Fall in my Summerland Garden

We have arrived in mid-October and not been covered in snow like our friends in Alberta and Saskatchewan.  Reminder to friends - the Okanagan is good place to escape in the fall!  And we have wine tours! 

I have successfully got all my bulbs in the ground, including garlic and various flowers.  I even planted some hyacinths and tulips in big pots for the first time.  I hope it is a successful project.  If not, I do buy some of those potted daffodils and hyacinths at the garden store in the spring and tuck them into my planters.  After they are finished blooming, I usually remove them and plant them in the landscaping.  I think the bulbs like to dry out a bit in the summer and the planters are probably too damp for them with all the season's watering.  I planted all my garlic in one of the horse-trough planters where I can control the watering, selectively letting it dry out near harvest time.  I'm hoping that can reduce the amount of rotten garlic heads.     

There are still some plants blooming, including the annuals like pelargonium (geraniums to the North Americans) and my favourite tropical milkweed (hardy in zone 9 and above, but not here).  Tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) is started from seed indoors in the spring and and starts blooming later than the perennial mildweed (Asclepias tuberosa) but then blooms till hard frost.  I love it.  As of yet, I haven't drawn clouds of butterflies to the yard, but they are supposed to like this flower. 

Asclepias curassavica (tropical milkweed) blooming in September

Caryopteris (Blue Mist Spirea) blooming in September

 Of course, the Echinacea and Rudbeckias put on the fall show in September.  As of October, most of the blooms are done.   

Echinacea "Cheyenne Spirit" in September

Coreopsis in September (still blooming in October), with purple Agastache behind

 I have several hydrangea, including two "Limelight".  Limelights' flowers start pale green and fade to this antique pink in September.  This one gets afternoon shade and looks bigger and healthier than the one that gets more afternoon sun.  I think the part shade condition is more suited to hydrangeas in the Okanagan. 

 Unbelievably, this ice plant is blooming today, October 16!  It hasn't looked this good in a long time.  It is part of the variety of succulent plantings around the kids playhouse.  There isn't a watering system in this area, so drought hardy plants that like well-drained sandy soils are selected for this area.  I have some Erigeron glauca (like tiny daisies), blue fescue and blue hair grass, hens and chicks, low sedums, lavender, various Penstemon, and the odd wild asparagus that was there before we came long.  

Delospermum (Ice plant) in October

Playhouse with developing landscaping, June 2016

Oreo, the guardian of the garden

 The vegetable garden is down to unpicked pumpkins and butternut squash.  We have been creative about making loaves, soups, scones, and pies using these great veggies and I really need to go and pick the rest.  This just means I have to do something with them...meanwhile, I am busy doing other things. 

I took this picture of harvested wine grapes at our neighbour's place, before they got hauled away.  So beautiful to see.  Our own apples were harvested several weeks ago.  We had an early apple harvest here in the Okanagan, as most of the crops were ahead of schedule. 

Summerland grapes, harvested October 14

From here on in, the indoor plants will be the focus of my attention.  The orchid collection gets to cool off and hopefully that will trigger blooms soon.  I cut my amaryllis greens off and am letting those pots dry out in the garage.  So how is your garden?  Snowed out? 

June Blooms and Fruits

 The weekend is nice after what seemed to be weeks of rain.  At least we didn't have to drag out the hoses to water anything!  This weekend is full of activities in the area - Elvis Festival, Car Show, Summerland Garden Tours, and Pancake breakfast at Summerland Sweets this morning.  

Perennials and a big blue oat grass at sunset.

Orange milkweed and some lilies in bud.

Rock garden area, with clematis going to seed

The vegetables are just getting going in the ground and raised beds (horse troughs in the above picture).  It is a bit of a pain to water right now, since the new puppy eats hoses!  We have to hide them away in boxes or buildings and haul them out as needed.











I've seen a few tiger swallowtail butterflies around (no monarchs) and I have admired the hummingbirds at the feeder and the flowers.  I've identified the ones here as calliope hummingbirds.  They are very small and the male is identified by a nice purple bib below his neck.  At some point, I hope to get a nice photo. 

Blooming hens and chicks (Sempervivum) in the rock crevices

Sunflower

Jostaaberries

Sunflowers are just starting here, though we always associate those with fall.  I have planted some "mammoth" sunflowers in the vegetable garden and they are rapidly growing like Jack's beanstalk, up towards the sky.  There are no flowers on those yet.

