Tag Archives: The Leaf

poinsettias…

24 Tuesday Dec 2024

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made it to the most recent display at The Leaf…

we went around 7 so it was fairly dark in the Tropical Biome… a great time to go as there weren’t many visitors…

there were a few lit up flamingo topiaries and throughout the space there were lit signs about various birds…

there was also a cute Christmas tree made from individual plants…

the display in the Mediterranean Biome had lots of trees, lights, and poinsettias…

I also spotted a few amaryllis… some just starting to open, others in full bloom…

the trees were filled with ornamental birds and some birdhouses…

only spotted one of the seven succulent wreaths…

my plan is to go again in the daytime to see how it looks in the light;-)…

always a treat…

favourite…

22 Sunday Dec 2024

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I have two favourite spots in the Tropical Biome…

I always stop and visit with the cacao trees to see how they are doing, particularly as my daughter loves to visit them when she’s in town, lol…

and then there are the koi… standing on the bridge watching them swim around is such a joyful time for me…

they move much slower at night as many of them as sleeping, but I got a nice picture of this one… it is usually difficult to get good photos because of the light reflecting in the water so I was pleased with this one…

we are truly blessed to have this wonderful spot to visit all year round;-)…

ring…

14 Thursday Nov 2024

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what a wonderful surprise I received this morning;-)…

as I was taking my poached eggs out of the water, I heard the doorbell ring… I was expecting a parcel so wasn’t surprised, but when I opened the door, my daughter was standing in front of me…

she had come to town to attend a concert with one of her friends and had planned to include a day with me;-)…

what a super treat…

we quickly booked a trip to The Leaf so she could see her beloved cacao trees… we had a great time there, checking out the trees, watching the koi, and realizing how much growth has taken place since we were last there together in June…

she was able to get a few nice shots of the koi which she shared with me.

we enjoyed time in the Yasuragi display and read up on all the bonsai, including new ones which hadn’t been there the last time I visited… the stories behind them are very interesting…

spent a few minutes with the butterflies…

it is sad that they are still in the netted enclosure and not flying freely around the space…

one last wander to see the cacao trees and koi, a bit of fun in the gift shop, and then we headed home…

some relaxing time together and then I dropped her off at the airport to head home…

I am blessed;-)…

focaccia…

22 Tuesday Oct 2024

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our most recent visit to Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar at The Leaf was great…

we had a bit of a giggle because we were seated exactly where we were the last time we were there, lol…

it is a nice spot as you can people watch as everyone is entering and leaving The Leaf…

I had mussels, which were tasty… we shared some focaccia bread, and my grandson had the beef short rib ragu…

always a treat ;-)…

thrived…

20 Sunday Oct 2024

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another delightful visit to The Leaf…

we arrived around 4:30 pm Thursday and the biomes were nearly empty of people… which was wonderful for us;-)…

it really is astonishing how the plants have thrived since the opening in December 2022…

the Tropical biome is lush with greenery and it was fun to notice changes since I was last there…

then we moved into the Mediterranean biome… for the first time ever, it was very cool…

the Yasuragi display is lovely… we spent quite a bit of time studying the bonsai and noting how old many of them were…

what an amazing art-form…

can’t wait to go back and enjoy this beautiful space…

out-of-town…

09 Wednesday Oct 2024

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another wonderful visit to The Leaf… this time with family from out-of-town…

we were there Monday, just after eleven and it wasn’t crowded… we began with a quick walk through the Diversity Gardens…

inside the Tropical Biome, we stopped to visit the three cacao trees, lol…

we had a great time in the Mediterranean Biome checking out the new display – Yasuragi: The Gardens of Japan…

I will be coming again and again to enjoy this serene spot…

from there we had lunch at Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar… delicious, as always…

a visit to the Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden, where there were many varieties of butterflies, ended our time before we walked home…

certainly a delightful way to spend the day…

producing…

28 Friday Jun 2024

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spent more time at The Leaf on Tuesday morning before my daughter headed home… it is such a wonderful point of happiness for me, and my daughter…

we discovered, after chatting with Linda, one of the gardeners, that the second cacao tree has now got two cacao pods on it… this is very exciting as only the first tree had been producing pods…

we spotted a little lizard on the third tree… apparently it arrived with one of plants, lol…

Linda was very excited to show us the mango tree that had just been planted…

we also learned there are fifty fish in the pond, and all the smaller ones were babies from the largest ones… the excess fish have been moved to another location to keep the population stable…

butt…

19 Wednesday Jun 2024

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on Friday I put out all the cushions and pillows as it was supposed to be sunny all day…

it is a bit of a process, because I put one out at a time, which helps me get steps, particularly as I spend a lot of time in the garden on my butt, reading…

it looked beautiful… the poppies, which don’t match my colour scheme at all, were blooming and dancing in the breeze and many of the pots and planters had flowers smiling…

I was surprised when my daughter arrived for a visit… she has been staying with a friend who has a lovely guestroom, lol… we spent a lovely time in this beautiful space, talking about everything and nothing…

she left and shortly after Hilda the Gardener arrived for some maintenance… we visited as she tidied up all the beds and pathways… it looks so nice when she is done;-)…

later as I was enjoying the space my daughter called and suggested we go to The Leaf…

I walked over to the other side of the bridge and she picked me up and we headed to the biomes…

we had a fun time checking out all the growth since she was here last year and had a lovely visit with the three cacao trees;-)…

always wonderful to spend time with her;-)…

Orchidaceae

23 Friday Feb 2024

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just for fun I thought I would show some of the orchidaceae that we saw at Flora of the Philippines on Tuesday…

couldn’t help myself, lol…

there were a few other things that I photographed, lol… my buddies, the fish, were swimming around the pond…

we also saw some flowers on the very top of one of the first trees you see on entering the Tropical Biome… we only saw them thanks to a recommendation by one of the volunteers;-)…

another great visit…

fruit…

22 Thursday Feb 2024

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recently I’d seen an Instagram post about one of the trees in the Tropical Biome that was flowering…

the branches of the Kapok are bare, but at the very top of the tree, flowers were budding…

I was happy to spot it on our visit Tuesday…

there were lots of volunteers throughout the space and they provided a great deal of information particularly about some of the fruiting trees… we saw cacao pods, jackfruit, star fruit, breadfruit and the fingerlings of bananas…

we had a quick visit with the lead gardener as we discussed the three cacao trees, two of which currently have pods growing on them…

the Tropical Biome is really beginning to feel like the old Conservatory with all the lush growth…

so blessed to have this amazing space to spend time in on a regular basis;-)…