March | 2016 | Garden Variety Life

Erythronium Oregonum Fawn Lily garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

After a hearty meal of ham & scalloped potatoes, I’m in need of some exercise & fresh air. We head off to one of our favorite walks: the forested loop around Mount Doug Park.

It’s a delight, but not a surprise, to come across the speckled leaves of a fawn lily at the edge of the path. (I’ve seen these native wildflowers along the forest edge of walking trails at Cedar Hill Golf Course too, ) But then I spy another leaf further off the trail… and a few more!

Just beyond those is a meadow of them! I wouldn’t have guessed that the deciduous under-story would give enough light for a whole meadow of fawn lily.

The White Fawn Lily meadow at the north end of Beacon Hill Park is much more open than this.

Erythronium Oregonum Fawn Lily bloom & leaf CU, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Today there’s just a few flowers in bloom, but give it another week….

Last year Easter was well over a week later. By then the Fawn Lilies at Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary were in their glory.

Now it makes sense why some folk call these Easter Lily.

In Ontario the speckled leaves remind folk of brook trout, so they call them Trout Lily. Perhaps Eastern Canadians don’t see deer as often as we do in Victoria? A rose by any other name….

If we want to get scientific about names, the west coast native is Erythronium Oregonum, and its east coast cousin is E. Americanum.

No matter the moniker used, it’s lovely to see the early spring wildflowers. Happy Easter!

-30-

helleborus Hellebore - Mardi Gras double dangling garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

It feels like magic to have blooms in the garden through the winter months, so it’s no surprise I admire Hellebore.

helleborus Hellebore - Mardi Gras double & hand garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Commonly the flowers gaze at the ground, likely trying to shed our west coast rain. When I take the time to lift the face of one, I realize it’s even more lovely .

Happily I don’t have to stand in the rain to enjoy the blooms. These flowers last really well inside the house as cut flowers (over a week). BUT their nodding heads do make a vase arrangement tricky.

At the mini-show of the View Royal Garden Club last month, judge JB suggested floating the blooms face up in a bowl.

helleborus hellebore garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

CH, from Victoria Horticultural Society, floated a collection of Hellebore in a large casserole at the VHS parlour show. Wow, what a variety of hellebore blooms!

It’s no wonder the Hellebore has become so popular over the past few years.

The very next day I delighted in another display. AF put together a collection of blooms from her yard & floated them in a bowl on her coffee table.
So simple.
So lovely.

With all this encouragement, I’ve finally got up the nerve to pick some of our flowers & try an arrangement myself.

I use a mini pie plate, fill it with water, then float the blooms. The toughest part is deciding on colour placement… but seriously, that’s just beginner’s nerves. It looks OK, doesn’t it?

Now it feels like there is hope for spring. What could be easier than this !?!

-30-

SVSeekins