La Vie en Rose(s)

La Vie en Rose…. I am not a chanteuse, but I love Edith Piaf. And I am not a rosarian, but I do love roses. That doesn’t mean I’ve actually grown many roses – other than a very constrained ‘New Dawn’ (see below) and a 5-year fling with the yellow-flowered Father Hugo’s rose (Rosa xanthina) which ultimately died in the border, leaving in its wake its progenitor, the pale-pink rootstock dog rose (Rosa canina). Before I pulled it out, I popped a sprig in a vase and photographed it. Amen. Rest in peace.

Rosa canina-Dog rose

PEGGY ROCKEFELLER ROSE GARDEN, NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN

But despite steering clear of roses and their fickle needs, I’ve seen many hundreds of them in the 25 years I’ve been photographing plants, and every June I indulge a little fantasy in which I have a garden spilling with their fragrant blossoms.  It’s easy to feel that rose fever, when you find yourself wandering the paths of, say, the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, as I’ve done for their annual June Rose Festival.

Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden2-NYBG

It’s a hugely popular crowd event in early June, with food vendors at the entrance.

Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden1-NYBG

It’s in gardens like Peggy Rockefeller that you can see storied roses at the height of their beauty, like ‘New Dawn’ (Wichuraiana, 1930), below, one of the classic, low-maintenance pink climbing roses. I grow this climber myself in a 4 foot-square garden (why did I plant it there? who knows?) against the brick support of my front porch, forgetting to prune it until June, hacking it back when it threatens to trail over the cars in the driveway and generally ignoring it in its spot behind an overly-large boxwood. It has never been sprayed or fertilized, is rarely watered, and gives me sprays of cupped, light-scented, tea-type blooms over the veranda railing in early summer. When happy, it’s a massive thing, growing 10 feet (3 m) tall and 15 feet (5 m) wide – enough to cover a garage wall (And yes, since this is my second PINK blog for the month of May, I’m going to be focusing entirely on pink roses!)

Rosa 'New Dawn'-Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden

Below is another beauty from Peggy Rockefeller, ‘Climbing Pinkie’ (Cl. Polyantha, 1952) with masses of small pink flowers on almost thornless canes that can reach 10 x 10 feet (3 metres). It’s considered fairly disease-resistant and is an excellent re-bloomer. Because of its growing habit, many gardeners like to train this rose along the top of a fence and let the flowers cascade.

Rosa 'Climbing Pinkie'-Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden

Paul’s Himalayan Musk (Hybrid Musk, c. 1899) is another giant that finds ample room to show off at Peggy Rockefeller Rose garden. A Royal Horticultural Society award-winner, this rambler festooned with masses of drooping clusters of small, double, pale-pink blossoms can reach a stunning 40 feet (13 m) in height in favourable conditions.  Shade-tolerant and slightly fragrant, it flowers only once, but with such abundance it can be forgiven for taking a rest for the balance of summer.

Rosa 'Paul's Himalayan Musk'-Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden

If you like landscape roses (I find them a little boring, frankly, as I don’t expect the ‘queen of flowers’ to be “landscape” anything), there are now lots of really good pink ones from which to choose, including the Drift Series from Star Roses. They had several Drifts at Peggy Rockefeller, often interplanted with giant mauve Allium cristophii. Below is ‘Pink Drift’.

Rosa 'Pink Drift'

EXPLORER ROSES

One of my very favourite roses in the Rockefeller garden, not least for its Canadian heritage, ‘John Davis’ is a gorgeous, ultra-hardy, modern shrub rose, bred in 1977 as part of the Explorer series by the late Canadian rose-breeder extraordinare Felicitas Svejda. Her breeding program to develop shrub roses that rivalled old French roses for beauty while managing to withstand the harshness of Canadian prairie winters (many to -40F-40C) produced some 25 roses from the mid-70s, all with the names of early explorers. ‘John Davis’ is on many rose-lovers’ “favourite” list, with its masses of fragrant, clear-pink blossoms in early summer on a 7 foot (2.1 metre) tall shrub that can be trained as a climber.

Rosa 'John Davis'-Explorer Shrub Rose

Now let’s head across the border to the Royal Botanical Garden in Burlington, Ontario, where we find another wonderful Explorer rose.  At 10 feet (3 metres) tall and wide, ‘William Baffin’ (Explorer shrub rose, 1983) is the biggest of Felicitas Svejda’s ultra-hardy introductions (she bred it in 1974 but it was released 9 years later). Gardeners who’ve tried to corral its thorny canes aren’t in a hurry to repeat the experience but the masses of cerise-pink flowers borne in clusters in early summer are truly a magnificent sight.

Rosa 'William Baffin'-Explorer Shrub Rose

And bees, like the bumble bee below, love the exposed stamens of single or semi-double roses like ‘William Baffin’. Though roses don’t offer nectar, their pollen is an excellent source of protein for bees.

Bombus impatiens on Rosa 'William Baffin'

OLD ROSES

When I want to sniff the incredible perfume of the old garden roses, I make my way to the collection beds at the Royal Botanical Garden. There I can find most of the classics – if I’m lucky, even before they’ve been hit hard by black spot, which tends to be a common problem with many of them.   Here are a dozen of my favourites in montage form.

Old Rose Array

In case you can’t read the caption, they include:

1st row, left to right: ‘Belle de Crecy’ (Gallica, 1829), ‘Ispahan’ (Damask, 1832), ‘Henri Martin’ (Moss, 1863); ‘Variegata di Bologna’ (Bourbon, 1909).

2nd row, left to right: ‘Fantin Latour’ (Centifolia, 1900), ‘Cardinal Richelieu’ (Gallica, pre-1847), Rosa muscosa (Common Moss Rose), ‘Petite Lisette’ (1817-Alba/Damask).

