HAIL MAY! FLORAL FANTASIES IN VICTORIA

09 Sunday May 2010

Posted by backyardnotes in May flowers, Narcissus family, Spring flowers, Travel, tulips

Tags

formal gardens, mother, Sisters, tulips, Victoria

THREE SISTERS AND TWO MOTHERS PARADED THROUGH BUTCHART GARDENS on Wednesday afternoon and were rewarded with the stunning sight of thousands and thousands of blooming tulips and more. It was a fitting way to spend a pre-Mother’sDay in May. The sisters gifted the trip to Victoria, British Columbia to the mothers (one MIL) at Christmas. We all decided that May would be optimal for spring flowers at the Butchart Gardens. We departed Seattle for a 3 hour ride across Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria, on the 8:00 a.m. sailing of the Victoria Clipper. From the harbor in Victoria we boarded a bus to Butchart Gardens, about an hour north. Weather was partly cloudy and a little cool to begin our walk, but the sun made full its presence later in the afternoon. A panoply of color and form greeted us at every turn.

The gardens were created in an old limestone quarry by Jennie Butchart, wife Robert Butchart the quarry owner: “As Mr. Butchart exhausted the limestone in the quarry near their house, his enterprising wife, Jennie, conceived an unprecedented plan for refurbishing the bleak pit. From farmland nearby she requisitioned tons of top soil, had it brought to Tod Inlet by horse and cart, and used it to line the floor of the abandoned quarry. Little by little, under Jennie Butchart’s supervision, the abandoned quarry blossomed into the spectacular Sunken Garden.

By 1908, reflecting their world travels, the Butcharts had created a Japanese Garden on the sea-side of their home. Later an Italian Garden was created on the site of their former tennis court, and a fine Rose Garden replaced a large kitchen vegetable patch in 1929.” —Butchart Gardens.com

The floral fantasy is the garden’s overwhelming use of tulips and narcissus at this time of the year. Could this ever be possible in your yard? I doubt it–a full time job just to deadhead. My only complaint is a lack of identification for the tulip and narcissus varieties. The garden planners have made extensive use of airy, blue and white Forget-Me-Not, myosotis scorpioides as filler to beautiful effect.

There are broad vistas layered with color and structure throughout the garden to draw one into the garden. Is this a garden or an arboretum? It certainly combines all the elements of each.

In a garden that is a marvel of design and color, the sunken garden is the centerpiece. It is a startling, OH MY GOSH! sight as you come around a shaded, curving path that opens out to this view.

Thousands of tulips are woven together with Japanese maples, rhododendrons, azaleas, and conifers to spectacular effect. At the far end of the sunken garden is the quarry lake.

This flowering cherry had great form and lush blossoms and situated above the path so you are forced to look up into it. The white is kind of blown out in this photo, but not too bad.

Strolling along the paths here is like being the proverbial kid in the candy store, where do I look next? Candy colored flowers abound. Another filler with tulips is erysimum cheiri, commonly known as Wallflower and charming little English daisies, bellis perennis, in myriad colors.

The very seductive peony-flowered tulip, ‘Angelique’.

Looking back into the sunken garden.

Walking up out of the sunken garden we spotted this clever use of old quarry carts in a boggy area below the path.

Walking out of the sunken garden brought us to a broad, open lawn planted with cherry, very old apple and rare specimen trees. Looking out over all of this were a couple of totem poles. This little scenario caught my eye: from one bird to another…

Here is one of the rare specimens, wollemia nobilis from Australia and until quite recently (1994) thought to be extinct. A garden caretaker gave me a quick lesson about its history. This one was planted about six years ago and appears to be thriving.

Let’s wrap up the tour with a few shots from the tranquil Japanese Garden before heading back to Victoria and little rest in our rooms before heading back out for dinner and a little walk around the inner harbor.

Who doesn’t want a beautiful moss garden with maidenhair fern and a running stream?

And finally, a look at the harbor and the Provincial Parliament building. After a morning walk with Deb, our last day was spent wandering the downtown area with a little shopping thrown in. We had a lovely time over two days. We’re already making plans for our next mothers and daughters trip: taking the train to Portland, Oregon around Rose Parade time in June 2011!

P.S. We finished the afternoon with a group photo that Deb’s mother-in-law Patsy took of the four of us in front of a small flowered lilac, syringa meyeri that we all loved. Just have to find it locally Grows to about 5ft x 5ft, not too large.