McIntosh Apples getting pink!

We picked up some local grown raspberries and I canned some jam.  Yum!  Our jostaberries are on their second year and we got some berries this year.  I'm planning on combining with some other berries to make a syrup.  Jostaberries are a complex cross between black currents and gooseberries and the plants are thornless.  They taste like grapes. 

June Blooms

 The weekend is nice after what seemed to be weeks of rain.  At least we didn't have to drag out the hoses to water anything!  This weekend is full of activities in the area - Elvis Festival, Car Show, Summerland Garden Tours, and Pancake breakfast at Summerland Sweets this morning.  

Perennials and a big blue oat grass at sunset.

Orange milkweed and some lilies in bud.

 The vegetables are just getting going in the ground and raised beds (horse troughs in the above picture).  It is a bit of a pain to water right now, since the new puppy eats hoses!  We have to hide them away in boxes or buildings and haul them out as needed.  I've seen a few tiger swallowtail butterflies around (no monarchs) and I have admired the hummingbirds at the feeder and the flowers.  I've identified the ones here as calliope hummingbirds.  They are very small and the male is identified by a nice purple bib below his neck.  At some point, I hope to get a nice photo. 

Blooming hens and chicks (Sempervivum) in the rock crevices

Sunflowers are just starting here, though we always associate those with fall.  I have planted some "mammoth" sunflowers in the vegetable garden and they are rapidly growing like Jack's beanstalk, up towards the sky.  There are no flowers on those yet. 

Sunflower

Rock garden area, with clematis going to seed

Okanagan Dryland Spring-Flowering Perennials

Have you ever wanted to plant something that can really take care of itself in the hot dry conditions of summer?  I have been trying to add color to the dusty dry areas of our yard, planting native flowers and other drought tolerant perennials to replace the weeds.  I am most impressed with the most drought-hardy of these plants and have now got blooms on my plantings from the last two years.

These are my new favourite April-blooming drought-tolerant perennials:

 

1.  Heuchera cylindrica, the Round-leafed Alumroot.

 I actually found a few of these Okanagan native plants growing on our property and recognized the Heuchera foliage.  These are a wild variety of those plants at the nursery we know as coral bells, with the varieties of colors of foliage and white, red, or pink flowers.  I dug up one plant in early spring more than a year ago and divided it into as many plants as I could, producing this new group of plants.  Like all Heuchera,  the foliage is still attractive when not in bloom and they make a nice green groundcover.  These are growing in a predominantly sandy soil and doing well, much like the small iceplant next to them (which gives you an idea of the drought-hardiness, as iceplant will not  tolerate wet soils).  This group of plants gets a bit of drip-irrigation, but others in the yard get only rain and they look great too.

Heuchera cylindrica

 2.  Erigeron linearis, the Desert Yellow Daisy

This is another native plant, found in sagebrush and grassland habitats in the interior Pacific northwest.  I started these from seed last year.  They really needed to stay well-drained and I would recommend combining your seed-starting mix with sand and perlite to keep them happy.  These are living in the sandy gravel at the top of my driveway.  They are so cute and I would be happy if they behave like other Erigeron I have grown, self-seeding generously.  When they bloom later in the year, I will post about the Erigeron glaucus and E. karvinskianus.  

Erigeron linearis

 3.  Penstemon fruticosus, the Shrubby Penstemon

I was so excited to see the flowers on my Shrubby Penstemons this year.  For a plant I hardly ever water and that grows in poor sandy soil, I can't believe the beautiful flowers on this specimen.  I first noticed this plant growing on the rocky-sandy slopes at the base of Giant's Head Mountain in Summerland.  I crawled up close to get a better look identify it.  A few nurseries that specialize in native plants (Grasslands in Summerland and Sagebrush in Oliver) sell these plants.  I have not had much luck in starting these from seed myself.  Also, the seed is rather difficult to find from online sources.  

They spread up to 36" across and grow 12" tall.  They look like some well-bred nursery cultivar, but after they get established, they can be entirely neglected (like the ones growing wild on the hill a few kilometers away).  The ones in the wild seem to like to grow in partially shaded areas with some trees around. 

