Colors Found in Dutch Crocus Painting.

As I look out my window today I remember what it was like at this time of year; it is the middle of February and still the snow is falling and the piles of it are getting higher and higher. Back then any sunny day would make me anxious for spring to come with the [...]

Read Full Post »

Flowers So Beautiful You Could Wear Them as Earrings.

This September has been extraordinarily wet, in fact we have set a record for the most rain for this month every and still almost week to go. Most plants are loving it as the long summer drought is over early and this is guaranteed to save some of their lives. Some plants think it is [...]

Read Full Post »

Theres This Laurustinus in My Ear!

Many parking lots and other institutions have parking lots and landscaping which is populated by tough hardy and often broadleaved evergreen plants. These plants have to be attractive and durable and tolerate being neglected. Many of these plants are just green and a background with no real features. A select few are standouts and should be seen [...]

Read Full Post »

It’s a Strawberry Tree You Say?

When I was in school I often learned one than one genus and from that point there can be many subspecies and hybrids. Often plants from a genus look very similar and other times do not. One genus we learned was Arbutus. Arbutus menziesii  is a tree and Arbutus unedo which is a shrub. Arbutus [...]

Read Full Post »

A Hidden Gem

This is an article I wrote for ‘The Society of Friends of  St Ann’s Academy‘.  St Ann’s Academy is where  most of the pictures for this article were taken. One job I have done at St. Ann’s Academy is checking the plants(trees and shrubs) listed as growing here in 1986 was correct. For the most part the [...]

Read Full Post »

Making Cyclamen from Sowbread..Oh My!

When I came to live on the coast i was surprised to see how some plants were used. the climate here is just a notch below where many tender annuals will grow as perennials such as Snapdragons which winter over, sometimes for many years like the ones outside my kitchen window. Others are house plants [...]

Read Full Post »

Twisting in the Wind.

When I was a small child we used to play by the hill which was close to our house. One day as we explored the trails at the bottom we discovered these strange nut-like things in the shrubs and took them home to show our parents who told us they were wild or Beaked Hazelnuts(Corylus [...]

Read Full Post »

A Very Un-Dogwood Like Bloom.

To my delight it was a Cornus mas or Cornelian Cherry Dogwood which produced a spectacular golden display before most other plants are in bloom. I never saw another one until….

Read Full Post »

I May be Common but Never Vulgar.

My mother was born in the Vancouver(zone 8a) area and grew up in a fairly mild climate which is that of the lower mainland.  She learned to love the flowers and other plants which grew abundantly there. When she married, she and my father decided to move to Prince George(zone3a) which is located in the [...]

Read Full Post »

Tip-toeing Through the….

My prim(e) name is usually connected to a Rose. I come in many colors, pink, yellow, white and in between. This is a common color you will see in me! I am a very old fashioned plant  and am referred to in many old stories and poems. People often say I’m vulgar. I think I [...]

Read Full Post »