3rd row, left to right: ‘Mme Isaac Pereire’ (Bourbon, 1881), Rosa gallica ‘Versicolor’ (Rosa Mundi), ‘Charles de Mills’ (Gallica, year unknown), ‘Tuscany Superb’ (Gallica, 1837)

Its beautifully-shaped, neon-pink blossoms made  ‘Zéphirine Drouhin’ (Bourbon, 1868) a favourite of accomplished gardeners like Vita Sackville-West, and it continues to enjoy popularity today, especially since its branches are thornless.  (Those canes tend to flop around, so it should be trellised.) Like all the Bourbons, it is intensely-perfumed and the flowers look like those of the most exquisite hybrid tea. I only wish Wave Hill Gardens in the Bronx, New York, where I photographed Zéphirine, below, could find a more felicitous background for those blossoms than orange brick.  Design hint: pink roses look best against olive green and charcoal grey.

Rosa 'Zepherine Drouhin'-Wave Hill

With its deep cerise-magenta flowers, the Apothecary rose, Rosa gallica var. officinalis, is another old rose with a very long history. About 4 feet (1.3 metres) tall and wide, extremely fragrant, reasonably disease-resistant and free-flowering in early summer, it is known historically from around 1400 when it was used by ‘officinals’ or apothecaries for medicinal use.  I often find this lovely rose in medicinal herb gardens.

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DR. HUEY

Speaking of strong colour statements, ‘Dr. Huey’ (Hybrid Wichuraiana, 1914) is an interesting rose.  Seen below at  Chanticleer Garden (have you read my two-part blog on my favourite public garden?) outside Philadelphia intertwined fetchingly with a light-purple clematis, it was commonly used in the U.S. as a rootstock under budded roses, including hybrid teas and many of the David Austin English roses (in contrast to “own-root” roses).  As such, it often emerges as suckering growth – either alongside the purchased rose (quite comical, when it soars high above a yellow hybrid tea) or in its place. But that vigor below-ground does not translate to disease-resistance above-ground, since ‘Dr. Huey’ is known to suffer considerably from black spot and other diseases. Still, those dark, wine-pink flowers on long, outspread canes are a very romantic look, and if you can keep it healthy, cheeky interloper or not, it’s a beauty.

Rosa 'Dr. Huey'-Chanticleer Garden

MODERN SHRUB ROSES

Perhaps no rose was as popular in the 1990s in my neck of the woods than Bonica, below  In fact, it was named “the world’s favourite rose” in 1997 (but who ran the contest? hmmmm….). Bonica is what I call it, but like many plants these days, that’s just a trade name and its actual cultivar name is ‘MEIdomonac’. Bred by French rose giant Meilland, it’s a lovely thing . Because of its compact 3-4 foot (1-1.3 metre) size can be incorporated into a perennial border of pinks, blues and purples, grown on its own as a specimen, or used as a low hedge. It’s very serviceable, with lovely flowers that look like ‘old roses’.  Unlike most old roses, however, it will re-bloom throughout summer when deadheaded.

Rosa 'Bonica'-Modern Shrub Rose

At the Toronto Botanical Garden, there’s a prominent bed where two modern shrub roses grow in a pretty, all-pink confection  The David Austin English Rose Mary Rose (‘AUSmary’) is at the rear, growing to about 4 feet x 4 feet (1.3 m x 1.3 m) while the front features the sweet rose ‘The Fairy’ (Polyantha, 1932).

Rosa 'Mary Rose' & 'The Fairy'-Toronto Botanical Garden

‘The Fairy’ makes a great companion to English lavender, shown below at Toronto’s Spadina House.

Rosa 'The Fairy' & Lavandula angustifolia

It is disease-resistant and an exceptionally long bloomer, often gathering frost on its last little buds in late autumn. Aren’t those blossoms sweet?

Rosa 'The Fairy'

Speaking of Spadina House, I do love the bountiful rose display at the front of the historic home, including the old rambler ‘Dorothy Perkins’ (Wichuriaiana, 1901), below. It was the first rose released by American rose giant Jackson & Perkins, and named by breeder Alvin Miller for Charles Perkins’ granddaughter. Its brash pink might not be for everyone, but it is a party when it’s in flower in early summer, but sadly often plagued with mildew and diseases.

Rosa 'Dorothy Perkins'-Spadina House

And while I have you at Spadina House, let me show you another charming companion for early-season roses. Look at these enchanting columbines (Aquilegia vulgaris) below, cozying up to the beautiful, scented, hardy rugosa hybrid rose ‘Thérèse Bugnet’.

Columbines & roses-Spadina House

Many of English rose breeder David Austin’s introductions have the look and perfume of old French roses; some even bear evocative French names. Redouté (‘AUSpale’), below, is a light-pink sport of Mary Rose (mentioned above), and the same height, with ‘fruity old rose’ fragrance.  Named for the renowned 19th century painter of old roses, Pierre-Joseph Redouté, it is meltingly beautiful and would have made a prized still life subject for the artist.

Rosa 'Redoute'

Back to Toronto Botanical Garden for another little landscape rose, this time from German rose breeder Kordes. This is cherry-pink Sweet Vigorosa (KORdatura), which looks right at home with June perennials like Veronica longifolia ‘Eveline’, left, Achillea tomentosa, right, and coreopsis in the rear.

Rosa 'Sweet Vigorosa'-Toronto Botanical Garden

ROSES AND CLEMATIS

Growing roses with clematis is a long tradition, especially in European gardens.  It’s best to choose a clematis that can be cut back to buds near the ground in spring, i.e. one that flowers on new growth.  For the tallest pink roses, a purple Viticella like ‘Etoile Violette’ or ‘Polish Spirit’ would be a good match. In the photo below from Deep Cove Chalet Restaurant (one of my favourite spots to dine) outside Victoria, B.C., we see mauve-pink Clematis ‘Hagley Hybrid’ intertwined with a tallish shrub rose or low climbing rose.  I love that look.

Clematis 'Hagley Hybrid' with pink rose

Since we’re talking pink clematis, I’ll mention one of my favourites:  ‘Comtesse de Bouchaud’ (NOT Bouchard, as it’s often written). This bubblegum-pink vine would be perfect clambering through a pale-pink shrub rose – like one of the David Austins, e.g. Redouté or Queen of Sweden.

