Waiting for warmth….

Jelena

 

Diane

 

Pallida

Six on Saturday: January 27, 2018

 

Here we go again, slushy snow at the end of January. I had hoped to rake up leaves and tidy up after the dog, but nature foiled me once again. This week we even had a tsunami warning, but luckily it was cancelled. These were taken from indoors. Hard to believe they are in colour.

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however this clematis (Maria Cornelia) was photographed outdoors.

 

2. For a bit of colour, I turned to the woodpile and the wheelbarrows

 

But there really is colour hiding beneath the snow!

3. The Hellebore foetidus

 

4. and Rhododendron buds are still visible.

 

5. The Witch Hazels survive this with no problem.

Witch Hazel Jelena

Witch Hazel Pallida

 

6. My Rosemary appears to be surviving under the roof overhang so far. I hope it outlasts the snow!

 

Seeds still haven’t arrived.

*****

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Six on Saturday: January 20, 2018

1. It is that time of year when I need indoor blooms to remind me that Spring is on its way. This week, I found these primulas outside the grocery store in the wind and rain and decided they needed to come home with me.
2. Outdoors the Witch Hazels are really looking fine, no matter if it is snow or rain. There are three kinds in bloom so far. First is Diane, a reddish variety. There are three of them that were purchased at the same time. This is their best year so far. I was totally surprised by them today!   The small Hamamelis Pallida is in its glory today as well.The third variety I have posted before, that is H.Jalena. This one is more orange.
3. Various plants are popping up in the garden.
   The artichokes are showing new growth in spite of the chilly gloom here.
   Pink Delphiniums are showing new foliage too.
   The buds are showing on the new Cornus Florida.
4. Some of the Clematis are showing growth. This is especially exciting for me!
   
5.  Indoors I spotted roots growing on my Hydrangeas that were in a glass vase. Somehow I never expected them to root since they still had their blooms attached. My friend Ryan has them potted up in a cool spot, but a few remain in their vase here.
6.  Last week some of you commented on the Rhododendron I posted which sported blue berries. I wrote to the University’s Botanical gardens about them and this is their reply.
   “I have heard back from one of our curators who replied with this. The tag does not belong to the plant pictured, which is Daphniphyllum macropodum. The berries are not edible. The rhododendron to which the label refers is nearby, but is unidentified, hence the red label (which is what we use to identify plants that are missing information or are yet to be identified – most plants have black labels in the Garden). Hope that answers your question.”
   *****
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Six on Saturday: January 13, 2018

January is the cruelest month for us in this part of British Columbia with rain and gloom and cold temperatures. Things are certainly not as severe as other parts of North America this winter though.
On the plus side, this past Monday our garden club held a special meeting where 14 people spoke briefly about their gardens. (with Power Point slides) There was lots of variety too. I spoke about our shade garden as it emerged last spring. There was home made ice cream and more goodies as well. To top it off my 8 year old granddaughter came to watch the program! I hope she develops a love of gardening one fine day!

So this is what happened in our garden this week!

1. The snow came and went, came and went. It was nice to have a few dry days! Here you see Autumn crocus foliage.

 

2. Some perennials are showing signs of life! Among them there’s Variegated Knautia,  Corydalis cheilanthifolia, several blue Heloniopsis and Soldanella.

 

3. Snow returned but the Phlomis, which has pale pink blooms, still looks healthy. (with seedlings of purple linaria growing through it I see.) This grows in a fairly sunny part of the garden.

In May it looks like this:

 

4. Last spring I was gifted some Wasabi plants: they don’t seem affected by the weather at all. (http://www.realwasabi.com/cultivation/index.asp)

 

5. One of my favourite plants is Enkianthus, a subtle, slow growing yet sophisticated shrub/tree.  I grow several with different coloured blooms. This one was new last year and seems to be doing fine. It has nice buds now.

This is how it looks in bloom, in mid May.

 

6. Last, but not least,  blooms are starting. This Cyclamen is loaded with buds.

This Witch hazel Jelena is in bloom. A second one is not as far along. A close up is intriguing…
Seeds have not yet arrived, but I am waiting, eager to start them.
*****

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Six on Saturday: January 6, 2018

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   This week we travelled to Vancouver and, among other things, visited the University of British Columbia’s Botanical Garden. We were short of time but we saw enough to make us want to return in spring or summer! At this time winter cleanup is taking place and many people are working away raking, pruning etc. The photos above show the entryway to the many paths as well as some remaining ice. The Northern Gardens are far bigger than I anticipated, including an Alpine Garden, Garry Oak Meadow and Woodland Garden, a Carolinian Forest, an Herbaceous Border, a Food Garden, a Physic Garden, a BC Native Garden and an Arbour area with trumpet vine, clematis, wisteria, and bittersweet.. There are also twelve acres of Asian Gardens which include plant explorer collections that continue to expand. There is a research and education showcase for forest biodiversity with a walkway providing visitors with views through the forest canopy.

    

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   The trees and vines we saw were fantastic. The first one above is a Stewartia tree. The bottom photo shows kiwi fruit under the kiwi vines. It seems the squirrels enjoy these! The twisted vines are part of a larger educational display on vines which I hope to see in the summer.

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There is a Hydrangea area which would be fun to see in late summer. This is how it looks in January!

 

4.

The small Rhododendron on the left has an almost furry brown texture on the undersides of its leaves. On the right are very round Rhododendron buds and mystery seedheads which are quite tall.

 

5.

These blue rhododendron berries were lovely at this time of year. I do not know what the red berries are, but we certainly admired them.

 

6.

My husband suspects that he and the tree stump are the same age. I had a good laugh about that!

*****

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