WIND, RAIN, WET, COLD, AND A FEW SUNBREAKS

12 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by backyardnotes in Native plants, Spring bulbs, Spring flowers, tulips, Weather

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

aples, Garden Art, pears, Sisters, tulips

OKAY, SO IT’S NOT TOMORROW MORE THAN A WEEK LATER since the last posting, but there is still more to see around here! The weather has been so cold, wet, windy for days. April Fool’s Day I visited my friend Betty on Whidbey Island. The weather was forecast to be sunny and near 60 degrees, but what we got was cool and windy with miserly bits of sun. Crossing Puget Sound from Whidbey Island to the Mukilteo landing on my way back home I saw this huge, spectacular storm cloud to the south. By the time I reached Seattle I had driven right under its northeasterly path and dumping rain.

Friday was uninspiring and more rain right through the weekend. Saturday was saved with the annual dyeing of the eggs; a group effort by myself, my daughter and her two children. Lifted our spirits on an otherwise dreary day. And Sunday’s weather cooperated just enough for the morning egg hunt next door to take place and our little hiding and seeking of the eggs just before dinner. Nephew Ryan loves to hide the eggs and Simon and Sophia are challenged to seek them out.

Most of the week following Easter was cold, wet, cold, wet, and cold. Finally the weather turned on Friday, and Saturday afternoon after a cool and very breezy morning. By Sunday we had sunshine for most of the day.

In spite of the weather, life goes on in the garden; flowers bloom, perennials keep pushing skyward, creeping out of winter’s slumber. I am concerned that we will have relatively few pears this year because when it’s cold and rainy, pollinating insects don’t do much flying–bees in particular. Our pear is an espaliered tree with grafts; Bartlett, Comice and Rescue. We planted the pear and an espaliered apple (Spartan and Akane) in 1996. The three year old trees were already in training when we bought them. We used split cedar rails for a support fences. The trees are a bridge between the tiny lawn and the vegetable garden. It was a nice solution. Last year we had around forty pounds of pears and about twenty pounds of apples (not a great yield).

The apple tree is just now blooming. The blossoms are so sweet and tinged with pink

The pear is nearly done flowering.

In the rest of the garden plants are poppin’! Lots of tulips, some mangled by rain had shortened lives, but most are doing fine. One of our favorites is this one that we call the native tulip. These tulips were planted sometime long before we moved here in 1992. We dug up and replanted many of them before building the new house and dug more after building when we had a plan for the entire yard.They are spread around the west side of the house. They seem very sturdy, have beautiful color that light up in the sun and the flowers last several weeks.

Tulipa bakeri ‘Lilac Wonder’ is a great tulip for naturalizing, has vibrant color and is long lived. Tom chose these in 1997 and their numbers increase every year. When the sun shines they open wide.

Here is a nice contrast in colors, the white tulip was part of a red and white combo, but only the white tulips were in the mix! Anyway, they look beautiful with the budding apple blossoms and anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’. Anthriscus is a prolific self-sower if not deadheaded before the seed ripens and if treated like a weed you won’t keep it where it’s not wanted. It is quite lovely and a good fill plant.

How about a little garden art? We have a few pieces here and there, some hidden, some in plain view; some pieces we purchased, a few inheirited and given to us as gifts. Art in the garden is very much like planting–right plant in the right place. Although sometimes repeated moving may take place until the right place is the right place!

Surrounded by spring blooms now, Ho Tai will be shaded under a summer rose with a view of Puget Sound.

St. Francis of Assisi used to stand guard over Grandma T’s house plants on the enclosed back porch. I inheirited him and this is his second place in the garden. He used to stand under the birdbath but the racoons kept knocking him over and he had to have some repairs made. He seems happy here under the white camelia and among the bluebells, lilies and amemones.

Yesterday mom and I went to visit my sister Debbie at her 2 acres of gardening space in Sbnohomish and this piece was in her yard. It looks just right under tall trees, rhododendrons, and maianthemum and native bleeding hearts at its feet. One reason for the visit was to split up some hostas that had come from our grandmother’s garden. Since they are just now poking out of the ground, the time was right for splitting up.

Deb has a new garden bench. It replaces one that came from my garden about nine years ago; made from old barn wood it finally fell apart. Her new bench sits on a small knoll behind the house under tall old maples and red alders. She plans will be planting a red climbing rose on each side. It should look great next year. How about a short tour of her yard in the next post?