Clematis 'Comtesse de Bouchaud'

Clematis ‘Alionushka’ is a non-twining clematis (the herbaceous C. integrifolia is one parent) that needs something to support it, so it’s a very good candidate for training up into a shrub rose of about the same height.

Clematis 'Alionushka'

ONE MORE COLD-HARDY ROSE

Since I’m a prairie girl originally (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan until the age of 6 weeks, when I left for the balmy west coast city of Victoria, B.C., dragging my parents behind me), I’m going to end my homage to pink roses with one that many gardeners consider to be vastly underused. ‘Prairie Joy’ is a product of Canada’s Morden Research Station in Manitoba, a vase-shaped, upright rose to 5-6 feet (2 metres) with   a flush of the most gorgeous pink blossoms in early summer, followed by generous repeat flowering throughout summer. Since the very thorny canes tend to swoop down, it is recommended that ‘Prairie Joy’ be trellised or tied loosely to an obelisk.

Rosa 'Prairie Joy'

And on that very pink note, we bid adieu to May and welcome in rose season.  But don’t forget to join me in early June, when we’ll be taking a promenade through PURPLE in a gorgeous Toronto garden!

The Rosy Buds of May and Beyond

Yes, it’s May, and the garden is bursting with fresh spring colour. Greens are still bright, pests haven’t yet made serious inroads, and there’s still a sense of anticipation about what the rest of the spring season holds.  And on that note, why shouldn’t it hold some pink?  (Especially since I promised you ‘pink for May’ in my 2016 New Year’s resolution!)

Light Pink Flowers-ThePaintboxGarden

The word ‘pink’ is believed to come from the Dutch phrase pinck oogen or “small eyes” and was used to describe flowers of the Dianthus genus that we know as pinks, with their small coloured eyes. Plants like this little Deptford pink (Dianthus armeria) that pops up along my path at the cottage at Lake Muskoka….

Dianthus armeria-Deptford pink

….or the common grass pink (Dianthus plumarius), with its deliciously spicy clove perfume and lime-loving ways.

Dianthus plumarius-grass pink

Its use in colour terminology, i.e. ‘pink-coloured’, dates from 1680, referencing the same genus of plants, but increasingly coming to have other meanings and connotations, such as “in the pink” for health, relating to complexion and the 20th century “pink for girls and blue for boys” social construct that saw everything from maternity ward bracelets to toys and furniture divided into two camps. Interestingly, pink and blue are conjoined in Panatone’s 2016 Colour of the Year, which I blogged about a while back.

PANTONE-2016-Rose Quartz & Serenity

The use of pink plants in garden design schemes seems to have had its heyday in the 1980s, when pretty pastels and combinations of pink-lavender-purple-blue-silver were popular. That “pink for girls” look subsided considerably over the next few decades, when hot colours, dark foliage schemes and green-on-green designs came into their own. But pink-inflected borders are still lovely, and a hallmark of the June garden, when pink peonies and the complementary blues and purples of lupines, irises and other early-summer perennials create a romantic mood, as they do below at Toronto’s Spadina House.

Spadina House-Peonies & lupines

There are loads of pink-flowered perennials and I’ll tackle some of my favourites another time. But in this blog I want to talk about hardy shrubs and vines with pink flowers.  It seems reasonable to do that chronologically, so I’m starting with my favourite pink magnolia, the enchanting and exceptionally early-blooming little ‘Leonard Messel’ Loebner hybrid magnolia. A cross between white-flowered Magnolia kobus and the pink form of star magnolia Magnolia stellata ‘Rosea’, it is very hardy and utterly enchanting, with its starry pink flowers.  Put lots of glory-of-the-snow (Scilla forbesii formerly Chionodoxa) under this one!

Magnolia x loebneri 'Leonard Messel' (1)

‘Leonard Messel’ is best in a protected spot away from wind and weather and lovely with the first spring bulbs. However, a killing frost in early spring in colder regions (twice in 10 years in Toronto)  will turn those brave flowers brown, so caveat emptor.

Magnolia x loebneri 'Leonard Messel' (2)

Japanese cherry trees (Prunus x yedoensis, P. serrulata, etc.) are an iconic – if fleeting – sign of spring in many parts of the temperate world where sakura flower-watching is enjoyed. In colder regions, like Southern Ontario where I live, the choices are somewhat limited, but there is one that I love for its abundant pale-pink flowering show in late April or early May. Prunus ‘Accolade’, shown below, is a 1952 hybrid from England’s Knapp Hill Nurseries, a cross between a form of Prunus x subhirtella and the very hardy, northern Japanese hill cherry Prunus sargentii, aka ‘Sargent’s cherry’, named for its American collector Charles Sprague Sargent.  As a bonus to its flowering, it will also usually turn soft apricot-gold in autumn.

Prunus 'Accolade'

The flowers of ‘Accolade’, below, are exquisite, and arguably the tree is one of the hardiest available for northern gardeners (apart from the early Yoshino cherry, Prunus x yedoensis and the later, double-flowered and rather harsh pink Prunus serrulata ‘Kanzan’). But there’s a little hitch: if winter temperatures flirt with historic lows in the mid-to-low -20s Celsius, the flowers will often blast without opening.  Even in a mild winter without excessively low temperatures, if the mercury drops unseasonably in early spring as the buds are plumping up – as it did in Toronto this April – Japanese cherries will not flower profusely; some will not flower at all. But that’s the chance you take.

Prunus 'Accolade' closeup

An early, pink-flowered shrub to consider is Farrer’s viburnum (Viburnum farreri). I have this in my own garden and it sometimes opens in March in an unseasonably warm spring. Even better is the hybrid Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’, below, which is a 1934 selection by Bodnant Nursery in Wales of their cross between V. farreri and V. grandiflorum.

Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn'

‘Dawn’ is also favoured for its early nectar by bees and overwintering butterflies like the mourning cloak.

