Fairy Blush Camellia

This little Winter flowering showstopper has been putting on quite the show since late January and it's still blooming. This variety is being grown as an espalier container plant and goes by the name of Camellia 'Fairy Blush'. With delicate, apple blossom coloured blooms you can see how it got its name. This variety of Camellia is very compact growing - reaching a maximum height and spread of 4 to 5 feet. It enjoys filtered sun and is doing very well under the awning by the men's locker room entrance. Give it a little water if the top 3" of soil get dry otherwise it's a very low maintenance plant and can stop people in their tracks to see such a delicate bloomer so early in the season. I'm a big fan!

An Annual Haircut

Last week, the Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' near the kiosk, got it's annual haircut. I cut the mass planting of ornamental grasses back before the growing season to allow for a flush of  fresh new growth to develop. It's short right now but will grow back to its original glory over the next few months.

January Treasures

I walked around the course yesterday collecting flowers, leaves and berries of interest. I was surprised how beautiful they were when I laid them out on paper. As dreary as it is out there today - beauty abounds.

March Plant Spotlight

Spring is just around the corner and I think the excitement is starting to build. It's hard to not throw on a pair of shorts and flip flops but the weather is not quite there yet. The temperature has been dipping down below 0 over the last week, especially with those blue cloudless skies. It's a great time to drive around and look at the plants brave enough to burst into bloom. I took a few snapshots around the course of these showstoppers!  

Camellia in gorgeous magenta pink 

Bird loving Cotoneaster berries hanging heavy

Winter heath 

Helleborus

Viburnum blooms

Beautiful architectural cones 

Blooming January

Fairy Blush Camellia

Moss patina on picnic table

Life abounds throughout the year at the golf course.  What the Winter loses in colour, it certainly makes up in elegance. I found a few shrubs in all there hearty beauty, embracing the grey Westcoast Winter and bursting with blooms. Fairy Blush Camellia (Camellia x 'Fairy Blush'), brimming with buds, has started blooming near the Men's change room entrance. The old gardening staple, Winter Heath (Erica carnea), has sprays of pink and white blooms in various locations around the course. As well, as Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger) has brightened up a few of the Winter containers with showy seasonal flowers. I'm particular fond of the appearance of the elegant pink buds on the Purple Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus 'Gwenllian'), near the kiosk.

Winter heath

New growth in hay bale

Buds on Purple Laurustinus

I also saw life breaking through the chilly weather right beside the Horticulture garage. The hay bales, resting on the pallets on the South side of the Turf Care Centre, were erupting with fresh new growth. Here are a few shots from a particularly sunny day last week. Check out these elaborate ice patterns formed in a set of tire tracks and the beautiful live moss patina growing on a picnic table at the TCC. An exceptional showcase of Mother Nature's artistic abilities.

Ice Formations in tire tracks

Winter Winter Winter

Yesterday marked one month until Christmas.  The next thirty days will be a whirlwind of family, friends, feasts and fancifulness. I admit I like to get caught up in it all but it feels like a wild weekend in Vegas. I wake up with an empty wallet and a fuzzy memory of all the activity. This year I hope to spend more time appreciating every moment.

We have gotten a head start at Quilchena. Jason has started playing Christmas music around the Turf Care Centre. The clubhouse staff has been busy decorating the inside and Nick has been adorning the outdoor trees with lights. It's a pretty special time.  This morning I was able to share my own version of Christmas at the front entrance. I was inspired to create a Winter scene complete with;  snowballs, gifts, pine cones, conifer foliage and antique ice skates. I hope you all like it. It would be great to hear what the holiday season means to each member. I'm sure everyone would create there own magical scene!

Caution- Garden in Progress

The hedge has been removed.  My spade has broken ground and the garden bed is starting to take shape.  All this action is happening adjacent to the #9 hole.  But, please be patient.  The completed garden bed is still a ways a way. An inexpensive temporary fence has been assembled for safety against a potential screamer of a shot. It will be removed when the garden has been completed.

In the meantime, I'm using the existing clay soil for the garden bed to minimize the cost of purchasing an abundance of new soil.  Unfortunately clayey soil can be challenging for gardening. The clay particles lie flat like sheets and can compact really easily, making it difficult for delicate plant roots to break through the soil. This can minimize plant size and vigor. That being said, I'm going to attempt a few different strategies to transform the texture of the soil.  An application of lime can soften the clay soil as it leaches through.  Also, I'm using the leaf mulch that has been culturing near the Horticulture garage for the last year and a half (I wrote an earlier article on my leaf composter). It's full of all sorts of beneficial insects and rich organic matter.  I'm excited to see the insects work through that clayey soil and search for the nitrogen rich turf on the underside of the clumps of earth. This action will improve the porosity and fertilization of the land. Additionally, a large application of compost will be topdressed over the entire area of the garden beds prior to planting.  

The concept for the finalized design will be a prairie perennial border amass with ornamental grasses and bright summer blooming flowers paired with plants that have all season interest.  It should be a very lively and inviting series of gardens when completed.  Posters have been made that detail the project. There is a poster in the kiosk as well as on the bulletin board outside of the mens changing room.  Have a look and feel free to direct feedback my way. 

