Category Archives: drought tolerant

bulbs, drought tolerant, months 01-03: winter, months 04-06: spring

Top 5 Deer Resistant, Mid-Spring Bulbs

03/08/2018 svseekins Leave a comment

The deer in our neighborhood of Victoria (the Mt. Tolmie black-tailed deer) have shown no interest in these spring blooms.

An added bonus is that all 5 picks have proven themselves drought tolerant through our long dry summers (even 100 days without rain).

1- Glory of Snow (Chiondoxa forbesii) show their cheery faces in mid-March.

Glory of Snow, chionodoxa in Royal Oak at the Fireside Grill garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest february — photo by SVSeekins

6 inches high
naturalizing
Full Sun – Part Shade
zone 3

special notes
– A true naturaliser! Some great places to view mass patches of them are Camosun College Lansdown Campus, Metchosin Church graveyard, and Summit Park.
– see also
Meadow Blooms 2 – Chiondoxa

2- Fawn Lily (Erythronium oregonum) is often called the Easter Lily because it shows itself around Easter time – whether that’s in late March or mid-April.

white fawn lily bloom Erythronium oregonum garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

6 inches high
naturalizing
Full Sun – Part Shade
zone 7

special notes
– see also
Meadow Blooms 4 – Fawn Lily
Fawn Lily at Easter
Spring Wildflower Walk

3- Mini Botanical Tulip adds to the spring celebration of blooms in April.

Tulipa saxatilis, mini botanical tulip garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

4-10 inches high, depending on the variety
naturalizing
Full Sun – Part Shade
zone 3
photo by SVSeekins

special notes

– Botanical Tulips are the only variety of tulips, in my experience, that deer leave alone. Simply because I can, I DO… plant lots of them.
– Tulips prefer summer drought, so if you’re irrigating your garden, the tulips are better kept in pots & set elsewhere when their show is done.
– My current fave is Species Tulipa Praestans Unicum (4 in.) because it has multiple, bright red flowers on each stem AND has variegated foliage.

4- Grape Hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) turn our Gary Oak Meadow to a sweep of blue when they bloom in mid-April.

grape hyacinth, Muscari armeniacum garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

6 inches high
naturalizing
Full Sun – Part Shade
zone 4
photo by SVSeekins

special notes
– The leaves show up early in the autumn & are often grazed by the deer through the winter. For whatever reason, shortly before the buds show, the deer lose interest.
– I was stunned when I heard a fellow gardener say that he regretted planting grape hyacinth. They naturalize around here so well that they grow out of cracks along the edge of the driveway. ‘That is determined’, granted, but I still enjoy them.
– see also
Looking Forward to Sunshine

5- Daffodils (Narcissus) are bursts of sunshine in the March & April gardens.

daffodils Narcissus at Camosun College garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

4- 24 inches high depending on the variety
naturalizing
Full Sun – Part Shade
zone 3 or 4 depending on the variety

Narcissus Daffodil, jonquil, daffadowndilly, meadow at HCP garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

special notes
– Daffodils are perhaps the best know bulb for deer resistance. Here’s a quick list of my faves:
early – – Dwarf narcissi ( with multi blooms per stem)
–– Tete a Tete (6 in.), Jetfire (10), Jack Snipe (10), Toto (8), Velocity (8)
early – mid – – Rock garden narcissi
–– Suzy (16 in.), Feb Gold + Quail (10),
mid – Late – – -Mini narcissi
— Baby Moon (10 in.) Canalaculatis (5) Golden Bells (4)

Bonus Pick

Fritillaria meleagris, checkered lily, snake head lily, chequered daffodil garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

6- Fritillaria also bloom in Victoria in mid-spring.
—Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria michailovskyi) 8 inches, zone 5
—Checkered Lily (Fritillaria meleagris) 8 inches, zone 3
special notes
– I can’t totally swear by these because I haven’t grown them in our garden, but I have seen them locally.

All of the Top 5 picks have been drought tolerant in our garden. Fritillaria might need more moisture than I use in the summer, but I’m like most gardeners — coveting the plant on the other side of the fence.
🙂

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drought tolerant, evergreens, garden visits, months 01-03: winter, months 10-12: fall, perrennials

Red-Hot Pokers in Winter

01/31/2018 svseekins 1 Comment

A blooming swath of red-hot pokers (aka torch lily, aka Kniphofia) caught my eye last November. Seriously – November!

red hot poker kniphofia garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

That seems crazy. Its broad, strappy foliage resembles the Kniphofia that blooms in our garden in May– six months earlier. Who knew there were such varieties? And how can I get some??

In the cool overcast of autumn, these kniphofia flowers stand up much longer than our spring bloomers.

red hot poker kniphofia snow garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

When it starts to snow on Christmas Eve, I’m concerned. On Christmas Day, the snow sparkles on the garden, telling the world that winter is here.

In my experience, snow cover is the tipping point when red-hot pokers disintegrate into a slimy mess. (Fortunately, they come back in spring! Some Kniphofia are actually cold hardy to zone 5 – that’s to -25 C 🙂 I can’t imagine them growing in the Tiffindel ski area of South Africa, but apparently, that’s home. )

By Boxing Day, the snow is gone. I’m ecstatic. Don’t get me wrong – there is something magical about a White Christmas — but followed by a Green Boxing Day is perfection!

