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

Fawn Lily at Easter

03/30/2016 svseekins 1 Comment

Erythronium Oregonum Fawn Lily garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

After a hearty meal of ham & scalloped potatoes, I’m in need of some exercise & fresh air. We head off to one of our favorite walks: the forested loop around Mount Doug Park.

It’s a delight, but not a surprise, to come across the speckled leaves of a fawn lily at the edge of the path. (I’ve seen these native wildflowers along the forest edge of walking trails at Cedar Hill Golf Course too, ) But then I spy another leaf further off the trail… and a few more!

Just beyond those is a meadow of them! I wouldn’t have guessed that the deciduous under-story would give enough light for a whole meadow of fawn lily.

The White Fawn Lily meadow at the north end of Beacon Hill Park is much more open than this.

Erythronium Oregonum Fawn Lily bloom & leaf CU, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Today there’s just a few flowers in bloom, but give it another week….

Last year Easter was well over a week later. By then the Fawn Lilies at Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary were in their glory.

Now it makes sense why some folk call these Easter Lily.

In Ontario the speckled leaves remind folk of brook trout, so they call them Trout Lily. Perhaps Eastern Canadians don’t see deer as often as we do in Victoria? A rose by any other name….

If we want to get scientific about names, the west coast native is Erythronium Oregonum, and its east coast cousin is E. Americanum.

No matter the moniker used, it’s lovely to see the early spring wildflowers. Happy Easter!

-30-

evergreens, months 01-03: winter, perrennials, projects

Hellebore Bowl

03/22/2016 svseekins Leave a comment

helleborus Hellebore - Mardi Gras double dangling garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

It feels like magic to have blooms in the garden through the winter months, so it’s no surprise I admire Hellebore.

helleborus Hellebore - Mardi Gras double & hand garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Commonly the flowers gaze at the ground, likely trying to shed our west coast rain. When I take the time to lift the face of one, I realize it’s even more lovely .

Happily I don’t have to stand in the rain to enjoy the blooms. These flowers last really well inside the house as cut flowers (over a week). BUT their nodding heads do make a vase arrangement tricky.

At the mini-show of the View Royal Garden Club last month, judge JB suggested floating the blooms face up in a bowl.

helleborus hellebore garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

CH, from Victoria Horticultural Society, floated a collection of Hellebore in a large casserole at the VHS parlour show. Wow, what a variety of hellebore blooms!

It’s no wonder the Hellebore has become so popular over the past few years.

The very next day I delighted in another display. AF put together a collection of blooms from her yard & floated them in a bowl on her coffee table.
So simple.
So lovely.

With all this encouragement, I’ve finally got up the nerve to pick some of our flowers & try an arrangement myself.

I use a mini pie plate, fill it with water, then float the blooms. The toughest part is deciding on colour placement… but seriously, that’s just beginner’s nerves. It looks OK, doesn’t it?

Now it feels like there is hope for spring. What could be easier than this !?!

-30-

evergreens, months 01-03: winter

Pink Rhododendron Blooms in February

02/29/2016 svseekins Leave a comment

Pink blooming Rhododendron in February, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Like so many February days on the West Coast, it’s grey & overcast. C & I head out for a walk over Mt. Tolmie anyway. A block or so along Henderson Road, we’re surprised by pink blossoms at the edge of the sidewalk. February blooms on a rhododendron ??? Don’t they usually bloom in May? What a treat.

It’s a big shrub, and it’s covered in buds & flowers! This is not just a confused branch sending out an aberrant flower… This must be the regular season for this species to bloom. Sweet.

I take a photo, then we continue our walk.

But right next door is another blooming bush! Well, I suppose this makes sense. Who doesn’t yearn for the promise of spring at this time of year? I’m guessing these neighbors share garden notes over the fence.

A couple more houses along the way… Another pink rhododendron.

Around the corner; another!

Down the block: a 5th!

By this time we are sensing a trend. C & I make bets on how many pink rhodos we ‘ll find along our regular route.

The 6th discovery is down the next street.

Then it isn’t until after cresting Mt. Tolmie Park, and heading back home along the streets of the south-western slope, that we find more blooming evergreens.

One is behind a fence (beside a blooming forsythia!)

Two more grow in the garden of a fellow who’d moved into the neighborhood about the same time we had.

The last one has buds just starting to open. It’s right in front of a pink tree. (Perhaps a Cherry? or Plum?).

There might be other rhodos we missed, but I reckon 11 is a pretty good collection – – certainly more than either of us expected. Perhaps we should start looking for an early rhododendron for our garden. (Not just to make an even dozen. or keep up with the Jones’s, or build community, but for our good mental health.)

-30-