Bombus on Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn'

Rhododendrons are a mainstay of the milder west coast and the warmer regions of the northeast into the Carolinas, but there are many that are perfectly hardy for us here in USDA Zone 5 (Zone 6 Canadian zones). Among the best pinks are the ultra-hardy, small-flowered rhododendrons bred by Weston Nurseries in Massachusetts. Indeed, I once had eleven of these – a combination of Rhododendron ‘Aglow’ and ‘Olga Mezitt’ – in my front garden for a spring show that brought the neighbours around to ooh and ahhh. In time, the prairie perennials I grew for my ‘second act’ in summer crowded and shaded out these spring lovelies – and in truth, they were never happy with the soil, which was essentially alkaline clay. But they’re highly recommended for people who don’t mind the somewhat brash neon colour and can’t bear the thought of cosseting the big-flowered rhododendrons to protect them from winter sunshine and resulting leaf dessication. Look how lovely ‘Olga Mezitt’ was, with its pink tulip and blue forget-me-not companions.

Rhododendron 'Olga Mezitt' in my old garden

A closeup of the beautiful flower truss of ‘Olga Mezitt’.

Rhododendron 'Olga Mezitt'

And here is ‘Aglow’ at the Montreal Botanical Garden. Spectacular, isn’t it, for a shrub that can survive -30F (-30C) unprotected without bud damage?

Rhododendron 'Aglow'-Montreal Botanical Garden

The Eastern redbud tree (Cercis canadensis) is one of the most beautiful of the native northeast sylva. It seems like a little miracle that those pea flowers should emerge on bare wood, transforming each limb from drab winter brown to brilliant raspberry-pink. This little grouping of redbuds at the Toronto Botanical Garden includes two pinks, a white-flowered form and the weeping dwarf cultivar ‘Covey’.

Cercis canadensis-Toronto Botanical Garden

A closer look at Eastern redbud at the Toronto Botanical Garden.

Cercis canadensis-Toronto Botanical Garden2

And here’s a better look at Cercis canadensis ‘Covey’ (trade name Lavender Twist – and don’t get me going on the misuse of “lavender” as a colour term), which seems like it was born to cascade over this stone wall!
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Cercis canadensis 'Covey'-Toronto Botanical Garden

Moving along through spring, we have the gorgeous tree peonies and interspecific Itoh hybrid peonies. You could easily find dozens of beautiful pink tree peonies and Itoh variaeties, but it would be hard to beat Paeonia Itoh Group ‘Morning Lilac’, shown here with catmint (Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s Low’).

Paeonia Itoh Group 'Morning Lilac'

And ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’, below, is another beautiful pink Itoh peony.

Paeonia Itoh Group 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'

One of the most elegant, pink-flowered spring shrubs is Calycanthus x raulstonii ‘Hartlage Wine’.  This superb selection of a hybrid between Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus) and the Chinese species C. chinensis was developed at the North Carolina State University arboretum headed by the late J.C. Raulston. The hybrid honours Raulson, while the selection is named for Richard Hartlage, the grad student who made the cross.

Calycanthus x raulstonii 'Hartlage Wine'

I do know that weigelas (Weigela florida) are not much in fashion these days amongst the horticultural cognoscenti, given that they were much overplanted in decades past. But they are largely problem-free, gorgeous in flower, and quite attractive to pollinators, especially bumble bees. (Incidentally, my friend Rebecca Alexander, erudite librarian at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens Center for Urban Horticulture, points out that the genus should be pronounced VYE-guh-la, since it’s named after German Botanist Christian Ehrenfried von Weigel –and certainly not wuh-JEE-lia. But imagine the looks you’d get at your local nursery as you ask for Vyeguhla!) I think they are lovely shrubs with exciting variety in their flower and leaf colours and forms, especially the beautiful variegated-leaf cultivar ‘Variegata’. Skilful pruning immediately after blooms fade helps maintain a vigorous shrub, but rejuvenation pruning may be required every few years to remove the oldest wood and keep the shrub at a reasonable height.

Weigela florida

I’ve also seen weigela grown as an unexpectedly attractive flowering hedge.

Weigela florida hedge

Mmm…. lilacs. Everyone loves lilac season, with those magnificent perfumed trusses of the deep-purple, reddish-mauve, white or soft lilac flowers that gave that hue its name. While true pink isn’t seen in the many named lilacs descending from the common lilac Syringa vulgaris, it is found in a class of late-bloomers generally called the Preston lilacs (Syringa x prestoniae). The name honours Isabella Preston, the Canadian plant breeder whose work in the 1920s and 30s with crosses of the late Syringa villosa (shown below) with Syringa reflexa resulted in so many excellent and hardy shrubs, mostly known as the Villosae Group.  Lightly-scented (of privet, rather than the typical lilac scent), they flower 10 days to 2 weeks after common lilacs.

Syringa villosa

Other breeders worked with these lilacs too, such as Dr. Frank Skinner in Roblin, Manitoba, who developed the beautiful pink-flowered ‘Hiawatha’, on the left below, in 1932. On the right is ‘Isabella’, developed in 1928 by its namesake Miss Preston.

Syringa x prestoniae 'Hiawatha' & 'Isabella'

Syringa x prestoniae ‘Miss Canada’ was introduced, appropriately, in Canada’s Centennial year 1967, by Dr. William Cumming at Manitoba’s Morden Research Centre, a cross between Syringa josiflexa ‘Redwine’ and S. x prestoniae ‘Hiawatha’, above.  What a pink beauty she is.

Syringa x prestoniae 'Miss Canada'

Syringa x prestoniae ‘Ferna Alexander’, was introduced in 1970 by Boston horticulturist John H. Alexander, who recommended appreciating these late lilacs for themselves as exceptional shrubs, rather than comparing them to the familiar common lilac and its selections. I photographed this rare beauty at the top of the Lilac Dell at the Royal Botanical Garden, Hamilton, Ontario, on June 10, 2011.  It’s named for the grandmother of current Arnold Arboretum plant breeder J.H. Alexander III, so a tip of the hat to the breeding talents of the Alexander family.

