The Northern Applachians

A flower-rich meadow in Parc National du Bic

A talk today about creating a native woodland garden (here in the Southern Applachians) reminded me in a vivid way how much I feel at home in the Northern Appalachians, too, where this venerable mountain range dips into the sea (or the Gulf of the St. Lawrence).

Young fir seedlings as well as adult firs, high-elevation trees here in the Southern Appalachians, are iconic trees in the Northern Appalachians at sea level.  Of course, many of the same plants are present in the Northern Appalachians -- the range provides a backbone for native vegetation from northern Georgia to Quebec, as well as in adjoining mountains, too.

Firs and meadows in Parc National du Bic

Low tide along the Chemin du Nord

I was delighted to enjoy hikes through Parc National du Bic on a daily basis, with their viewscapes of the St. Lawrence and the bays and broad expansive skies.

The header for this blog is a view of Havre le Bic on the other side of the park from this view; it's equally lovely...

I was reminded, again, talking with friends at lunch after the talk, of what a special and wonderful place that this part of Quebec is;  how lucky we are to have bumbled into a small historic house surrounded with a garden that's also being tweaked towards becoming a native woodland garden, but there, typical of the Northern Appalachians.

There's been lots of fun research about the species that are appropriate!

Learning about native plants is fun!

And I was reminded (poking through my photos) of when we first saw the place -- just as a very late spring was unfolding.  It turned out to be more delightful that we imagined as we lived there in the summer.    Here was my post in Natural Gardening, after that first visit.

a first view, in late May 2018