Tag Archives: BC

garden chores, public art, Uncategorized

Solar Eclipse in the Garden

08/21/2017 svseekins 1 Comment

While watering the garden this morning, I watched the solar eclipse reflected on the lawn. Hundreds of tiny crescents sparkled through the leaves of the apple tree.

solar eclipse through the leaves garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

The taller gary oak beside the driveway cast shade with similar crescents peaking through the leaves.

I’d heard about this indirect way of watching the eclipse, but honestly, I still don’t “get” how it works.

I get how the temperature cools a bit.
I get how the sunlight seems just a touch dimmer.
But the dancing crescents in the shade? Kinda magic if you ask me.

As the moon shifted & revealed the sun, the magic morphed back into plain old dappled shade.

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months 10-12: fall, perrennials, urban deer

November’s Pink: Hesperantha

11/16/2016 svseekins 1 Comment

To be honest, I am not a SUPER-FAN of pink.

kaffir lily, scarlet river lily, crimson flag lily, Hesperantha coccinea, Schizostylis coccinea, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

But in mid-November…
When it’s cloudy & drizzling…
I’m thrilled by a soft pastel pink.

Today it’s a Hesperantha. Blooming right beside the deer route! And this patch will bloom until a hard frost kick’s its butt.

It amazes me that these late-flowering perennials are native to sunny, South African streamsides. Here they bloom in the light shade of our dry woodland garden. Perhaps the thick mulch helped protect them from drying out too much this summer?

The mysteries continue… some websites call them ‘crimson flag lily‘ or ‘scarlet river lily.’ But I’ve always thought those are the crimson / scarlet versions that bloom in our sunny borders in spring ?? Perhaps they’re cousins?

What’s more, neither are actually from the lily family. They kinda remind me of miniature gladioli. BUT they grow from a rhizome rather than a corm.

Scientists say they’re iris. Go figure.

Can you imagine the hullabaloo & debate at one of those scientific Naming Conventions? I figure those folks have some serious work on their agendas,
with figuring out who first claimed a name…
checking the flower specifics…
& then all the DNA analysis…

I reckon it’s during the evening cocktails when the final naming decisions happen.

Well, if you can’t choose your family, at least you can choose your friends. I’m happy to have this friend in our garden.

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PS. Here are some more pink fall friends:

photo by SVSeekins

Pink as a Fall Color? – Colchicum
5 More Shades of Pink
Horray for Naked Ladies – Nerine
Back From the Dead – Amaryllis belladonna
Apple Blossom Camellia

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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