attracting birds, boulevard garden, bulbs, drought tolerant, garden visits, gardens with wildlife, months 01-03: winter, months 04-06: spring, months 07-09: summer, months 10-12: fall, urban deer

Fernwood Snowdrop Meadow

02/18/2020 svseekins 6 Comments

How often do you stop mid-errand to admire a roadside garden? I did just that the other day.

galanthus, snowdrops, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Cycling along Haultain in Fernwood, on the way to downtown Victoria, I’m caught off guard by a snowdrop meadow. I pull over & take a closer look.

The meadow runs the whole outside length of the fenceline. AND as it is a corner lot, so it runs along Forbes street, too! There was even a mini meadow on the wee boulevard right at the crosswalk. 🙂

The patches of snowdrops are interspersed with patches of daffodils. This winter meadow will morph into an early-spring meadow in another few weeks.

On closer inspection, I recognize Calendula (Pot Marigold), too. Even with our summer droughts, they’ll flower all summer & well into the fall!

All three are deer resistant.

The calendula will self-seed a crop for next year as well as feed the birds.

These folks put care & attention into the city boulevard beside their property. (Can you see him painting his fence in the distance?)

In my mind, this meadow has so much more going for it than the regular grass lawn. I’ll bet the bees & other beneficial insects like it a whole lot more, too.

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other snowdrop patches I admire:

at Abkhazi Gardens, Oak Bay in November
at Maltwood Manor, Royal Oak in January
at Fort Street & Leighton Road, Victoria, in February
along West Saanich Road in February

attracting birds, evergreens, months 01-03: winter, months 10-12: fall, urban deer

Apple Blossom Camellia

01/23/2020 svseekins 9 Comments

Camellia japonica apple blossom, Joy Sander, Camellia sasanqua,, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Here’s a darling fall & winter flower that caught our Christmas guest’s attention as they came to the door.

Camellia ‘Apple Blossom’ is just beginning to bloom at Haloween. It continues through November and December if the weather is right.

I treasure every new bloom. But the shrub doesn’t garner our guests’ compliments until the winter solstice has passed.

When protected from the brunt of the wind, this camellia happily goes about its business. Even our resident blacktail deer seem to let it be. 🙂

My morning coffee is that much more of a treat when I’m also watching the overwintering Anna’s hummingbirds investigating the Camellia blossoms.

When each flower opens, its pink petals fade to white.
Plain.
Hummingbirds typically look for more dramatic blooms.
I reckon it’s the heavy yellow pollen that is drawing them near.

In mid-January, the Pacific Northwest suffered a snowstorm. Now that’s drama!

The delicate buds & blooms froze – then turned brown & mushy.
So sad.
If it had stayed sunny with only light rain, the flowers would have lasted. Alas, that’s just not often our January weather.

Fortunately for me, this camellia is listed as zone 5 – – and we don’t get that kind of cold in Victoria. Our shrub should survive to bloom another day…
maybe not this winter…
but perhaps next fall. 🙂

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PS. Here are some more pink fall friends:

garden visits, months 01-03: winter, months 10-12: fall, urban deer

Winter Jasmine Suspicions

01/18/2020 svseekins Leave a comment

winter jasmine, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

I spotted a lovely specimen of Winter Jasmine at the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific on a crisp January day.

What struck me was the mounding form. The long branches create a cascade of wee yellow flowers. This plant grows in a fenced area protected from our urban blacktail deer.

winter jasmine, winter-flowered jasmine, jasminum nudifolium, Jasminum sieboldianum, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

I’m now suspicious the deer nibble at the Jasmine I’ve been weaving through our trellis.

Now that our jasmine covers most of the lattice, I’ll start an experiment. This spring, I’ll let any of the new branches grow – – no more weaving. We’ll see if we get some long drapes similar to the Jasmine at HCP.