Penstemon fruticosus

 4.  Linum perenne, Blue Flax

This perennial is commonly seen at the sides of the highways in this area.  I have both the regular common Blue Flax (pictured) and a cultivar that is more compact, called "Sapphire".  The compact one is shorter and I do prefer its neat mound to the sometimes spindly tall stems of the common blue flax.  However, both make nice color.  This is a short lived perennial, but because it self-seeds freely, it will replace old plants with new ones.  It likes to get a little extra water in full sun.  I bring out a watering can every few weeks to give it a drink. 

Linum perenne, Blue Flax in Summerland, BC

 5.  Aurinia saxatilis, Basket of Gold Alyssum

Judging from the carpets of brilliant yellow flowers on slopes at the edges of of neighbour's properties, this perennial thrives without much water or care.  I have the "Compacta" variety of Aurinia saxatilis.  I have planted it in full sun, in the drip-irrigated section of the landscaping topped with bark mulch, but I plan to plant more of it in non-irrigated areas in the next year.  In preparation for these expanded plantings, I have a tray of small plants growing in the greenhouse -- all pricked out of a carpet of seedlings I took from under a mature plant.

This plant self-seeds a lot, so expect to find additional plants growing nearby.  I am don't mind this, because at they have appeared in rocky cracks where weeds would otherwise grow.  Growing them on and around rock walls is a great idea.  When not in bloom, it has grey-blue foliage (essential color of desert-type plants), similar in color to Artemisia. 

Alyssum saxatile

April in Summerland, BC

Arrowleaf balsamroot and Saskatoon berries (white shrubs) in bloom, April 7, 2016

The appearance of April-blooming wildflowers is a sure sign of spring in the Okanagan.  The sunflower-like blooms of the arrowleaf balsamroot are appearing everywhere in wild areas, among the grass, sagebrush and ponderosa pine.  They were of great value to native peoples of the area, who used nearly every part of the plant.  They bloom at the same time as the Saskatoon berry shrubs, providing a short but beautiful show this time of year.

I purchased a dozen of the arrowleaf balsamroot plants at a native plant nursery in Oliver recently.  I had been meaning to get to Sagebrush nursery for the last 2 years, and finally got myself there after an impulse to drive somewhere on a sunny morning.  If you had any ideas about transplanting these from the wild, just abandon that thought.  Like many dryland plants, these have very long taproots and therefore don't transplant well (and there's also the disturbance that digging in wild areas will cause).  Mine were fairly small plants and as such, seem to be doing well after being planted in my yard.  They are the ultimate in drought-tolerant plants and will not being needing additional water once established.  They dry up to little crisps in the summer, so I think that planting other things around them will be a good idea, much like disguising the dying foliage of spring bulbs with other perennials.  We have predominantly sandy soil, which this plant likes.  Also, I am planting them on slopes, which seems to be consistent with where they like to be in the wild. 

Did you know the arrowleaf balsamroot is not destroyed by fire, and may actually increase due to fire?  The top part of the plant is burned, but the deep taproot (up to 8 feet) survives unscathed to grow again the next year. 

Looking north from Sumac Ridge, Summerland

 

 

 

 

 

We have had nice sunny and warm weather here in Summerland so far this April, excellent for all the tourists we see cruising by (we see those cameras).  For all the prairie people, you should know people have been golfing here for a couple of months already!  The grass is green and lovely.  

While they may be hated as pests by the fruit-growers, we like to watch the yellow-bellied marmots hanging out on their stack of old logs.  Otherwise, they are often seen sunning themselves on the top of concrete barriers at the sides of highways.

Poles going in for new apple orchard

Back on our property, we ripped out a couple acres of old red delicious apple trees (economically worthless variety) and are replacing them with a high-density Ambrosia apple orchard.  The trees are not quite all planted yet.  This is a LOT of work and we will be very happy to see all the trees settled in with their watering system soon.  In the meanwhile, our new puppy dog is miserably residing in a large pen during the day (rather than roaming the property), away from all the heavy equipment.  He too will be happy to see the end of the re-plant. 

Our New Grafted Apple Trees

After a one-day deluge last week, the plants (and weeds) are making great strides in this warm spring Summerland weather.  The tourists are roaming around our Bottleneck drive neighbourhood, with wine tour buses regularly passing our house (should I wave?).  I was too busy to photograph the irises as they bloomed in the last few weeks, but the cheddar pinks (Dianthus gratianapolitanus) are looking great in the perennial beds.  I appreciate their compact shape with a dense show of deep pink flowers over blue-green foliage.  I certainly would love to have more of these.