Syringa x prestoniae 'Ferna Alexander'

Here’s another beautiful pink Preston from John H. Alexander – ‘Alexander’s Aristocrat’. It seems to me that the RBG and other lilac gardens should be propagating these unusual introductions and making them available in commerce so we don’t lose them for future generations.

Syringa x prestoniae 'Alexander's Aristocrat'

Finally, while I’m immersed in pink lilacs — and I could go on and on with pink Prestons I’ve photographed:  ‘Alice Rose Foster’, ‘Danusia’, Romeo’, etc. — let me finish up with a beautiful pink, Chinese species lilac from the David Lam Asian Garden at the U.B.C. Botanical Garden in Vancouver (though hardy in cold regions as well): the spectacular Syringa sweginzowii.    If that doesn’t knock your socks off, I don’t know what will.

Syringa sweginzowii

Can you imagine the joy they must have felt at the Arnold Arboretum that day in June 1915 when beautybush (Kolkwitzia amabilis) flowered for the very first time in North America? The seeds had been collected fourteen years earlier near Hubei China by Ernest Wilson, but there was no foretelling that this stunning pink apparition would be the result. Wilson himself was so fond of it, he said: “Among the deciduous-leaved shrubs that central and western China has given to American gardens Kolkwitzia stands in the front rank.”  I agree – and feel so lucky that my neighbour planted two beautybush shrubs along our property line, which I get to enjoy as borrowed scenery each June.

Kolkwitzia amabilis as borrowed scenery

Though the species itself tends to be a pale, almost fleshy-pink, the one below in Toronto’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery has the rich colour of the selection ‘Pink Cloud’, a 1946 introduction from the Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley.

Kolkwitzia amabilis-Beauty bush

My final pink-flowered favourite is Robinia x slavinii ‘Hillieri’, a pretty 1930 selection of the hybrid ‘Slavin’s locust’ developed by New York breeder Bernard Slavin, who in 1919 crossed pink-flowered Robinia kelseyi with the large, white-flowered North American native black locust, Robinia pseudocacia.

Robinia x slavinii 'Hillierii'-habit

With its wisteria-like pink flower clusters much sought out by bumble bees, it’s a lovely sight in early June, though it does bear prominent thorns.  I photographed it at Mount Pleasant Cemetery down the road from my home in Toronto, where choice plants have been grown by the arborists on staff for many decades. Sadly, it appears that this tree is not easily found in North America – a  shame, really, because it’s a good choice for a small garden.

Robinia x slavinii 'Hillierii'-closeup

I could continue indefinitely with pink woody plants for spring, including crab apples, hawthorns, deutzias and, especially, roses (tune in next time for pink clematis & roses). But it’s May, and there’s gardening to be done.

Safari: Kicheche Laikipa – Part 3

If you’ve read my first and second blogs on our safari at Kicheche Laikipia, in Kenya, you’ll know that it is now late March 2016, on the cusp of the rainy season. We’re the last guests in this intimate 6-tent camp near Nanyuki, which will close for the season in just two days.   This morning we’ve slept well and are ready for the 5:30 am knock at the tent door and the tray of coffee, hot chocolate and biscuits. Within 40 minutes of waking, we’re with our guide Albert Chesoli out on the savannah, awaiting the sunrise. As yesterday, Mount Kenya is clearly visible on the horizon; later in the day, it is almost always shrouded by cloud.

Mount-Kenya-before-sunrise

Slowly, the sky turns pink….

Pink-sky-Ol-Pejeta

…. and finally, the sun rises. Though we don’t have the lovely giraffe silhouettes we saw yesterday, there’s always something interesting on the horizon at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, like these zebras grazing amongst acacia trees in the distance.

Sunrise-Ol Pejeta

It isn’t long after sunrise when we’re rewarded with what is our best sighting in all of our safari excursions. We spot two cheetah brothers (Acinonyx jubatus), the remaining pair of three brothers born six years earlier.  They are amazingly synchronized in their behaviour, heads turning at the same time….

Cheetas-Ol Pejeta1

….lying down at the same time, then meandering off through the grasses together to sit, one marking a tree to establish territory.

Cheeta-Ol-Pejeta6

Albert positions our van as close to them as possible, then turns the engine off. For the next half-hour or so, we are utterly absorbed watching them in this quiet corner of Ol Pejeta.  Like the cats they are, one sharpens his claws on a dead tree trunk….

Cheetas-Ol Pejeta2

…while his brother watches for prey, preferably an antelope or gazelle straying from the pack.

Cheetas-Ol Pejeta3

What beautiful markings on their faces!

Cheetas-Ol Pejeta5

Soon they begin to relax – a snooze, perhaps, in their future.

Cheetas-Ol Pejeta4

The cheetah brothers are so transfixing, I’ve been switching between still photos and video.  Because of weight restrictions on the small planes, I only brought my ‘small’ camera, the Canon PowerShot SX50HS with its powerful 50x zoom lens (now replaced by the Canon SX60HS with 65x optical zoom), but it’s perfect for recording these two stunning animals interacting playfully and lovingly with each other like the bonded 6-year olds they are.

When it appears that lolling around wrestling and grooming each other, rather than hunting, is on their agenda, we turn on the engine and head back out on the savannah…..

Ol Pejeta Conservancy

…. but the other animal sightings this morning are somewhat anti-climatic after our cheetah experience. We decide to stop for our picnic breakfast, and Albert finds us a clearing near a spring-fed stream and prepares to sets the table.

Albert Chesoli-Kicheche Laikipia-picnic

This morning’s menu features Scotch eggs, a delicious combination of spicy sausage and boiled eggs, with crepes and mango chutney.

Safari breakfast-Kicheche-Laikipia

As I sip my coffee, I notice a little glimmer of bright-red in the grasses. It’s the tiny flower of an indigenous hibiscus, H. aponeurus. In my later reading, I discover this little flower was used by the Maasai in witchcraft!

