A multitude of notes from readers during February and early March highlighted for me the significant variations in weather within the Greater Victoria Region and throughout the Island.
A James Bay gardener expressed puzzlement over my description of gardens frozen over and covered in snow for much of February. The snow in his garden lasted for less than a week. On March 10, Carmen wrote to say that her Saanich garden was still partly under snow, “while Victoria is back to its usual balmy self.”
In my garden, it wasn’t until eight days into this month that I ventured into the more elevated, sunnier parts of the garden to get a few things done — cutting down summer-flowering clematis vines, widening pathways for easier passage, digging winter mulching leaves into plots. Even then, areas within the shadow of the back fence remained frozen. I was able to winkle out of one bed just a few carrots and parsnips before encountering hard ground.
Still, it was glorious to be out in the late-winter sunshine, back after too long an absence in a personal space of healing and wellness. Sheets of snow crocuses shone in the sunlight. In one of the pansy planters on the patio a planting of dwarf irises were blooming. The variety was a new one I found last fall at a garden centre. Its name, ‘Eye Catcher,’ describes precisely how the display caught my attention. The little blooms are beauties in blue and white with streaks of gold.
Eye Catcher is one of many Iris reticulata varieties available for fall planting. The little plants produce flowers that are exquisite little works of art. ‘Katherine Hodgkin’ is another lovely variety in pale blue with darker blue striping and a blush of yellow.
Vegetables and roses
As I was finally able to dabble in the vegetable garden, I was gratified to find the leeks and brussels sprouts, covered during the freezing weather in layers of floating row cover, had survived in good shape. I dug one large leek and sliced it into a pot in which I had been braising a lamb shank with garlic and crumbled, dried mint leaves.
A bowlful of brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved, cooked quickly in butter in a covered frying pan. To them I added small chunks of lightly steamed carrots, to create a tasty and visually appealing, from-the-garden vegetable dish.
At a corner of one large vegetable plot, growing against a stout post, is a Don Juan rose, a climber that adapts well to growing upright as a “pillar” rose. As I pruned the rose to keep it trained against the post, I indulged in the pleasure of anticipating its perfectly formed, deep red flowers that come in waves of perfumed abundance through the summer and much of the fall.
Many gardeners nurture treasured roses and can probably describe the most lovely in form and fragrance. At a pot luck gathering in my home at the end of February, all of us there were reminded of the sheer beauty of a perfect rose when I was given a single, exquisite bloom, nestled in greenery and tied in gold ribbon, in memory of my brother David who had died not long before. The beauty of that rose was remarkable, its soft blush pink colour somehow soothing.
The rose rests still in a slim vase. It has been something to reflect on as the fresh, plump bloom has drifted slowly, almost elegantly, to a diminished, papery demise.
Garden Events
Orchid meeting. The Victoria Orchid Society will meet on Monday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m. in Gordon Head United Church Hall, 4201 Tyndall Ave. John Taylor will present “Madagascar: the Country and the Orchids.” Doors open at 7 to allow for browsing the sales and display tables. victoriaorchidsociety.com
View Royal meeting. The View Royal Garden Club will meet on Wednesday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. in Wheeley Hall, 500 Admirals Rd., Esquimalt. James Miskelly, a biologist with expertise in Garry Oak ecosystems, will present “The Story of Vancouver Island as Told By Plants.” A judged mini show will feature exhibits from members’ gardens and there will be a sales table with plants and garden items. Visitors and new members are welcome.
Garden sharing. The Victoria Horticultural Society is resuming its Garden Sharing Program. People who do not have a place for gardening and others who have space to share in their yards are invited to register with the program at [email protected].
