Tag Archives: BC

Rain Garden’s First Birthday

02/28/2014 svseekins 1 Comment

Fisherman's Wharf rain garden fall 2013 WS2 — BEFORE
(photo by SVSeekins)

Don’t you just love Before & After photos? I do! I lose appreciation when measuring small day-to-day changes. Progress is so much more apparent when distanced by time.

That’s why I’m excited to compare the changes of the Fisherman’s Wharf Park after its 1st birthday.

When I originally visited the newly renovated park, I was charmed by the landscape architecture. A flat field had morphed into undulating hills & lovely ponds. Pretty.

Fisherman's Wharf rain garden fall 2012 WS1 — BEFORE
photo by SVSeekins

Fisherman's Wharf rain garden fall 2013 WS1 — AFTER
photo by SVSeekins

Careful plant selections of natives & non-local species provide potential for a low maintenance park.

As any new transplants need regular watering until established, Victoria Parks department installed irrigation into the beds.

The plants, trees & shrubs prospered. The water requirements will diminish as the beds mature.

The holding pond of the rain garden is coming into its own.

Fisherman's Wharf rain garden fall 2012 MS1 — BEFORE
(photo by SVSeekins)

Fisherman's Wharf rain garden fall 2013 MS1 — AFTER
(photo by SVSeekins)

For the past year, rain has been redirected from the neighboring parking lots & streets, and into the catchment pond.

Check out the height of the drain. It shows how deep the pond will get before overflowing into the storm drain system. Any standing water is filtered by the rain garden. It returns to the natural water table, instead of being sent to out to sea.

These plants / filters sure don’t look any worse for wear, considering they clean up any of the runoff’s pollutants. Isn’t science & nature groovy?

Fisherman's Wharf rain garden fall 2012 beach — BEFORE
(photo by SVSeekins)

Fisherman's Wharf rain garden fall 2013 beach — AFTER
(photo by SVSeekins)

I’m not convinced the sandy beach is really what was here before Fisherman’s Wharf took over the area, but it’s a nifty idea. Can’t you imagine leaning your back against a big log & reading a good book?

It’s looking much more natural to me now. Sunshine & warm sand will be calling to me this summer. No doubt I’ll have to arrive early to get a spot.

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© SVSeekins, 2014

attracting birds, bulbs, months 01-03: winter

Snowdrops – January Gems

02/16/2012 svseekins 13 Comments

The first year at Richmond House I was ecstatic to see snowdrops blooming on January 11. Months earlier I’d planted some & the early pay off was thrilling. Happily more were proving that they’d previously been naturalizing around the yard.

The following year, having a better idea of where to seek out the delightful little blossoms: January 1 – discovery!

Another winter it was December 27.

But this year, even searching vigilantly through the Christmas & New Year holidays, it took until January 11 for my first snowdrop encounter.

With West Coast’s winter being dull and drizzly, a promise of the spring to come is like a ray of sunshine. So even though white flowers are not usually near the top of my list, I celebrate January snowdrops.

These plants are treasures. When hit with snow for a few days in the middle of the month they barely twitched. If anything, by the time I went back outside, more were blooming! In the cool days of our winter snowdrop blooms last for weeks & weeks – well through February.

I like to get down close to the earth & take a close look at them. It’s fun to discover the little green tatoo on each petal. And who knew there were so many varieties?

Clusters in my garden haven’t yet become abundant enough to divide, but now is the time to do it. Usually the recommendation is to wait until a plant is in dormancy before moving it. With snowdrops that rule doesn’t hold true apparently. That’s pretty handy, because once they die back I can never really remember where they are.

I’ve used this time of year to shift snowdrops into different locations, as it was a mistake for me to attempt growing them in a spring-flowering meadow. Although they bloom before the grasses start to grow, their leaves are still busy storing up for next year’s flowers when C has the uncontrollable urge to dust off lawn mower in late February. Zip, there goes the meadow.

Shorter bulbs, like crocus, might stand half a chance in our lawn, but not snowdrops – – nor daffodils. Those are best left to naturalize in our beds & borders.

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© copyright 2012 SVSeekins

boulevard garden, garden visits

Haultain Common – sharing common ground with common folk

10/28/2011 svseekins 1 Comment

Welcome to Haultain Common garden Victoria BC — photo by SVSeekins

They’d hoped it wouldn’t cause concern that they were expanding their garden empire. It was only removing the fence delineating their yard from the street. It was only replacing some weedy grass with dry habitat native plants . Wasn’t it beautifying the neighborhood, safeguarding water resources, and educating the community about our natural environment?

native plantings along Asquith sidewalk garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Happily, the neighbors welcomed the expanded forest glade. Passers by often complimented Rainey Hopewell and Margot Johnson as they tended the public area beside their home on Asquith street, not far from the downtown core of Victoria, BC.

borage Haultain Common herb garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

The dynamic couple encouraged neighborhood involvement. The boulevard grew into an active native plant urban demonstration garden with volunteers, workshops, and planting parties..

Building on that success, expansion spread to include the boulevard on the Haultain street edge of their corner lot. This time the intention was to bring to mind issues of local food security. The community pitched in, developing the common area into a shared food garden,

calendula Haultain Common herb 2 garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Now known as Haultain Common, the boulevard between the sidewalk and curb was first sheet mulched. Over a west coast winter the mulch smothered the grass and weeds below it, developing into nutrient rich, composted soil. By spring it was ready for planting.

Haultain Common veggie patch garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

To start, they chose vegetables that often volunteer in a compost pile: tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkins & squash. They share with whomever chooses to join in: parents & kids learning to grow food, seasoned gardeners exploring permaculture, and even urbanites tasting their first home-grown tomato. All are welcome to share in the harvest.

Haultain Common garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Some neighbors donate plants, and even more contribute leaves or compostables on a regular basis, gaining a sense of ownership & belonging in the common and in the community.

Haultain Common, Asquith at Haultain, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Over the past several years Haultain Common has grown in profile as well. It’s not unusual to see a university class exploring the garden one day, and a Day Care tour on another. It’s been so well received that a local irrigation company & a landscape company donated the equipment & installation of a watering system for the Common.

Boulevard gardens have cropped up on other properties along Haultain street. They’re also growing in other neighborhoods around the city. To Margot and Rainey, its been an experience in growth in so many ways.