Hibiscus aponeurus-Ol Pejeta

Besides the acacias, the other predominant shrub on the savannah is Euclea divinorum, which is widespread on the African continent.

Euclea divinorum-Ol Pejeta

The morning has warmed up considerably and many of the animals seem to be hiding from the heat. So we drive back to camp – pronounced Kee-cheh-chay – to put our feet up for a while before lunch.

Kicheche Laikipia Sign

After lunch, I read on our tent porch and watch a cape buffalo at the water hole. But when I approach with my camera, he galumphs off through the mud…..

Tent-overlook-Kicheche

….. so I photograph the cattle egrets on a dead tree instead.

Egrets-Ol Pejeta

In mid-afternoon, I’ve arranged to meet William Wanyika, who not only works in the Kicheche camp administration but is the resident beekeeper, something he’s been doing for most of his life. (Photographing honey bees is one of my great passions.)

William Wanyika-beekeeper-Kicheche Laikipia

William shows me the flowers of the abundant euclea, which are providing most of the nectar flow for the bees at the moment….

Euclea divinorum flowers

…and I ask him to talk a bit about his beekeeping while I videotape him. What a treat to have this opportunity to learn about something I’ve chronicled at home.  Here’s my video – sorry about the buffeting wind.

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Black-Chested Snake Eagles-Kicheche Laikipia

As we get closer to the Sweetwaters Chimp Sanctuary where the majority of lodges and hotels are, we find lots of crowded safari vehicles on the road; one driver pulls close to tell Albert about a lion sighting nearby  On our way to find it, we come upon a bull elephant (Loxodonta africana) drinking at a pond. It’s clear by his partially-unsheathed penis that he has also recently been (or is about to be) urinating. From his vantage point, Albert doesn’t think he’s in musth, but with my telephoto lens I can capture him at a safe distance and later see that there are secretions from the temporal glands at the side of his head which seem to indicate that he is.   If so, his urine contains much higher levels of testosterone than usual, and dribbling it around signals his musth status to other males.

Elephant-Ol-Pejeta

Unlike the female elephants that congregate in matriarchal communities with grandmothers, daughters, aunts, female cousins and the youngest male and female calves living together, young male elephants are kicked out when they reach their adolescent years (about 14) and will live in “bachelor clubs” with other males and a dominant bull male, from whom they learn behaviour. When females are in oestrus, musth males can detect it from far away.

Once the elephant saunters off, we go in search of the lions, finding them resting in the trees near the road, likely waiting for darkness before going hunting. So we drive on.

Lion-Ol Pejeta

Next we find a pair of grey-crowned cranes (Balearica regulorum) doing their courtship dance….

Grey-crowned Cranes-Ol Pejeta

….and a southern white rhinoceros drinking at one of Ol Pejeta’s water troughs….

Southern White Rhinoceros-Ol Pejeta

….and some newborn zebras, below. The common (Burchell’s) zebras (Equus burchellii) usually give birth during the rainy season in East Africa. The mare will separate from the herd before delivering in order to protect the vulnerable foal.

Zebra & foal-Ol Pejeta

Albert points out that zebras have evolved long enough legs for a newborn that when standing behind their mothers (and combined with the visually confusing stripes), lions cannot easily detect them.

Zebra mother & foal leg height-Ol Pejeta

As we drive on, we see a group of safari vans parked along the road, all the cameras trained on a lioness She yawns…..

Lion-yawning-Ol Pejeta

….then saunters off, and we decide we’re a little tired, too. Time to head back for a drink – the traditional safari ‘sundowner’ – before dinner.

Tomorrow, we fly home and this is our final sighting at Kicheche Laikipia and Ol Pejeta Conservancy.  But I’ve collected video of a lot of the animals we’ve seen over the past few days, and put it together so I can enjoy the feel of the savannah here any time I want.  I hope you enjoy watching it, too..

On our last morning, we sleep in a little (no safari drive today) and have breakfast in the main tent before packing for home.

Camp breakfast-Kicheche-Laikipia

We say our goodbyes to Andy & Sonja Webb, and Albert drives us into the little airport at Nanyuki and watches until we’re safely up in the air. These flights are often milk runs, and the sleepy passengers settle in as we head to Wilson Airport outside Nairobi via a stop at Lewa Downs, where we began our Kenyan adventure one week before.

Air Kenya plane

As we fly over Laikipia, I gaze down at the landscape below us.  The patchwork farm crops…..

Laikipia-Aerial2

….the wheat fields…..

Laikipia-Aerial3

…and the great forests and acacia-dotted plains of the conservancies and parks where Kenya’s magnificent animals roam free.

Laikipia-4

It is a land like no other, and one we’re so fortunate to have experienced.

*******************************************************************************************************

Postscript:  Given the vagaries of airline schedules, a total of 41 hours will elapse between awakening at Kicheche Laikipia and going to bed In Toronto.  To pass some of the hours before our Nairobi-London leg, we’ve booked a day room at Macushla House on Nairobi’s outskirts, where we stayed for 2 nights more than a week ago on our arrival in Kenya from London.

Macushla House1

We can sit and read in an easy chair….

Macushla House3…while enjoying the unique furnishings, like this cool owl support post….

Macushla House4

Or sip a gin-and-tonic at an outdoor table with lunch…

Macushla House2

…after a swim in the pool.

Macushla House5

Eventually, it’s time to brave Nairobi’s traffic to Jomo Kenyatta airport to begin the flights home to Canada. As always, East Africa has bewitched us, its people have enchanted us, and its majestic animals have served as powerful reminders that there are still beautiful places in the world where ‘wild’ is more than just a word, it’s a covenant with nature.

Safari: Kicheche Laikipia – Part 2

After our initial game drive yesterday on our arrival at Kicheche Laikipia from Lewa, we’re almost eager to rise-and-shine as we hear “Good morning, Jambo!” from the darkness outside our tent. We unzip the flap and greet our pre-dawn messenger, who places a tray with coffee and biscuits on a low table.

