Victoria | Garden Variety Life

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

I bet you can guess my response to this meadow of shooting stars? (Dodecatheon or Primula)

broad-leaved shooting star, Henderson's shooting star, mosquito bills, sailor caps bloom, American cowslip, mad violets, Dodecatheon hendersonii, primula hendersonii, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

C, SM & I are exploring Dean Park when I drop to my knees to check out (& photograph ) the pretty spring flowers,
I’m delighted.
SM is charmed.
C smiles indulgently & waits …

The vibrant magenta colours look so perky! How can these delicate cyclamen-style blooms be tough enough to survive our temperamental spring weather?

Further down the trail there’s pollen everywhere – in the air, along path edges… even settling on plants & making them look different. At first glance I thought I’d found a special variegated salal. Check out the leaf with pollen & without:

salal leaf formation highlighted by pollen, Gaultheria shallon, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — salal leaf formation highlighted by pollen -photo by SVSeekins

salal - with the pollen shaken off, Gaultheria shallon, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — salal – with the pollen shaken off -photo by SVSeekins

I’m not sure exactly where the pollen is from. There’s so much of it I figure it’s got to be from the most dominant species of tree in this park. Perhaps the douglas fir?

mice tails inside douglas fir cone, Pseudotsuga menziesii, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Cones mottle the ground. SM confirms they’re douglas fir. She tells me a story about the little mice that hide inside the cones, with only their tails poking out between the layers. Pretty cute, eh?

In another small clearing is a meadow of fawn lily (erythronium).

white fawnn lily meadow, Erythronium oregonum ,garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

I’m used to seeing them in a more open meadow at Beacon Hill Park, so it’s nice to see them prosper in the dappled shade of the forest edge too. Of course, I need a closer look. This time C smiles indulgently but continues on his way. (He’s here for the fresh air & exercise).

white fawn lily bloom Erythronium oregonum garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

It’s a bit tough to see into the face of the fawn lily because of its nodding head but I reckon that is its way to protect those private bits from the occasional downpour. Can’t you just imagine the bees taking refuge under a fawn lily umbrella? Keeping company with a fairy or two ….

yellow violet, viola, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

There are many wild violets growing in our garden, some pink and some blue. Years ago I heard about a wild yellow violet. I finally saw a small clump in a Washington State Park last year. But that’s pretty much it. Today SM points out one to me. It is so tiny! I’d easily have missed it completely, walking right past none the wiser. It’s so nice to see them growing locally.

Fairy Slipper Calypso bulbosa orchid, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Then SM spies a wild orchid.
OMG !!!

I’ve only ever heard of the fairy slipper (Calypso bulbosa).
We’ve got to invite SM along on our hikes more often. 🙂

I’m running around with the camera – up & down… this angle & that one…
Bucket list moment !!

C misses the entire thing.

western trillium patch, Trillium Ovatum, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

He’s down the trail. When he comes across another native plant he knows I’ll be excited about, he decides to sit until I catch up…

Trillium Is not your typical flower. When the bloom first opens, the petals are white. Over time they turn pink. It’s two plants in the space of one.

western trillium, Trillium Ovatum, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

western trillium bloom, Trillium Ovatum, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Trillium is from the Latin ‘in 3’s’.

3 leaves circle the stem.
3 sepals frame the flower
3 petals highlight the bloom
the stamens are set in groups of 3.
there are 3 chambers to the seed pod

I reckon it looks slightly alien.

With so much interest in the groundcover, I’ve barely looked up at all.

salmonberry shrub coming into leaf, Rubus spectabilis, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

SM asks me about a tall, rangy shrub just coming into leaf. This time I’m the one to help with ID. Salmonberry is one of the early spring shrubs. I first noticed its flowers while horseback riding through the Sooke Hills.

About the time these bright fuchsia flowers bloom, the rufous hummingbirds return for the season. Kismet.

salmonberry flower, Rubus spectabilis, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

I once planted salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) in our garden but later realized that a pretty flower & tasty berries didn’t balance with my aversion to growing anything with thorns. Now I just enjoy salmonberries in the wild.

March, April & May are fabulous times to view the native flowers around Victoria. Before I’m ready, many of them disappear into dormancy. It’s their way of surviving our long dry summers. Seems kinda backwards, doesn’t it? We often wait for the summer warmth before heading outdoors, and before it even gets too hot, the big show is over.

Victoria’s Natural History Society hosts a full schedule of nature hikes throughout the region, sometimes even heading off-island in search of the best blooms.
Friends of Uplands Park often host interpretive walks during the spring bloom.
Walking distance from downtown, Friends of Beacon Hill Park host an annual Camas Day.
Habitat Acquisition Trust host a Native Plant Garden Tour each spring.

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SVSeekins