Category Archives: months 04-06: spring

April thru June

bulbs, garden visits, months 01-03: winter, months 04-06: spring, urban deer

Daffodil Meadow

03/17/2019 svseekins 1 Comment

Years ago, I lived beside Beacon Hill Park’s daffodil meadow. It was the first I’d ever seen. Spring magic.

Narcissus Daffodil, jonquil, daffadowndilly, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by BE Hansen

The happy yellow blooms delight me. Plus, I like the little trumpets that protect the flower’s naughty bits from the early rains.
Clever, eh? 🙂

The deer-resistant Narcissus is easy to grow in Victoria. Many varieties are even cold tolerant to zone 3, surviving -40 degrees C! We don’t get anywhere near that cold here. Actually, as our winters gradually become milder, we’re encountering daffodil woes similar to England’s.

Many of the daffs that show up in your local grocery store’s flower stand originate in Victoria. Famous for producing the largest crop of daffodils in Canada, Vantreights took an early lead in making the daffodil the Flower of Hope for the Canadian Cancer Society.

At one point, Vantreights farmed on a leased parcel of land that is now The Horticultural Centre of the Pacific: one of my favourite gardens. Today the HCP enjoys a residual daffodil meadow sloping down to the lake.

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

Vantreights farmed in Gordon Head before that land became a residential subdivision. I’ve even heard that our street, on the southern slope of Mt. Tolmie, hosted a farm that grew the bulbs, too.

There are some tricks to growing a spring-flowering meadow. Although daffodils bloom before the grasses start to grow strongly, their leaves are still busy collecting energy for next year’s flowers when C has the uncontrollable urge to dust off the lawnmower. Zip, there goes the meadow!

The park’s staff at Beacon Hill let the meadow grow naturally all through May before mowing. By then, the ephemeral bulbs have ripened & receded into dormancy.

Shorter growing spring bulbs, like crocus, stand half a chance in our lawn, but not daffodils. Ditto for snowdrops, tulips & camas. These I’ll leave to naturalize in our beds & borders instead.

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Here are some other meadow faves:

evergreens, months 01-03: winter, months 04-06: spring, natives, perrennials

Prince’s Pine

02/28/2019 svseekins 2 Comments

Typically I curse steep switchbacks. They are exhausting!

blooming evergreen prince's pine, sub-shrub, Chimaphila umbellata, occidentalis , pipsissewa, umbellate wintergreen,, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Now, I have reason to appreciate them. One trail in Strathcona Park is so steep that the inside slope is only an arm’s reach away. I have close-up views of the tiny plants that don’t usually catch my attention. I stop, puffing for a few moments, taking in the forest’s carpet of mysteries.

At first, the evergreen plant, Prince’s pine, escapes my notice.

But then, my eyes spy the wildflower buds – such a delicate pink!

Further along the path, I find specimens in full bloom. And some already setting seed — in early June. 🙂

The tiny, waxy-looking blossoms are such a contrast to the deep woodland duff of the understory. Enchanting. (There must be faeries nearby.)

I delight in the flowers while mourning that Chimaphila umbellata is probably not suited to our own garden. (Yes, our garden is well-drained, but it’s shaded by Garry oak– not conifers.)

Back at the campsite, the mini-shrub is confirmed by Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast (my wild plant Bible). Woo Hoo — one more native plant in my repertoire.

It’s not until a wintery February morning, while attending Seedy Saturday that I meet Andy McKinnon, co-author of my treasured plant ID book. He teaches me this science word for today.

Mixotrophic.

Prince’s pine is mixotrophic. It has a friendly relationship with the fungus in the ground.

Like many plants, through photosynthesis, Prince’s pine produces sugars (its food). It shares those sugars with fungi. The fungi, in return, offer up access to nutrients from the soil.
Friendly, eh?
But wait – there’s more…

Prince’s pine & this fungi take their relationship a step further.

The fungi in the soil also connect to another plant (other than the Prince’s pine). Through this threesome, the Prince’s pine can get sugars from this other plant. Neighbours helping neighbours in times of need…. all through a fungi trade route.
(That’s Mixotrophic)

Isn’t Nature amazing?

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evergreens, months 01-03: winter, months 04-06: spring, urban deer

Winter Blooming Evergreen Clematis

02/20/2019 svseekins 1 Comment

It starts as early as January, with just a single bloom and a few buds.

traveller's joy, vine, Armand clematis, winter blooming evergreen clematis armandii snowflake garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Such promise!
The darkening days of autumn are over.
The solstice has passed.
Winter is inching toward a brighter spring. 🙂 It’s an excellent time to celebrate evergreen Clematis in the Pacific Northwest.

Clematis armandi has a tough evergreen leaf that our local deer ignore – even in winter when grazing choices are limited.

This clematis is poisonous to people, so maybe that extends to ungulates, too? The vine likes to be at the top of whatever it’s climbing, so there’s little left within reach of deer’s attention anyway. The show is up in the air.

The foaming white flowers that cover the weeping vines through February & March certainly catch my attention.

It’s a choice vine to situate so that you see it from your winter vantage points inside the home. Wouldn’t it make a lovely focal point while sipping your morning brew? This particular behemoth hides a 6-foot tall chain-link fence dividing a block of offices from a parking lot. It’s a good thing that the fence is sturdy.

Evergreen Clematis’ clinging tendrils can find purchase in small cracks of walls & even shingles. That’s why it’s most often welcome climbing pergolas & fences rather than homes.

By mid-May, the winter show will be over. It’ll be time to give the heavy climber a proper pruning before it overwhelms the world. Until then, I’m just enjoying the view.

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