Pink Dawn

One of the few flowering gems at this time of the year is the lovely Pink Dawn Viburnum (Viburnum x bodnatense 'Pink Dawn').  This deciduous shrub drops it's leaves in fall and bursts fragrant powder pink blooms, from red buds, on its rough branches from Fall until early Spring. These blooms are later followed by bird-attracting red berries that mature to black. These shrubs look absolutely at home in a woodland garden bed and especially when in close proximity to a Winter blooming Witchazel and a mass of red twigged dogwood.  Quilchena has three Pink Dawn Viburnum shrubs massed in the centre of the garden bed adjacent to the parking lot and the pond at the #18 hole. When you're making your way to the #10 hole take a look to the right and check out these Winter wonders. These bushy shrubs eventually reach a height of up to 10 feet with a potential 6 foot spread by maturity.  They prefer full to part sun with well drained soil.  It's an excellent Winter specimen plant for the Westcoast.  If you have some extra room in your back border I would highly recommend picking one of these up.

Beauty Berry

Have you ever sat through a movie that was ho-hum but temporarily captivated you with beautiful cinematography, brilliant acting from a secondary character or an unexpected plot twist?  Otherwise the movie was nap-tastic. Well, if this movie could be a plant, it would be the Beauty Berry (Callicarpa bodiniera). For the majority of the year, this insignificant plant sidles beside other plants quietly taking up room and just listening.  It may just be the kind of plant that one might not even know exists in their garden...until Winter arrives that is. As the weather cools down and plants start to lose their leaves, so does Beauty Berry. That's when this plant really shines.  As the leaves drop, all that is left are unthinkably beautiful purple berries on the bare stems of this deciduous shrub.  Basically this dowdy plants undresses to expose the most exquisitely constructed French lingerie.

You can spot two Beauty Berry shrubs at the #12 hole garden and another one at the entrance to of the Turf Care Centre. There is over 140 species of the genus Callicarpa from North America, Asia and Australia, but the most common ornamental species is bodiniera which originates from West-Central China. This medium sized shrub has a loose habit with fine leaves and small clusters of tiny flowers in white and pink. Beauty berry is from the Lamiaceae family (same family as many common herbs) and is used for jelly, wine and...insect repellent.  Fortunately, the berries of this plant are one of the last food sources for birds over the Winter, that means plenty of time to enjoy them!

Turning Winter Blahs into Christmas Cheer

Coral Bells in different shades

When the weather starts to change from the blue sky's of September to different shades of grey you know that Winter is approaching quickly.  It's a fine time to toss tired Summer annuals and refresh existing planters with textural Winter greens. I've been perking up planters around the clubhouse...one pot at a time.  Plus, upcycling a few of the Summer's hanging baskets near the kiosk.  Fresh seasonal perennials were planted into the center of the Summer baskets while sprigs of cedar boughs were pierced into the moss liners for quick Winter hanging baskets.  The planters leading through the parking lot have been planted with Spring bulbs and will be left bare until then.

Heavenly Bamboo

Generally, people don't associate Winter with gardening, but there are certainly ways to introduce seasonal plant material to your containers and replenish your hanging baskets. This will bring a little cheer to entrance ways and spruce up focal areas. Winter gardening displays are very elegant and reserved, much like the season itself.  The main focus is on foliage through colour and texture. The additions of seasonal  flowers, berries and treasures from the yard will complete your Winter displays. Browse your local nursery and  you will find that there are plenty of evergreen shrubs, ornamental grasses, ferns and hardy perennials to chose from.

The Coral bell (Heuchera) is an excellent addition to any Winter container.  Vibrant marmalade, citrusCarex oshimensis 'Evergold' or the Carex comans in bronze form. Tasteful rounded evergreen shrubs like Skimmia japonica or Sarcococca can be the backbone to most Wintertime planters.  Their glossy green foliage, modest blooms and berries will be sure to appeal during those grey months. Or how about a Leucothoe or Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica) shrub for red variegated foliage?

Skimmia

Burgundy shades will complement any glossy green counterpart. Sedge grasses create excellent texture and movement to a container. My personal favourites are the the green and gold variegated.

Leucothoe

Carex 'Evergold'

Of course, Winter blooming heather and Winter pansies create a beautiful pop of colour in any container.  From my experience though, pansies don't fully show up to the party with bright big blooms until the Spring bulbs start to burst from the ground, so I tend to opt for more immediate impact.  There are so many interesting cultivars of heathers (Eric carnea) at nurseries these days with bolder coloured blooms and foliage in shades of reds, silvers, and citrus.  Take advantage of the most interesting varieties to maximize your Winter interest.  Christmas rose (Helleborus) is a staple in most Winter planters, also one of the priciest.  Christmas Rose cultivar varieties are exponentially expanding every year, with a huge range of colours and bloom styles. The Christmas Rose has become quite the collectors item among plant lovers. I understand the hype because these beauties are absolutely spectacular when planted among Pasque flower (Pulsatilla), daffodil bulbs and ferns in early Spring. Plant one in a Winter planter for floral interest.

Christmas Rose

Winter blooming heather

Put on some rubber boots and wander through a local park or in your yard to gather and collect--just like the shrewd squirrel.  Collect pine cones, nuts and fallen twigs.  Character branches aged with lichen will add a lot of visual interest to your basket. Clip evergreen branches and brightly coloured cuttings from dogwood shrubs and any branch rich with berries.  These clippings can be strategically added to any container for filler and interest.  Moss is such a beautiful addition to a Winter basket as well.  Create your own birds nest and fill it with found treasures.
 

Here are some of my favourite plants for Winter interest;

Berries; Skimmia, Cotoneaster, Sarcococca, Beauty berry (Callicarpa)
Foliage Interest; Carex grasses, Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica), Leucothoe, Euonymus, Coral bells (Heuchera), Dwarf Conifers, privet, ferns, Rhododendron, Ajuga, Ivy, Pachysandra
Floral Interest; Heather (Erica carnea), Christmas Rose (Helleborus), pansies,