Category Archives: months 07-09: summer

July thru September

attracting birds, drought tolerant, months 04-06: spring, months 07-09: summer

Surviving Drought With Rock Rose

07/28/2016 svseekins 2 Comments

In the heat of summer I’m more interested in camping than staying home to water the garden.

cistus, sunset rock rose, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Happily the spring extravaganza of bloom was mostly bulb, and being spring ephemerals, they’re content to dry up & hibernate until the rains come again. But I’m not content with a brown garden in July.

Rock Rose to the rescue.

Once established, Cistus ‘sunset’ has proven to be one tough-as-nails, evergreen shrub.
it’s fuzzy leaves make the most of any dew or moisture they find.
Our local deer find it unpalatable.
The butterflies & other pollinators gravitate to the energizing magenta flowers.
The honey fragrance of the blooms makes it a good choice to plant near a high-traffic area.

Those 5 reasons easily convinced me that Cistus is a keeper for our landscape.

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months 04-06: spring, months 07-09: summer, natives, urban deer

Roadside Veggies: Cow Parsnip, Indian Celery

06/28/2016 svseekins Leave a comment

Between Sooke & Port Renfrew are moist roadside drainage ditches brimming with Heracleum lanatum.

Cow Parsnip bloom, Indian Celery, Heracleum lanatum garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Commonly named Cow Parsnip or Indian Parsley, you’d expect a gourmet treat, but it’s not something I’d eat.

Cow Parsnip leaf, Indian Celery, Heracleum lanatum garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

The massive maple leaf distinguishes it from the more toxic Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) & poisonous Water Hemlock (Cicuta).

Even still, this beauty contains a milky sap that is photo-toxic, kinda like euphorbia & poinsettia. Once exposed to sunshine, any skin that contacted the sap burns & blisters. Nasty.

Cow Parsnip, Indian Celery, Heracleum lanatum garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

But wait – there are some positive notes:

The giant flowers are landing pads for butterflies. It’s important to many native pollinators.
In its happy place, Cow parsnip can reach 3 metres – – that’s 10 feet tall! That’s architecturally impressive.
It’s hairy – and deer seem to avoid fuzzy plants. Perhaps they’re finicky that way.
Cow Parsnip is said to be kinda stinky. I didn’t notice, but now that I think about it, I wandered into this patch of Cow Parsnip after 5 days of camping – – so my own stink may have been masking all other smells…
Deer seem to avoid fragrant plants, so there’s a fair chance that Cow Parsnip is safe from them.

Hmmm, I might not be desperate enough for its food value, but I just might find a spot for Cow Parsnip in our landscape. Imagine this self-seeding biennial as a garden ornamental at the back of a moist bed or border.

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months 07-09: summer, months 10-12: fall

Alice In Wonderland Mushrooms

10/31/2015 svseekins 2 Comments

orange mushroom toad stool Alice In Wonderland, garden Victoria BC pacific northwest — photo by SVSeekins

The scorched grass of summer morphs into verdant lushness.
The air sparkles.
Leaves tremble.

I’m Alice In Wonderland, admiring a toadstool.

Am I too big?
Or are they too small?
Looking around, I’m disappointed there’s no bottle labelled ‘drink me.’

Still, I’m enchanted.

Anything this beautiful must be magical – – but NO.

Research says this is probably Amanita muscaria. Hallucinogenic, YES. But not in a good way. Bad. Very BAD.

cap of orange mushroom toad stool Alice In Wonderland, garden Victoria BC pacific northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Fungus & mushrooms are a mystery to me. Our rainforest abounds with their fruiting bodies each autumn.
They’re so exotic looking – so tempting.

Haida Gwaii (also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) is mushroom heaven. I went there one September to visit friends & forage chanterelles. We found so many varieties I lost count. And the 2 volumes on Mushroom ID just made me even more nervous about proper recognition.
So many. So similar. So tasty. So deadly.
Too risky.

orange mushrooms toad stool Alice In Wonderland, garden Victoria BC pacific northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Each year the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society host a Wild Mushroom Information Day at Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary. Perhaps I should be brave this year and give it a try.

Or maybe playing with my camera in the woods is more my style. Hmmm.

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