Tag Archives: Victoria

garden visits, months 04-06: spring, natives, perrennials

Wild Yellow Violets

04/12/2019 svseekins 1 Comment

It is on a spring walk through Goldstream Park that we spot wild yellow violets.

So tiny!
But so precious!
(It’s very rare for me to catch sight of this native wildflower.)

It was SM who spotted them. Once we saw the first one, we noticed a few more further along the trail.

These are Viola glabella, AKA yellow wood violet, stream violet, pioneer violet, or smooth yellow violet.

They enjoy the moist woodlands of the Pacific Northwest & are even found along Asia’s Pacific Northeast.
🙂
I wonder how many more names they have there?

Last year I finally saw the endangered yellow montane violet (Viola praemorsa) at Playfair Park. It has fuzzy leaves & prefers Garry oak meadows. This trailside violet is definitely not it.

viola glabella, stream violet, pioneer violet, yellow wood violet, smooth yellow violet, wild yellow violets, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

There’s another similar yellow violet, Viola pubescens, but it’s native to the eastern side of our continent. It’s definitely not this one either.

I first encountered yellow wood violets in a municipal campground in Washington State. Perhaps that patch was more mature, or further into it’s growing season because it was a larger clump.

Maybe it was bigger because it had a bit more sunshine? (Our walk at Goldstream Park was through lots of tall trees.)

I can easily imagine wanting some yellow wood violets in our own (dry) woodland garden if we weren’t tending a meadow of the western dog violet (Viola adunca).

Another friend (PS) has yellow wood violets in her irrigated woodland garden. They’re doing well & are slowly spreading between the other perennials. The challenge is sharing ground with the more persistent & dry tolerant western dog violet. They look so similar that it’s only when a dog violet blooms (purple) that PS digs it out, giving the yellow violets priority. It’s a longterm strategy. I have my fingers crossed for her.

On second thought, maybe I could find an isolated, shady spot in our yard where there are no dog violets & enough moisture…

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garden visits, public art

Artistic Garden Fence

03/29/2019 svseekins 2 Comments

I had to stop to admire this fence in Sooke the other day.

salmon wooden fence — photo by SVSeekins

Swimming salmon.

The lines evoke the feeling of motion – – the motion
of water
and fish.
I like the way the shadows and light shift & change, just the way they do when looking into water. My hat’s off to this artist, Renaat Marchand I’m a fan.

I especially appreciate art with a utility, as well as beauty. It’s not just art stimulating emotion – – it’s a fence serving a purpose. Cool. (My hat’s off to the folks who committed to more than a typical panel barrier, too)

I googled Renaat Marchand, and it turns out he’s made more art at Ed McGregor Park, just down the road from the Sooke Harbour Resort & Marina.

He’s even created the Mermaid Chair for the movie of the same name. It was shot around these parts a while ago.

Apparently, there’s another commissioned fence around about. The Lavender Fence. I’d love to see it, but don’t know where it’s located. Have you seen it around?

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

Winter Blooming Evergreen Clematis

02/20/2019 svseekins 1 Comment

It starts as early as January, with just a single bloom and a few buds.

traveller's joy, vine, Armand clematis, winter blooming evergreen clematis armandii snowflake garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Such promise!
The darkening days of autumn are over.
The solstice has passed.
Winter is inching toward a brighter spring. 🙂 It’s an excellent time to celebrate evergreen Clematis in the Pacific Northwest.

Clematis armandi has a tough evergreen leaf that our local deer ignore – even in winter when grazing choices are limited.

This clematis is poisonous to people, so maybe that extends to ungulates, too? The vine likes to be at the top of whatever it’s climbing, so there’s little left within reach of deer’s attention anyway. The show is up in the air.

The foaming white flowers that cover the weeping vines through February & March certainly catch my attention.

It’s a choice vine to situate so that you see it from your winter vantage points inside the home. Wouldn’t it make a lovely focal point while sipping your morning brew? This particular behemoth hides a 6-foot tall chain-link fence dividing a block of offices from a parking lot. It’s a good thing that the fence is sturdy.

Evergreen Clematis’ clinging tendrils can find purchase in small cracks of walls & even shingles. That’s why it’s most often welcome climbing pergolas & fences rather than homes.

By mid-May, the winter show will be over. It’ll be time to give the heavy climber a proper pruning before it overwhelms the world. Until then, I’m just enjoying the view.

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