Category Archives: boulevard garden

growing outside the fence

Winter Aconite Meadow

It’s early February & skies are overcast on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. The temperature is mild: frosting overnight but about 8 celsius in the afternoon.
The garden is asleep…
Mostly.

eranthis, winter aconite, galanthus, snowdrops, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

A friendly gardener has a happy display of snowdrops and winter aconite along her front border. It cheers up the neighbourhood.

I have to stop to take it in:

eranthis, winter aconite, galanthus, snowdrops, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

The sunshine radiates from the small yellow flowers, warming the snowdrops in their glow.

How many years have these corms & bulbs been naturalizing in this bed?

eranthis, winter aconite, galanthus, snowdrops, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

How far will they travel when left on their own? There are plenty of babies escaping into the edge of the lawn. I reckon a meadow is preferable to a golf green lawn anyway.

eranthis, winter aconite, galanthus, snowdrops, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

Thank you & hats off to the green thumb that put this all in motion.

It’ll be fun to watch it progress through the winter & into spring.
🙂

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P.S. Here are some other meadow faves:
January

February

March

April

May

July

Smile of the Day 4

Hedge consumes sign, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

We were cycling along, minding our own business, when I just had to laugh out loud.

It’s a Hedge Monster consuming a street sign.
Caught in the act!
🙂

It’s a funky neighbourhood place marker.
Do little kids use it to help them find their way home from school?
How big was it when it was first planted?
How long has it been this big?
So many questions…

Hedge consumes sign, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

The foliage density impresses me… as does the tidiness of clipping inside the shrub itself — around the street sign.

The stains on the sidewalk & driveway tell me the hedge sometimes overwhelms its allowed space.

It could easily impede

  • driveway access.
  • mower access on the neighbour’s lawn.
  • pedestrian access along the sidewalk.

How often does the gardener sheer this shrub to keep it tidy?

I giggle to myself & cycle away, on the lookout for more fun.

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Smile of the Day 3

There wasn’t time for a good look as we drove past…
So I asked the driver to turn around. I’m glad he did. Perhaps he got as big a smile out of seeing this happy little guy as I did.

Thanks to the creative folks who set this Jack-o’-lantern at the end of their driveway.

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