What's blooming in Vancouver - April 25 pt 3

Dicentra formosa or Pacific Bleeding Heart

A couple of excellent ground covers for the deep shade garden are Dicentra formosa and Oxalis sp.  I want to emphasize that the Oxalis is good in deep shade, because I believe the lack of light may slow its progress.  There can be a danger of the Oxalis being invasive.

There are about 500 varieties of Oxalis spp, and I can't remember which one is shown in the top photo.  I can say that it grows beautifully all year round, and tumbles gracefully over the paver driveway, softening the hard edge.  In this situation, the Oxalis is growing at the feet of Rhododendrons and Oemleria.

Dicentra, or Bleeding Hearts, are such unusual flowers.  The native D. formosa has feathery leaves and smaller flowers than the classic Dicentra.  Like the Oxalis, Dicentra spreads by rhizomes.  If the soil is loose, these will spread easily.

Pig's Squeak! Blooming Now!

Bergenia cordifolia

Pig's Squeak, or Bergenia cordifolia, is a fun plant for the garden.  Its big, leathery leaves provide a wonderful contrast to almost every other foliage in the garden.  If you are going for a tropical look, these leaves have a tropical look, yet the plants are super tough.

Bergenia can be grown in any type of soil, from full sun to part shade, and under most any water conditions. Does it get any better?

Why, yes.  Bergenia are also evergreen.  For another bonus, the leaves of Bergenia cordifolia 'Bressingham Ruby' turn burgundy in autumn.


In spring, long lasting stalks of flowers pop up above the leaves.  The flowers are usually a shade of pink, but there are some varieties with white flowers.

Bergenia divide easily, and will spread by root without being a pest.

If you want to know how Bergenia got its common name, rub one of the leaves between your finger and thumb.

Beesia, a great little underused plant

Beesia with Autumn Fern and Daffodil greens

Beesias are fantastic evergreen perennials that grow in deep shade.  They have beautiful glossy, heart shaped leaves with contrasting vein markings.  In spring, spikes of tiny white flowers emerge.

Beesia is the plant with the heart shaped leaves in the centre of these photographs.  You can see how Beesia 
contrasts nicely with fern foliage.

Beesia are wonderfully strong plants, and will grow in the shade of conifers, like the Beesias in these photographs.

Beesia with Daffodil greens

Beesias are hard to find, and are expensive.  I'm not sure if they are hard to find because they are expensive, or expensive because they are hard to find.  They are certainly easy to grow, and I recommend anyone with a shade garden to invest in 2 or 3 Beesias.  They are worth the cost.  These Beesia cost about $20 each when we installed them three years ago.

We have bought them at Phoenix Perennials and Southlands Nursery.

What's blooming now in Vancouver? pt 3

Daffodils

Vancouver is alive with Daffodils of white and yellow right now.  Daffodils are so cheerful, they can make the grumpiest person smile.

Another advantage to Daffodils, or Narcissi, is the bulbs are poisonous to eat.  I am always so disappointed with Tulips because squirrels and raccoons find them delicious, and come spring, many of the Tulips are gone.  Rodents do not eat Daffodils.

Some Daffodils can also tolerate partial shade and shade.  Most Daffodils naturalize in the ground, meaning they come back year after year.  Look for "Naturalizing" on the label of bulb bags and tags.

Heather

Heather, or Erica carnea, is a resilient early bloomer.   E. carnea comes in shades of red, pink, purple and white.  In full sun, the entire small shrub is a mound of tiny flowers.  

These come from the moors, so think rocky, inhospitable soil and sun.

Cut the branches back after blooming to maintain a full shape.  With no pruning, E. carnea get leggy and the centres look dead.

Camellia

Camellias are beautiful in spring.  They do tolerate some shade, but bloom profusely in sun.  Find a variety that does not rust, which is the look when flowers look rusty after a rain.  This is especially important in rainy Vancouver.

Camellias are prone to many little bugs, and subsequently, sooty mold or aphid honeydew, the black that can coat leaves.

Camellias are also evergreen shrubs, so they provide some winter greenery.

Prune roses when Forsythia are blooming

Forsythia in bloom now

The rule of green thumbs is to prune your roses when the Forsythia are in bloom.  This climate specific advice is much more useful than stating a particular week or month to prune or plant something.  We need to look for signals in our own gardens for when to care for our plants.

Throughout Metro Vancouver we have many climate variances.  For instance, one of our garden sites is at the top of Mountain Hwy in North Vancouver.  This garden is usually a full month behind our Vancouver gardens in spring.

Even within Vancouver there are many different climates.  Oceans moderate temperatures.  Both of us Cultivated Gardeners live by the ocean.  Sometimes we set off for an autumn garden clean in Kerrisdale or South Cambie, only to discover those gardens are covered in a new snowfall;  yet where we live, there wasn't even frost.

What looks good now in Vancouver? pt 1

Gardens are not only for flowers, but we need to think of complementary shades of green, contrasting textures of foliage, and different shapes of leaves.  Not many plants flower in winter, but many plants are evergreen or have some other interesting quality to feature in a winter garden.

Arum italicum makes a lovely ground cover for winter.  The shiny, elongated heart shaped leaves are highlighted with white veining.  Other Arum species do not have the decorative leaves.  

Come summer, the leaves die down and give way to long stalks holding spires of orange berries.