Cheddar pinks (Dianthus gratianapolitanus) - May blooms

In the realm of edibles, the new apple nursery is now established with 4800 trees.  I believe these are called bench grafts, with the tops (scions) collected from Ambrosia trees early this year and grafted onto specific rootstock by a nursery in Summerland.  They looked like twigs going into the ground, but in the last week, have produced some leaves.  They will eventually be dug up and and moved to their final locations next spring, where they will grow as a high-density orchard.

Newly planted grafted apples

The old-style orchard: Macintosh apples this week

One of our table grapes - planted this spring

 The vegetable garden has produced a tidal wave of spinach, leaving us searching online for spinach recipes and blanching and freezing some for future use.  There will be spanakopita and spinach salad for every meal!  I've even tried playing YouTube Popeye videos for subliminal messages to the children.  I think smaller, spaced out successive plantings would have been better, but the initial garden efforts were a bit enthusiastic.  Next year, we will try for more self-control.

Greens in the stock tank raised beds

So far, the stock tanks are working well as raised beds.  We still have to hand-water them from the top, as not every plant will have deep enough roots to reach down to the damp soil closer to the reservoir on the bottom. I have faith that the tomatoes will eventually reach down and tap into the available water though.  They have big root systems. 

Currants and Jostaberries

More edibles are being installed here in orchard-land.  After reading the traditional wisdom that peas are planted on Good Friday, I rushed out there on Sunday and planted 3 varieties in a row (marked with fiberglass poles that look like they could be marking a gas line).  Actually, there is a large gas line pretty close to this area, but that is another topic.  The plan is that some page wire will be held up by the poles as a trellis for the peas.  Will a metal trellis work here?  I have no idea.  I suppose peas aren't going to last until the hot months of July and August anyhow.

Row of peas next to stock tank raised beds

While growing currants doesn't seem like an Okanagan thing to do, I decided to get some anyhow.  I had tried Jostaberries in SK only to have them die of fungal disease.  Having observed the success of wild golden currants already on property, I thought I might give a second try at some other varieties in the Ribes genus.  I planted two Jostaberries (a complex cross of two different gooseberries and a black currant) and two black currant bushes.  I read that Jostaberries can get up to 6 feet tall and 8 feet wide.  I am cringing now, worried that we have crowded them, planting maybe 3.5 feet apart?  Also, these will shade the east end of the vegetable garden.  Something else (not yet planted or planned) will miss its morning sun.  If this continues to eat away at me, I may have to move one or two of them.

I had intended on making a fully-planned, attractive vegetable garden like those lovely European country ones on Pinterest, complete with calendulas, a willow-branch teepee covered in pea vines, and a neat herb hedge.  Instead, we have piles of dirt on a compacted sandy patch of earth and fiberglass poles.  Oh, and I was told two days ago by dear husband that there needs to be an oblique path through the center of the garden for a tractor.  That particular feature is never accounted for in Pinterest gardens.  Oh well.

Jostaberry bush, with apples in background

 If you can't beat them, join them: I took cuttings from the wild golden currants (Ribes aureum) growing without a care on the hill above our house.  If the hybrid berry bushes don't make it, at least I know that the wild ones should be able to thrive on nearly no attention.  Besides, they had really lovely yellow and red flowers last spring.  If my cuttings are successful, the plants would be attractive just dotting the informally-landscaped areas.  Also, we made some pretty good jam out of them last year.   

 To increase my chance of success in cuttings (many failures with rot in the past), I have turned to a thick and mysterious-looking dark purple gel I found on the internet.  The sellers seemed to imply that I could produce a multitude of clones of my "medicinal plants" with this fantastic product.  The picture in the front of the bottle certainly isn't a rose or currant, but I figure that if it is good enough for "medicinal plants", it might work for me.  I pulled off the bottom leaves and dipped the cuttings in the gel and inserted them in clean potting mix which was watered till slightly damp.  Now the waiting...

Golden currant cutting among the seedlings

Ribes sanguineum, flowering currant in Summerland Ornamental Gardens

While we are talking about currants, I spotted a lovely dark-pink flowering shrub at the Summerland Ornamental Gardens this morning.  It was located in the Butterfly Garden area, but without a label.  As far as I can tell, it is a flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum.

It is native to BC, though I don't know if this is some special named variety different than the wild type.  Its dark pink flowers are quite attractive. 