Mysteriously, all of the Kniphofia survive– leaves and all! Relief!
Now, I’m curious to know which temperature precisely brings on their disintegration.

In Victoria, we have a School-Based Weather Network. Most schools host tech monitoring the individual climatic pockets around town. It’s very handy. There’s a station just a block away. I prefer to confirm rainfall & temperatures uber-locally and not count on the information coming out of Victoria Airport, 25 km away.

As it turns out, the temperatures through the storm barely dipped a degree below freezing. We’ve had plenty of mornings like that through December, just without the snow. Perhaps it’s temperatures like -5 or -10 C that knocks the Kniphofia back? We get those temperatures here, but rarely. Any idea?

Now, at the end of January, the blooms around the corner from us are just wrapping up. It’s amazing, really: 3 months of colour. I admit they’re looking a bit ratty, but I’m desperate for flowers at this time of year. 🙂

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PS– Fast-forward to January 2024… It’s snowed again. (It’s snows each winter, but the Kniphofia stayed green.) This time, the temperatures dipped to -10 C. That did it. The Red Hot Pokers collapsed. Some went a bit slimy, others just seemed dehydrated.

red hot pokers knocked back by -10 C, kniphofia, torch lily, tritoma, poker plant, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Temperatures on one side of the shrub border seem to have been colder than on the other side. Perhaps wind direction made a difference? By early February, the Red Hots on that ‘other side’ are already starting to recover…

red hot pokers recovering from -10 C, kniphofia, torch lily, tritoma, poker plant, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

By early April, I’m not seeing new shoots from the colder side of the shrub border. My fingers are crossed. I’m hoping that by May, they’ll be happily blooming again.

blooming red hot pokers, kniphofia, torch lily, tritoma, poker plant, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

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bulbs, drought tolerant, months 01-03: winter, perrennials, urban deer

Top 5 Deer Resistant, Early Spring Bulbs

12/11/2017 svseekins 3 Comments

The deer in our neighborhood of Victoria (the Mt. Tolmie black-tailed deer) have shown no interest in these blooms.

An added bonus is that all 5 picks have proven themselves drought tolerant through our long dry summers (even 100 days without rain).

1- Snowdrops (Galanthus) bloom as early as December, but are more common in January.

galanthus bus stop snowdrops in January, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

6-9 inches high
naturalizing
Full Sun – Part Shade
zone 3

special notes
– Divide snowdrops during their bloom instead of after the leaves die back.
– see also
Snowdrops – January Gems
Embarrassment of Riches
Snowdrop Meadow

2- Cyclamen coum present foliage in September, and often bloom from December through March.

hardy cyclamen coum, persian violet, eastern sowbread, round-leaf cyclamen, C. coum, Cyclamen orbiculatum, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

4 inches high
naturalizing
Part Shade
zone 5

special notes
– The autumn-blooming Cyclamen hederifolium is a bully that will out-compete C.coum (and most other hardy cyclamen). I avoid planting the two in the same bed.
– Ants are purported to spread the seeds. In our natural park areas, cyclamen are unwelcome. I can think of several other foreigners that would make my list long before Cyclamen.
– see also
Joy In The New Year
Winter Magic
Cyclamen Coum – February Romance

3- Reticulated Iris (Iris reticulata) is another exotic looking surprise in the February garden.

iris reticulata, reticulated iris, dwarf iris garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

4-6 inches high
naturalizing … or at least catalogs claim this. Our old neighbor Don Smart said his spread like crazy, but mine hasn’t taken off
Full Sun – Part Shade
zone 5

special notes
– catalogs also claim these are fragrant. Perhaps this is the reason the deer ignore them even when there is so little else growing
– see also
Flower Count – Day 4 – Iris
10 February Faves

4- Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) the blooms appear in January & February, just before leafs join the show.

winter aconite, eranthis in early February garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

4-6 inches high
naturalizing
Full Sun – Part Shade
zone: 3

special notes
– The only way to divide these beauties is during their growing season. The corms look like tiny clumps of dirt, so they’re impossible to find during dormancy. Sometimes I’ve shifted them unknowingly while moving something else.
– see also
Flower Count – Day 1 – Eranthis
Deer Proof

5- Crocus & Snow Crocus appear in lawns and borders during moments of February sunshine.

crocus cluster gardem Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

4-6 inches high (depending on cultivar)
naturalizing
Full Sun
zone:4 (a few are zone 3)

special notes
– Snow Crocus top out at 4 inches high, so are great for naturalizing in lawns. Regular crocus are just a touch taller – – they don’t survive when the first mower cuts the grass, so they’re safer in beds.
– All of the Crocus in our yard are proven drought tolerant.
– see also
Flower Count – Day 5 – Crocus
Dandelion Dilemma
Meadow Blooms – Crocus

And yeah, I know, all of these super-early gems are called spring flowers even though, in this mild climate, they bloom before the spring equinox. Don’tcha just LOVE the promise of spring?

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