Tag Archives: winter bloom

Witch Hazel

01/29/2022 svseekins Leave a comment

Flowers in winter are like a welcome reprieve from the blustery storm. Witch Hazel has got to be one of the top ways to get winter colour.

The other day, out walking with friends & hoping for sunshine, we came across this delightful scene.

witch hazel, witch-hazel, Hamamelis mollis, Chinese witch hazel — photo by SVSeekins

Usually, Hamamelis is more like a shrub or a small multi-stemmed tree topping out at 15 ft. This specimen has got to be the largest Witch Hazel I’ve ever seen!

I’ve admired an orange-flowered Hamamelis at the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific. It is tiny in comparison to the beast near Mt. Doug Park.

The flowers are crazy-looking but long-lasting. Some folks say they’re scented, too, but I’ve never noticed. It’s just a nice surprise to see something blooming through the first few months of the year. As with most scented plants, come prophecies of deer resistance…. hmmm, I wonder… could it be true?

Listed as suitable for zome 5, Witch Hazels are a pretty safe bet for our zone 8-9 garden. Purchasing a specimen in bloom is one of the safest ways to be sure you’re getting the variety you want. February’s a good time to be planting a tree in these parts, too. Perhaps I’ve just talked myself into a visit to the nursery?

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bulbs, garden visits, months 01-03: winter

Summit Park Crocus Meadow

02/29/2020 svseekins 11 Comments

Time & patience make a beautiful combination.

Well over a century ago, someone planted crocus in a garden at Hillside Farm. In the late 1880’s much of the farm became a subdivision. Then, 90 years after that, the original home site became Summit Park. Even though the gardens are no longer there, the crocuses are. They’ve survived & naturalized in the Garry Oak meadow.

snow crocus, woodland crocus, early crocus, summit park, crocus, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC Pacific Northwestsummit park, crocus, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Seeing the tiny blooms peeking out of the grass as the sun shines down on them delights me. Crocus isn’t as showy as the native fawn lily & camas that bloom here in April & May, but their energy is exuberant. In February, I need this excitement.

summit park, crocus, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Snow Crocus (Crocus tommasinianus) is reputed as the best of the 90 Crocus species for naturalizing. A decade ago, I planted bags & bags of mixed snow crocus in a patch of lawn outside our home. It’s doing okay but not up to Summit Park’s showing. I wonder if the Hillside homesteader had access to bags of bulbs way back then… Perhaps, s/he ordered catalogue seed?

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Here are some other meadows:

attracting birds, boulevard garden, bulbs, drought tolerant, garden visits, gardens with wildlife, months 01-03: winter, months 04-06: spring, months 07-09: summer, months 10-12: fall, urban deer

Fernwood Snowdrop Meadow

02/18/2020 svseekins 6 Comments

How often do you stop mid-errand to admire a roadside garden? I did just that the other day.

galanthus, snowdrops, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Cycling along Haultain in Fernwood, on the way to downtown Victoria, I’m caught off guard by a snowdrop meadow. I pull over & take a closer look.

The meadow runs the whole outside length of the fenceline. AND as it is a corner lot, so it runs along Forbes street, too! There was even a mini meadow on the wee boulevard right at the crosswalk. 🙂

The patches of snowdrops are interspersed with patches of daffodils. This winter meadow will morph into an early-spring meadow in another few weeks.

On closer inspection, I recognize Calendula (Pot Marigold), too. Even with our summer droughts, they’ll flower all summer & well into the fall!

All three are deer resistant.

The calendula will self-seed a crop for next year as well as feed the birds.

These folks put care & attention into the city boulevard beside their property. (Can you see him painting his fence in the distance?)

In my mind, this meadow has so much more going for it than the regular grass lawn. I’ll bet the bees & other beneficial insects like it a whole lot more, too.

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other snowdrop patches I admire: