early bloom | Garden Variety Life

It was early February when I ran across this burst of sunshine in Victoria.

mahonia in February — photo by SVSeekins

Mahonia is an evergreen shrub that boasts happy yellow flower clusters through winter.

This particular specimen is certainly more showy than the local mahonia (Oregon grape) that grows in our yard.

At this time of year the tall Oregon grape in our shrub border is only just preparing to bloom.

mahonia - tall Oregon grape in February — photo by SVSeekins

By summer it’ll be sporting dark berries. One of my favorite resource books, Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, tells that some use the berries to make jelly with real pucker power.

Oregon grape with berries — photo by SVSeekins

The leaves are shaped like holly, but aren’t nearly as hard and prickly.

I’ve seen full-sized holly trees, but mahonia only seem to come in shrubs or ground covers.

Holly berries are red, while mahonia’s are blue.

In some places, folks consider holly an invasive. I’ve not heard any such complaint about the mahonia.

Aside from watering it for the first summer after transplanting, Oregon grape seems happy here with no attention at all.

This one is a hard worker. It’s evergreen, so it’s interesting all year-long. The winter blooms feed hummingbirds. The summer fruit feeds other birds. The mild prickles deter deer. Who could ask for more?

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eranthis - winter aconite - between pots — photo by SVSeekins

After a few months of grey, drizzly days & dark, windy nights of the west coast winter, it’s not really a surprise to find me kneeling down in the wet to confirm a tiny flower sighting.

Even though the prairies are suffering through the deep freeze, they have sunny days to lift spirits. I’m just too wimpy about snow, so I tough it out on the west coast – – and I appreciate the sunshine that bursts from a little yellow bud.

That’s probably why Victoria promotes a flower count in the first week of March each year. It might seem obnoxious to the rest of Canada, but this is how we cope with the depression of the grey skies. Sorry.

Commonly called winter aconite, eranthis has a simple little flower. It blooms even before crocus. It’s not much, but if you’re looking for action this early in the year, eranthis is a good pick.

eranthis - winter aconite - in leafs — photo by SVSeekins

Garden shops stock eranthis bulbs in September & October for fall planting. Well, it’s not actually a bulb. When I first opened the package, I was a little concerned with the small, shrivelled bits. Perhaps they’re called corms? I’m not sure, but they’re certainly not like any bulbs I know. Which side is up? No pointy tip to place up. No roots to place down.

The hole was already dug, so with nothing to lose by throwing them in, I crossed my fingers.

eranthis - winter aconite cluster — photo by SVSeekins

Happily they survived.

And the deer leave them be! That’s another win. 🙂

Hopefully they’ll settle into this new home for the long-term. I know their blooms will pass, and even the leaves will die back by mid spring, but if they’re happy with the scene, and an occasional drink, I’m told they’ll naturalize & maybe even spread a bit. That would be nice.

Isn’t it a nice idea to look forward to such welcome visitors each winter?

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Flower Count

SVSeekins