Plant Portrait - Oxalis adenophylla

Most of the wood sorrels (Oxalis) are not very hardy. This is one of the few that can survive very cold winters unprotected (hardiness zone 5). It hugs the soil, reaching about 12 cm (4 in) high. Given the size of the plant, the purplish pink, funnel-shape flowers with dark veins are relatively large at 2.5cm (1 in).  The crumply leaves are grey-green, divided in many segments arranged finger-fashion. The common name, silver shamrock, refers to the colour of the foliage. Both the flower and the leaves fold up at night or in overcast weather and are said to "go to sleep".

Grafting

The garden at Roche Fleurie is in the middle of a field reverting to forest. Many of the trees that get established on their own and are reclaiming the field are apple trees. However, in most cases, the apples they produce are not very good. Every spring, I try to graft tastier varieties of apples on these volunteer trees. There are many techniques used for grafting. Here is how I proceed.

"Wild" apple tree

Forest Floor (2)

Three more pictures of the forest floor. Yesterday afternoon, driving in the rain along a wooded area in the neighborhood, we stopped and took pictures of Trillium grandiflorum covering the forest floor. As they age, these trilliums turn pink. However for now they are still all white. It is amazing they are still so abundant in places, as the white tail deer does find them tasty.

Forest Floor

This afternoon, we stopped the car and took a few pictures of the forest floor along the road where acre upon acre of dog-tooth violets (Erythronium americanum) were in bloom. Often, they produce a great many leaves, but no flower. This year seems to be a very good one for them.

I have heard that, in a garden, if you put a stone under the bulb, it blooms much better. I have never tried it, but it would seem likely as the Erythroniums in the pictures below are growing in a thin layer of soil over limestone.

Our very own Weeds

You have not heard from me these last five weeks or so because of Internet connection problems.

We all have weeds. Although some, like dandelions and crabgrass, are common to us all, we also each have our particular weeds. Just like rhododendrons require acid soil, some weeds require the specific conditions we happen to have in each of our gardens. These are our very own weeds, different from those of our  friends and fellow gardeners.

In praise of the Aspidistra

Aspidistra elatior is an old-fashioned house plant, which was probably more popular in the 19th century than it is now. At first sight, it does not seem to have a lot to offer. It has no noticeable bloom, and it is rather awkward looking. However it is a plant that is particularly undemanding, extremely reliable and easy to grow. I have grown to like it more and more as time goes by.

Garden Ornaments

I find that choosing and placing ornaments in a garden is interesting, but rather difficult. There are all sorts of ornaments from the reproductions of formal statuary to decorative scarecrows or urns or pots, all the way to garden gnomes. Some work quite well (that is to say, they improve the garden), but many don't. Why does some ornamentation seem attractive, while other ornamentation doesn't?

Plant supports as ornaments (Government House garden, Victoria B.C.)

Sundial

In the pre-Internet days I made a sundial for the garden. Of course you can buy sundials, but the ones you buy are simply decorative. A "proper" sundial has to be made for a specific place, taking into account the latitude and, if it is to go on a wall, the wall "declination". Creating that first sundial required some complex calculations using equations I found in a book from the public library. Nowadays, there are Internet sites that will not only find the exact latitude and longitude for any place, but will do all the calculations you need and design a sundial for any spot you have in mind! So I have just made a new sundial for the garden.

Hardy Annuals from Seeds

What easily grows in one place can be difficult in another. I have tried to make a list of the hardy annuals (the ones you can seed directly in the garden) that grow well at Roche Fleurie where summers are short, but quite sunny and warm, with usually enough rain. As well I have made a list of some hardy annuals that have never done well for us, hoping that readers for whom these grow well might be able to tell me how to go about growing them.

Some hardy annuals

Seed Sorting

I have all my seeds for 2014. In fact, like most years, I have far too many seeds, and these last few days I have been trying to sort them to simplify planting and to make sure I don't forget any of them. I am also writing out labels for each variety to save time later on. Some of you might think it is a bit late to sort seeds, but this is Canada in a year when the winter has been the most severe in decades. Three years ago, hellebores were in bloom at this time of the year, but as I am writing this, there is still about one foot of snow and a few inches of ice packed on the ground even if both have finally started to melt.

Some of my vegetable seeds and my planting schedule