Wake-up tray-Kicheche-Laikipia

There’s no time to shower now, just a fast wash before dressing in layers of clothes to keep us warm (it’s barely 50F-10C outside), gulping the coffee, and heading down the path behind the guard’s flashlight beam. (Since many animals can and do wander through the various camps, when it’s dark outside there is always someone to escort you to the parking area, to dinner or back to your tent for the night.) Albert bids us good morning and we climb into the vehicle. Having been on safari before in vans crammed with 8-10 people all vying for the best camera angle, it is nothing short of luxury to be on our own with just our driver. Soon we are out in the open and the sky is beginning to lighten on the eastern horizon where the rugged profile of Mount Kenya juts into the sky. At 17,058 feet (5199 m), it is second in height only to Mount Kilimanjaro (19,340 feet or 5895 m), Africa’s highest mountain.

Mount Kenya at dawn-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

Suddenly the van shakes a little and we hear a noise close by. Looking down, we see a young spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) trying to eat the tires. Scoot!

Hyena chewing tire-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

With the sun about to rise, Albert sees three reticulated giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) nibbling on salt-rich soil (necessary for their diets) and quickly positions us to the west. They take turns standing guard while each bends its long neck to reach the ground.

Girafffes at dawn-Ol Pejeta-Laikipia

I wait patiently and as the sun begins to rise, all three stand erect. Click!

Giraffes at sunrise-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

As we drive on, the sky grows progressively brighter but there’s still a chill in the air, especially with the roof open and the windows down for photography. Fortunately, Kicheche Laikipia has thought about that and furnished the van with two hot water bottles. I borrow Doug’s to keep my legs warm!

Water bottles-Kicheche-Laikipia

We surprise a little flock of helmeted guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) on the road. They’re common birds, but quite beautiful – and so nervous,it’s hard to get a photo.

Helmeted Guineafowl-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche Something about the way the gazelles are acting piques Albert’s curiosity.

Albert Chesoli-Kicheche-Laikipia His professional instinct is rewarded when he spots a lone cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) ambling away from us. Cheetah1-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche We follow it, then lose it.

But somehow, with some tracker’s sixth sense, Albert finds it resting in the grasses amidst eucleas and whistling thorns. He radios the other Kicheche van with the two guys from San Francisco, and like some human GPS map, carefully explains our location to the driver. Soon they join us and we quietly sit and observe this beautiful big cat.  But since he doesn’t seem anxious to move, we decide to press on, backing out through the grasses and heading down the road.

Cheetah2-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

Then Albert points to the top of an acacia, where a sweet little lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus) sits in the morning sun.  I’m so excited! This is one of the “must-see” birds for safari-going ornithologists.

Lilac-breasted rolle-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

A little further, two female waterbucks (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) stop their grazing and stare at us.

Waterbucks-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

Down the road, we spot a secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius), no doubt hunting for snakes, their principal food (and reflected in their species name). What great feathers!

Secretary bird-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

And a little black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas).

Jackal-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

We drive past trees, like the one at the top of the photo below, festooned with myriad species of birds. This one has grey-crowned cranes (Balearica regulorum) at right and spoonbills (Platalea alba), sacred ibis and hadada ibis at left. Below are closeup shots of sacred ibis (Threskiornis ethiopicus), left and hadada ibis, right (Bostrychia hagedash).

Birds-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

Next, we come upon a large troop of olive baboons (Papio anubis) just descending from the big trees where they’ve spent the night.

Baboon troop-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche Infant baboons learn to hang onto their mother’s fur at about 1 week.

Baboons-Pejeta-Kicheche

We pass a pond where the African spoonbill (Platalea alba) is fishing.

African spoonbill-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

A little further on, a migratory European white stork (Circonia circonia) watches us carefully.  It will fly back to its breeding grounds in Europe soon.

European-Stork

A male impala (Aepyceros melampus) gathers his harem together protectively as we drive by……

Impalas-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

…while the common eland (Taurotragus oryx) pays us no heed whatsoever.

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A pair of southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) keep an eye on us. Note the square lips that give it its other common name, the “southern square-lipped rhinoceros). Southern White Rhinos-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

Ol Pejeta Conservancy is also home to the only remaining northern white rhinos (Ceraotherium simum cottoni) in the world: three individuals for whom breeding attempts have so far failed, given the age and health of the two females. A December 2015 meeting in Austria explored options of frozen tissue and spermatozoa and other technologies that might help conserve this subspecies in the face of its imminent extinction.

We watch a Jackson’s hartebeest (Alcephalus bucelaphus lelwel) who’s watching us back!

Jackson's Hartebeest-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

We’ve been out a few hours and our tummies are telling us it’s time to eat. Albert finds a clearing and removes the back floorboard from the van, which transforms itself, presto, into a picnic table!  He sets up three camp stools and brings out a basket filled with a sumptuous assortment of food, with juice and coffee.

Kicheche Laikipia picnic breakfast

I set my camera on the back seat and hit the timer button. Click!

Picnic Breakfast-Kicheche-Laikipia

After breakfast, we spot a black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and her calf. Note the red-billed oxpecker on the mother. From the starling family, its preferred diet is blood and blood-engorged ticks from the skin of these big mammals.

Black Rhino & calf-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

It’s late morning and we’re ready to head back to the camp for a rest before lunch. As we drive, Albert points out the lion’s preferred food – a baby gazelle playing a little too far from its mother.

Baby Thomson's gazelle-Ol Pejeta

Back at camp, we put our feet up for a while. Then it’s lunch time. Sonja Webb loves buying cookbooks and having her cooks try out all kinds of gourmet recipes.  So we’re treated to a delicious homemade pizza and salad……

Kicheche Laikipia-Lunch1

…. and grilled pineapple with homemade peanut ice cream for dessert!  Mmmmm…

Kicheche Laikipia-Lunch2

At 4 o’clock, we’re back out on the savannah, where we come across a herd of Cape or African buffalo ( Syncerus caffer).  Such grizzled old faces on these beasts.

