garden photos

Colour and Texture

The garden is entering its quiet time. Drab, even. But there are a few sights worth looking at. And winter sunrises are often spectacular, probably because they arrive late enough to be observed.

Perennial bed in front garden December 2021 — Mixed colours and textures in this perennial bed brought out by morning sun.

Top of birch tree in back garden with a few remaining leaves — Last few yellow leaves on the birch.

Ornamental grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides) "Little Bunny" — Ornamental grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides) “Little Bunny” looks good even when dormant.

Winter jasmine yellow flowers on trellis — Winter jasmine is in full bloom. (Photo from last year, but it looks just like this now.)

Early bulbs are poking their noses up and new buds are visible on shrubs and trees. Soon there will be fresh colours and textures to see and admire.

Postscript: Remember the condemned rubber plant? It has had a reprieve. One cold day I brought it back inside. Since then we have had at least one frosty night that would have done it in. My new plan is to air-layer a new plant next summer, and to cultivate that new plant in a way that will make it look better than its predecessor.

Rubber plant left outside by shed, 2021 — Reprieved and still alive inside!

Finale

It’s been a rainy, windy fall so far here on Vancouver Island. We’ve had none of the crisp, sunny autumn days that are some of the year’s best. In fact, it feels like we skipped from summer (hot and dry) to winter (rainy and windy).

The garden is a mess. I haven’t managed to do any edge-trimming or much end-of-season cleanup. I’m not obsessive about raking up every leaf any more, since I’ve heard that fallen leaves are a valuable resource for bugs and birds. (Let’s hope the bugs aren’t the kind that cause problems for gardeners.)

But there are always a few things worth looking at…

Amanita muscaria mushroom — This *Amanita muscaria* mushroom popped up by the pond

Pink oriental lily, last lily of 2021 — The last lily of the year. This is the first time I’ve had a lily bloom in November.

Yellow chrysanthemum flowers — The always reliable yellow chrysanthemum, not eaten by deer this time.

I see it’s raining again, so back to the work in progress!

Summer’s Finale: Rose, Lily, Dahlia

Fall (autumn) is almost here. We have had actual rain in the past week, and more is predicted. I am no longer a slave to the hose and watering can.

Here are some photos from August, which is usually a dismal month in the garden–tired, seedy, and dry. This year, despite the heat dome of June and hardly any rain, the scene was blessed by three plants: the rose “Fragrant Cloud,” happy in its new big pot, two plants of the dahlia “Bishop of Llandaff” (also in pots), and a couple of late-blooming white lilies (grown in half-barrels). That’s the secret: pots (and the gardener with the watering can).

White lily and pink African violet indoors August 2021

Dahlia "Bishop of Llandaff" closeup August 2021

Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum) and yellow leaf August 2021 — Fall begins. Autumn arrives.

Strange and Wonderful

We’re roasting through another heat wave on the west coast. Here are sights from the garden in July and so far in August. First the strange…

Rose "Fragrant Cloud" bloom bleached by sun during June 2021 heat wave — Flower of rose “Fragrant Cloud” bleached by the late June heat wave.

This is “Fragrant Cloud’s” normal colour

Battarrea phalloides mushroom with trowel for size comparison July 2021 — The weird dryland mushroom *Battarrea phalloides* is back again this summer. (The trowel is there as a size comparison. It’s about 8 in. or 20 cm.)

Borage flowers from above July 2021 — Borage flowers viewed from above. Sort of an *art nouveau* effect, I think.

Windblown cloud or maybe contrail July 2021 — A wind-sculpted cirrus cloud (or maybe a contrail.)

And now the wonderful…

Borage flowers July 2021 — Borage flowers

White Lychnis coronaria and Beach Pea (Lathyrus japonicus) June 2021 — White *Lychnis coronaria* and beach pea (*Lathyrus japonicus*). Two quasi-weeds having a moment.

Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum) and orange daylily — This Japanese painted fern (*Athyrium niponicum*) has outdone itself again this summer.

