Butchart Gardens March 29, 2011

Outside

At last, some early tulips make an appearance in the garden.

Inside

This was our last visit to the Spring Prelude indoor garden, which finished at the end of March.

A lone illuminated flower.

Wondeful wisteria.

I don't know the name of this tiny pink flower.

Ah, the springtime fragrance of hyacinths.

Butchart Gardens March 4, 2011

Indoor garden

This week's amaryllis.

 The lilacs smelled heavenly, of course.

 

 

I love the colour of these tulips.  

 

A gardener happened by so I finally had the chance to ask the name of this plant with small yellow flowers. He said it is a Kerria.

Daffodils, in pots outside.

Government House February 28, 2011

There was still evidence of snow by the end of the month. The pink rhodo blossoms (not shown) of a couple weeks ago had now turned to mush.

The sight of this lantern on the grounds warms my heart regardless of the weather.

There was still some colour to be found.

I don't know what this bush is but I like the silvery-coppery leaves. Funny how tastes change over the years. There was a time that I wouldn't have cared for this at all.

Crocus. There's a good sign.

And another sure sign of spring - Indian Plum.

Butchart Gardens October 22, 2010

On this damp and mostly overcast morning, gardeners were busy planting bulbs for spring.

A flower bed outside the Blue Poppy cafe.

Unknown (to me) pink & orange flowers in a pot near the entrance.

Update: The plant is Euonymus Europaeus, also known as European Spindle. Its hard wood was used to make spindles, and the fruit is poisonous.

The Italian Garden. The yellow flowers will probably turn to mush in the rain before long.

The dahlia border across the lawn is still looking good.

I still don't know the name of these intriguing little flowers with the blue and green 'pearl' pods.

Update: The plant is Clerodendrum Trichotomum, also known as Harlequin Glorybower. Some call it the Peanut Butter Bush because the leaves apparently smell like peanut butter when you crush them. I must try to do that some time.

Japanese Garden

Around this time of year the Japanese garden should be ablaze with colour.

Either I was too early or too late, or the fall foliage is not going to be as spectacular as 2 or 3 years ago.

This shows a difference in colour between the two cameras - our little old Canon Elph on the left and the Canon Vixia camcorder on the right. I prefer the Elph for fall foliage since it seems to handle oranges better.

Government House October 18, 2010

Or the title could be: More plants I don't know.

This is a springtime-looking flower for October.

I see these tiny red & white flowers around a fair bit still don't know what they are.

This plant was taller than me and I have no idea what it is either.

Finally, something I know - a rose. It too looks quite fresh for this time of year.

I was puzzled by this tree with the strange-looking fruit. From a distance they resembled small pears, more for the colour than the shape, but this is a Medlar tree. I learned about something else called bletting which "refers to the fact that some fruit must be allowed to fully ripen and start the decaying process before they are ready to eat." All in all, this fruit doesn't look or sound very appealing.

Abkhazi Garden - September 3

Above: These berries or pods that look like purple bell peppers are really only the size of a penny or dime. I had never seen this plant before and had to ask what it was. The name is Billardiera longifolia - or purple appleberry (or mountain blueberry or cherry berry). Native to Tasmania / south eastern Australia.

Alas, that might have been our last visit to Abkhazi Garden. We joined The Land Conservancy this year with the clear understanding that dogs were not allowed in this small garden. It was disappointing then to discover that the rules had been changed before we joined and although they say dogs are to be under control, they clearly aren't. Eating lunch while a large dog barks on the restaurant patio isn't our idea of a relaxing time.