Getting down in the grass, I discovered a Lilliputian world…
Springtime flowers are so fresh to winter-weary eyes…
Above: the sun shines on recent rain drops. This is the back side of a Fawn lily (Erythronium oregonum), a wildflower blooming on the shores of Saturna Island, BC.
My rosemary has been blooming for months, and I keep trying to get the perfect shot of its fine flowers.
I forget the name of this spring beauty, its white blooms just punctuate the garden right now.
Contrasting the vibrant blue of grape hyacinth (Muscari ) and the orange corolla of a daffodil.
An azalea blossom, in close-up.
The edge of a daffodil corona, almost abstract.
And to close this post, a portrait of a tiny visitor in the sedum:
Say hello to the Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla), enjoying the sunshine in the rock garden. It’s been a long winter.
Above: it’s the beginning of poppy season in my garden. I have let a wide strip of them colonize a sunny corner, and they reward me year after year.
Longer days, more sunlight, warm weather. This adds up to flowers in the garden. And many jobs every day.
One worker bee, cleaning out the rosemary.
Whenever I step outside, I notice a loud buzzing in the neighbourhood… It comes from the arbutus trees, which are covered in blooms, but also from every plant that is flowering around here. Bees are everywhere. We have no shortage of bees on Saturna Island, I can vouch for that!
Above: a mystery white one that is now multiplying in my rock garden. (Note: a mystery no more, this white cutie is Star of Bethlehem or Ornithogalum umbellatum. Many thanks to Patrick, who helped identify this beautiful spring bloom, and warned of its tendency to multiply vigorously.)
Since we fenced the garden in front, I am discovering new plants… They were either planted by the previous owners, or are wildflowers that now have a chance to bloom (before the fence, the deer and goats would just mow everything to golf-green condition…).
Above: Little blue one, inside the fence mystery (Edit: mystery now resolved: this is Naked broomrape (Orobranche uniflora) a wildflower that appeared in the rock garden. A tiny treasure that is only two inches tall. I have not seen it outside the fence, anywhere on this island, probably due to deer and goat grazing.
Above: rock roses (Cistus) are starting to bloom and will keep going for a month or so. It’s a colourful party by the bird bath.
And I finish with my new “baby”, a rhododendron purchased on a whim. I found a shady spot, and piled a lot of dirt, sea soil, compost, and mulch in a good-sized mound to accommodate the rhodo. Let us hope it survives…
I salute gardeners everywhere, with my very rough-looking hands and questionable fingernails (smile). May your compost bring you good results!
Header photo above: rosemary plant in bloom, in January.
Right now, it is raining. It has been raining for two days, pretty steadily. But I don’t mind, because it is definitely better than shoveling snow, like back East.
Before the rain, three days ago, I checked out all the things that need to be done in my garden. A lot of work awaits me. This post, however, is a visual report of what I found (not the jobs, just the beauty, life, and colours!)…
First, the orange flash is a self-seeded Calendula (Pot Marigold), one of the great-grand-children of the original Pacific Beauty seed packet I purchased years ago. Very hardy plant, that one. It keeps giving back all through the winter (I have even found blooms under a blanket of snow, one particular winter!).
Among the jobs: replenishing the bird feeders (there are 8…). This Chestnut-backed chickadee (Poecile rufescens … had to look it up) and friends really enjoy sunflower seeds.
Naturally, it wouldn’t be winter in the Southern Gulf Islands without a batch of Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) blossoming in the lawn, between the rocks and even in the gravel driveway…
One of my feeders is known as the “party feeder”: it offers assorted nuts, including cashews (they must be the industrial rejects of packaging plants for human party mix, I tell myself). All manner of woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches are regular visitors of the party feeder. Above: a Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis), one of a gang of very lively and argumentative little birds.
And elsewhere, the first few Crocus are starting to come out, a little timidly, but all the rain is going to encourage them to blossom. And the weather is still decidedly above 5 degrees Celsius… so…
The winter flowering heathers are also coming into bloom. Above, a close-up, with a little filter play to make it more “painterly”…
This is a close-up of one of the larger rosemary plants in bloom – right now – on Saturna Island. The first winter after we moved here, ten years ago, I was amazed at this show of bright blue in the winter garden (it was a very large and old plant, about three feet wide and high, and covered in blossoms).
And finally, a reminder to all Gulf Islanders, and people on Vancouver Island as well: don’t forget the Anna’s Hummingbirds (Calypte anna), who are spending the winter in the area. One of them flew by my kitchen window, paused and looked me straight in the eye. Almost saying: “Hey, you forgot to refill the feeder!”…
No worries, my friend. Fresh mix of sugar water replenished!
And below, I found a video from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that illustrates how a seemingly all-green Anna’s Hummingbird male can just turn his head, and flash you an extraordinary brilliant red colour!
My rosemary has been blooming for months, and I keep trying to get the perfect shot of its fine flowers.
An azalea blossom, in close-up.
The edge of a daffodil corona, almost abstract.
Say hello to the Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla), enjoying the sunshine in the rock garden. It’s been a long winter.
