A Hidden Gem
on Nov 15, 2009 in Cut Flowers. Shrub/Tree Specimens evergreen Evergreen shrubs foliage interest fragrant flowers fragrant winter blooming Glendale Gardens Government House January flowering plants Mahonia x(media) Charity Manonia x Charity specimen shrubs St Anns Academy winter flowering winter flowers winter interest yellow flowers This is an article I wrote for ‘The Society of Friends of  St Ann’s Academy‘.  St Ann’s Academy is where  most of the pictures for this article were taken. One job I have done at St. Ann’s Academy is checking the pl...

They Only come out in the Winter Here.
on Nov 8, 2009 in Mass Plantings Ocean exposure Tolerant West Coast native Plants groundcovers native plants Government House Licorice Ferns North Saanich Polypodium Polypodium glycyrrhiza Summer decidious plants Victoria west coast plants Winter color in the forest winter interest Were I come from the climate is cold and some types of plants are not well represented in the wild or are do not grow there at all. An example is broad leaf evergreen plants. The only types which have survived the extreme cold are those which hav...

I Metasequoia in the Park Today.
on Nov 1, 2009 in Specimens Trees Conifers Dawn Redwood Decidious conifers Fall tree color lawn trees Metasequoia glyptostroboides Oraange fall color Specimen trees Spring interest in the garden street trees winter interest When I was in Horticulture school way back in the dark ages we learned about 300 trees and shrubs, the hardest for me were getting the conifers correct in my mind. These are the needle trees and shrubs such as Junipers of which there are many species...

A Very Well Behaved Missy.
on Oct 25, 2009 in Butterfly Attracting plants Cut Flowers. Drought Tolerant Mass Plantings Ocean exposure Tolerant Specimens groundcovers attractive grass seedheads clump forming grasses decorative grasses Eualalia Grass Fall blooming plants Maiden Grass Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus' Silver Grass Specimen Plants Winter garden interest winter interest winter interest grasses We are now on the edge of what I call ‘change over season’ which is when we move from the summer season of warm dry weather to the cool wet winter. This time of the late year is when big storms start to roll in dumping vast amounts of rai...

There’s a Toad in My Lily!
on Oct 18, 2009 in Cut Flowers. Mass Plantings Perennials Specimens Asain flowers Late fall blooming plants Mauve Flowers November flowers October blooming flowers September flowers shade tolerant shade tolerant plants spotted flowers Spotted Lily Toad Lilies Toad Lily Tricyrtis Tricyrtis formosana Tricyrtis hirta white flowers I have been fortunate to have worked at some very good nurseries which have had great plants which they sold. Trees and shrubs and perennials which cover a vast swath of species, varieties and hybrids. Most of them have traveled from other contin...

The Scent of Honey in the Fall Air.
on Oct 11, 2009 in Shrub/Tree Specimens Trees Uncategorized aromatic leaves Autumn color in trees Cercidiphyllum japonicum cercidiphyllum japonicum var. sinense Chinese E. H. Wilson Chinese Trees E.H. Wilson fall color fragrant plants Japanese trees Katsura tree peach color in autumn leaves Playfair Park small trees Thomas Hogg Jr. Victoria yellow autumn color in trees When I was in Horticulture school we learned many plants ranging from small ground covers, larger shrubs and finally to the majestic trees. Some of these plants are very overused while others are not seen enough, it all depends on how well known and...

One Thorny Customer in Orange, Red or is it Yellow?
on Oct 4, 2009 in Drought Tolerant Mass Plantings Ocean exposure Tolerant Shrub/Tree Specimens colorful berries Fall berries Fall color in the garden Firethorn fragrant flowers hedges June flowering shrubs May flowering shrubs orange berries Pracantha species Pryacantha 'Navaho' Pryacantha 'Shawnee' Prycantha coccinea Pyracantha 'Mohave' red berries white flowers winter interest yellow berries When I finished Horticulture school in North Vancouver I was lucky to be picked to work a practicum position over the summer months while school was not in session(the rest of the year students did the work). It was like another 4 months of school wh...

Making Cyclamen from Sowbread..Oh My!
on Sep 27, 2009 in Drought Tolerant Mass Plantings Perennials Specimens Uncategorized attractive foliage Cyclamen Cyclamen coum Cyclamen hederifolium Cyclamen neapolitanum Finnerty Gardens Ivy-leaved Cyclamen Neapolitan Cyclamen November blooming plants October blooming plants pink flowers Playfair Park September blooming plants Sowbread white flowers winter flowering winter interest When I came to live on the coast i was surprised to see how some plants were used. the climate here is just a notch below where many tender annuals will grow as perennials such as Snapdragons which winter over, sometimes for many years like the ones...

Crimson and Ambar Dripping From the Branches.
on Sep 20, 2009 in Mass Plantings Specimens Trees American Sweet Gum trees autumn trees with color Broadmead Village Shopping Centre Fall foliage color fragrant trees great fall colored trees great fall foliage trees Institute of Ocean Sciences Liquidambar styraciflua North Saanich Red autumn tree colors Red fall foliage color Saanich specimen trees with good color Sweet Gum trees Sweet Gums Every year this late in the season many of the native trees and shrubs here are suffering from drought conditions and start shedding their leaves. Fall here is drab with dried brownish leaves caused by the dryness. My mother commented on how drab it...

Reds, White or Pinks….What to Choose?
on Sep 13, 2009 in Butterfly Attracting plants Cut Flowers. Mass Plantings Perennials Specimens Bog plants Early Fall blooming plants Government House Kafir Lily Late season color late summer blooming plants Pennial border plants pink flowers pond side plants red flowers Scarlet lily Scarlet River Lily Schizostylis coccinea Schizostylis coccinea 'Alba" Schizostylis coccinea 'Major' South African Plants white flowers I have worked at several large nurseries over the years and the first was a large company which grew perennials. It was recommended I work there as it was the largest in Canada for that type of plant. I was not disappointed and learned a great deal f...