Heuchera "Timeless Orange" with leaves coloured cream, yellow, orange, and red — Heuchera “Timeless Orange” showing leaf colours other than orange.

Pink oriental lily from mixed batch August 2021 — Another lily from the impulse buy mixed bag of bulbs.

Pink dahlia flowers August 2021 — The Nameless Dahlia in fine form.

That’s it for now. Tomatoes are ripening; with luck they won’t roast on the vine.

Lovely Lilies

Lily season is drawing to a close here. When “Golden Splendour” bloomed several weeks ago, I decided there was no point in taking photos again, because I already have many from previous years. But I couldn’t resist.

"Golden Splendour" lily front garden with mulleins in background July 2021

On impulse, I bought a bag of unnamed mixed lily bulbs in spring. Here is one of them.

Pale yellow lily with dark brown stamens July 2021

I only wish it were possible to include the fragrance of these lilies in the post!

In Bloom

Another garden post! The truth is I can’t think of anything to say about writing that I haven’t said already. So no rule-quibbling, nothing about the WIP, and no buy-my-books message (although you can find out about those via the menu at the top or in the sidebar).

Red-leaf rose (Rosa glauca) in foreground, white climbing rose in background on Norway maples — Roses are in bloom now. Here is a nameless (to me) white climber held up by the Norway maples I’m always complaining about, and (in the foreground) the red-leaf rose (*Rosa glauca*).

Red-leaf rose (Rosa glauca) — Close-up of red-leaf rose foliage and flower.

Blue delphinium, standard privet (in bloom), foliage of dahlia "Bishop of Llandaff" and pergola — Blue delphinium with standardized privet in bloom behind it and dahlia foliage in front.

Blue delphinium with white bee — Blue delphinium with white “bee” (the bit in the middle of each flower)

Lavender pink delphinium, from volunteer seedling — Lavender-pink delphinium. This was a volunteer seedling I identified and encouraged to grow. I’m quite happy with it.

White Lychnis coronaria, grey foliage, with foliage of hellebore and bergenia — Campion (*Lychnis coronaria* a.k.a. *Silene coronaria*). This is a quasi-weed that does well almost everywhere. The white form is quite elegant, especially when it’s just starting to bloom. Hellebore and bergenia foliage in background.

Long-spurred Columbines (Aquilegia) — Long-spurred columbine with hellebore and heuchera foliage in background.

Hopefully I’ll have something worthwhile to say about writing by next week. Suggestions are welcome–from writers, readers, or gardeners!

Green Isn’t the Only Colour

Plants are green. Everyone knows that. But green isn’t a single colour; there are a million shades of green. Throw in texture and an all-green planting is anything but monotone.

But many plants have leaves in colours besides or other than green. Combinations of white and green, for example. Or colours such as orange, red, purple, or even blue. Blue leaves–imagine that!

Here are some plants from my garden with colour variations.

Green and white Hosta — Green and white variegated hosta

Green and white ornamental grass — Green and `white grass`

Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum — Japanese painted fern

Heuchera "Green Spice" — Heuchera “Green Spice.” Note the similar colours to the fern!

Heuchera "Key Lime Pie" — Heuchera “Key Lime Pie”

Heuchera "Timeless Orange" with grey foliage in the background — Heuchera “Timeless Orange” and grey leaved plants

Brunnera "Looking Glass" — Brunnera “Looking Glass”

The last one is my favourite. Cerinthe “Pride of Gibraltar” starts out with leaves of pale green, but as the flower buds develop, the leaves close to them turn a bronzy purple, and then a pure blue. Some are almost navy blue. The flowers are those little purple tubes sticking out at the ends.

Cerinthe Pride of Gibraltar close-up, blue leaves

Silent Sunday: Pacific Coast Iris

Bigger Pictures

My garden photos are often closeups of individual plants or groups of plants. So I thought it was time to post some wider views, in the form of a tour. The garden is at its best right now (early May), when it’s still lush and green.