We are very fortunate to live next to Fintry Provincial Park.  The park is not only steeped in history from the Manor House to the farm buildings left over from the J.C. Dun Waters estate, but there is an abundance of native plants and trees.**

During my walk this morning, I noted that the balsamroot is just starting to die off, the lupins are just coming into bloom and there were many clumps of penstemon clinging to the rocky outcrops.  I usually grow penstemon in the garden as the humming birds are attracted to the bell shaped flowers.  Unfortunately though I have not had much success in keeping it growing from year to year in my garden…I guess it is just a little too tender for this area.  I am always amazed though that the wild penstemon survives the extreme temperatures that we sometimes get in the winter time.  Lilacs were blooming everywhere, probably left over from when there were formal gardens both at the Manor House and the long gone estate homes.  It was lovely to smell their scent while walking down the trails through the park.

There are areas of wild asparagus too also left over from these bygone days…please refer to this link for a great asparagus recipe http://thefoodblog.net/wild-asparagus/ and further dialogue on the beautiful delta that we live in.

**If you would like to read further on the history of Fintry, please refer to the book entitled “Lives, Loves and Dreams” written by Stan Sauerwein with Arthur Bailey.