised brilliant flame-coloured blossoms in spring, have been bitten off overnight.

It's not hard to pin the blame on the culprit - or culprits. Deer tracks are clearly evident in the new-fallen snow. The hoof prints crisscross the garden, forming circles around holly bushes and ornamental crab apple trees, and passing over a perennial bed to the stripped-bare branches of several euonymous shrubs.

Fortunately, although buds on the lower branches of every shrub in the garden have been targeted, the animals were unable to reach the higher branches of several rhododendrons, whose buds and leathery leaves glisten under the melting snow.

Although there are no meetings of the Chester Garden Club scheduled for January, members of the host committee are busy working on preparations for the NSAGC Convention to be held on June 3rd and 4th at nearby Atlantica Hotel & Marina Oak Island. A copy of the convention program and a registration form can be yours by clicking on the link at the upper right-hand side of this blog. As an incentive to gardeners interested in attending the convention, early bird registrants will be eligible for a draw in which the winner will be reimbursed the cost of the convention registration fee. To be eligible for the draw, completed forms must be received by March 31st.