Cape Buffalo-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

Then we spot a small group of elephants munching on vegetation. Albert tells us they need to eat 250-300 kilograms a day.

Elephants-Ol-Pejeta

There are lots of common zebras….

Common Zebras-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

…and Albert points out a hybrid zebra, below right, that displays the characteristics of both the common and larger, more rare Grevey’s zebras. I later learn that there are four of these on Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

Hybrid giraffe-Ol Pejeta

A giraffe walks gracefully in front of us.

Reticulated giraffe-Ol Pejeta-Kicheche

And we spend a lot of time watching families of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) playing around their den opening.

Hyenas & den-Ol Pejeta

As the sun is setting, there’s barely enough light to capture this spotted eagle owl (Bubo africanus) roosting on a tree.

Spotted-eagle-owl-Ol-Pejeta

Then the sun goes down…..

Sunset-Ol Pejeta

….. and we head back to camp where there’s a lovely surprise awaiting us. Instead of dining alone at the big table in the main tent, they have set a romantic table for two in our tent, complete with candles, wine, and wildflowers strewn across the tablecloth.

Tent dinner-Kicheche-Laikipia

Time for bed. That 5:30 knock at the tent door comes early!

Tune in for Safari-Part 3 in a few days, when we’ll watch a pair of cheetah brothers play with each other on film and visit with Kicheche Laikipia’s resident beekeeper!

Safari: Kicheche Laikipia – Part 1

On March 28th, 2016, after 4 days spent at the 62,000 acre Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, in Isiolo, Kenya, we are driven to the Lewa gates by Francis and pose for a farewell photo with him….

Francis-Lewa

…. before getting into the van that was dispatched from Kicheche Camp-Laikipia to make the 2-1/2 hour drive southwest to their tented camp on Ol Pejeta Conservancy. When we planned our trip, we looked for a small camp within driving distance of Lewa and in view of Mount Kenya, the highest peak in the country.

Here’s the map of Laikipia showing the route from Lewa to Ol Pejeta.

Laikipia-map

Soon we’re driving through rolling hills of the countryside, listening to our driver Albert Chesoli, who will also be our safari guide for the next three days. Note the greenhouses, upper right. Laikipia has a thriving cut flower industry, particularly roses.

Laikipia-GreenhousesAfter maize, wheat is the #2 grain produced in Kenya, and these rolling, high-altitude (c.5,000 feet) hills are perfect for growing it.

Laikipia-Wheat Fields

Staying in a wildlife conservancy tends to isolate you from the neighbouring villages and farms outside the gate. The poverty rate in Laikipia is 46% (2006 figures) which puts it about middle of the pack in Kenya. This is something that is often difficult to square with a luxurious safari stay, and many visitors pack a suitcase with school supplies or make donations to neighbouring communities a part of their journey.

Laikipia-town

We pass a donkey cart carrying supplies……

Donkey-cart-Laikipia

…. and a produce stand by the side of the highway.

Laikipia-Fruit stand

The shops are small and colourful!

Laikipia-shops

Passing through Nanyuki, the market town that services many of the safari lodges in the Mount Kenya area, I notice a garden centre with plants that look surprisingly like many we can buy at local nurseries.

Nanyuki-Garden Centre

After negotiating the road repairs near Nanyuki, we pull into the gatehouse of Ol Pejeta Conservancy while Albert registers us. Their mission statement:“The Ol Pejeta Conservancy works to conserve wildlife, provide a sanctuary for great apes and to generate income through wildlife tourism and complementary enterprises for re-investment in conservation and communities.”  Throughout the 90,000 acre conservancy, there are more than a dozen lodges, tented camps (of which ours is one), guest houses and campsites. The most famous site within Ol Pejeta is Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, established in 1993 by Jane Goodall to give refuge to orphaned and abused chimps from West and Central Africa.  (I had visited the sanctuary in 2007, on our previous trip to Kenya, our 30th anniversary tour of several conservancies and national parks.)  Security is high here, with elephant tusk and rhino horn poaching a constant threat.

Ol Pejeta-Rongai gate

A short time later, we pull into the parking area at Kicheche Laikipia and after a refreshing drink, we’re taken to our tent, one of just six on the property……

Kicheche-Laikipia-Batian tent

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Kicheche-hammock

…. and an excellent view of the water hole…..

Tent view of waterhole-Kicheche-Laikipia…. which is behind an almost invisible electric fence…..

Kicheche-Laikipia-electric fence

…that, nonetheless, does a good job of keeping the elephants on the far side.

Elephant-Fence

After a review of the camp procedures with Andy Webb, co-manager of Kicheche Laikipia with his wife Sonja, we join him and the other few guests for a lovely lunch served by Stephen outdoors under a tree. As it’s the very end of the season, (safari camps in the region close for the rainy season in April and May, when the roads become impassable), we only have one night with other guests – the next two nights we’re on our own here!

Andy Webb-Kicheche-Laikipia

From lunch time to tea time on safari, which precedes the 4 pm game-viewing drive, guests take the opportunity to read, nap or wander around camp. I decide to get a better look at the families of elephants drinking on the far side of the water hole.

Our afternoon drive is rather quiet. There are common zebras, of course – the mainstay of the savannah…..

Zebras-Ol Pejeta

…..and a lovely tawny eagle (Aquila rapax) up in a tree.

Tawny Eagle

We engage in a staring contest with a warthog….

Warthog-Ol Pejeta

….and manage to catch the end of a turf war between two groups of lions, with this one skulking off to her own territory.

Lioness-Ol-Pejeta

It’s the end of a long day, with dinner in the main tent……

Kicheche-Laikipia-main tent

….. and early lights out, for the friendly “Jambo! Good morning” comes at 5:30 am tomorrow, followed by our 6 am game drive.  See you then for Safari-Part 2!