Ribes sanguineum, the flowering currant

The major fun at the butterfly garden (for me) was recommending that the kids put their noses into the Fritillaria imperialis.  They are impressive showy flowers, but definitely quite skunky.  

A Loud Alien Species: Ring-Necked Pheasant

Nearby Naramata has a much-decried marauding peacock problem, with several entertaining letters to the editor last summer.  I'm happy that Summerland doesn't have a similar troupe of screeching, prancing birds (that apparently also scratch cars, according to the Naramata reports).  However, the Okanagan is home to another alien species of colorful birds.  The ring-necked pheasant was introduced from China about 100 years ago, presumably for people who enjoy hunting them.  Not 30 minutes goes by without hearing this bird screech from somewhere nearby.  Sometimes I have to stop my vehicle to let it cross the road.  It doesn't seem adequately scared of vehicles, which might explain why we found a dead one on the road last year.  I have yet to see a female (maybe she's quieter?). 

Ring-necked pheasant in Summerland, BC

The spring bulbs blooming now include the mini daffodil, Narcissus "Tete-a-Tete".  The big daffodils in the sunniest locations are blooming, while the shaded ones are just coming up.  I am excited to see my Fritillaria imperialis are out of the ground and looking good.  Those stinky bulbs are supposed to grow into really stinky but attractive flowers.  The most common advice is to plant these to repel deer, but our fence does a good enough job of that.  We can just appreciate the scent ourselves. 

Narcissus "Tete-a-Tete"

Allium giganteum, with frost on the mulch this morning

Plum tree in blossom

Wild Summerland Asparagus

The tender early spears of wild asparagus caught me off guard as I walked up our driveway to the road.  Checking past web-posts from the Okanagan, many folks usually find early asparagus spears in early May, but in another week, these particular tips would have opened up and gone tough.  I found these on a warm, sunny bank, but the other plants in the yard (that get a bit of shade) are not up yet.  There are some pretty lush patches of asparagus in the orchard (watered and fertilized), but I'd rather avoid the ones that get sprayed. 

In order to live in sand and get baked by sun all summer, asparagus must be an amazingly drought tolerant plant.  It apparently grows roots up to 3 feet deep.  Last summer, I  started feeding buckets of compost to one wild plant growing near the house.  I hope it rewards me. 

Many locals keep their favourite asparagus-hunting locations secret, like some hidden treasure or elusive fishing spot.  The saying "I'd tell you but I'd have to kill you after" does come up.  If you do like asparagus though, it is fun to discover it growing wild, like the surprise of finding Easter eggs!  Happy Easter everyone.

Just Flowers, No Blizzards Here

The "Ruby Giant" snow crocuses are blooming today for the first weekend of spring!  While I saw the bulbs in Penticton blooming much ahead of us, our elevation just above the valley floor seemed to delay the blooms up here. 

Crocus tomassinianus "Ruby Giant"

 I notice that the crocuses in more shade are barely up and I suspect they will not do as well.  I will avoid planting them in those places in the future.  My daffodils have flower buds on them but are not open yet.  Today was a great day for weeding and spring cleanup.  I've trimmed the lavender and cut dead growth from most of the shrubs and perennials already.  I realized that it is time (or may beyond the time) to find some table grape vines to plant in the yard.  However, I see that several online sellers are already sold out of many varieties.  I will try some local nurseries and see what is available...and soon!

Crocus tomassinianus "Ruby Giant"

My large flowered crocuses are just starting to open now.  You can never have too many crocuses, and with enough time, these lovely little spring bulbs will multiply into bigger and better shows.  I can't imagine life in the eastern half of Canada at this point, dealing with shoveling cars out of snowbanks.  I so much appreciate my flowers here in BC!

Opening a New Chapter

If you have never visited Summerland, British Columbia, you really should put it on your bucket list.  I feel lucky to be trying my gardening hand in this beautiful region of the southern interior of BC.  Like few other places in Canada, grapes and tree fruits grow fantastically well here.  The growing season is thankfully longer than the short Saskatchewan one I had been adapting to for the last many years.

No matter where you live, there is plenty of garden inspiration to be enjoyed around here.  Of course, the stunning Summerland Ornamental Gardens are just a quick walk across a trestle from here.  They have their own large examples of xeriscape gardens which I like to visit regularly.      

Our apple trees, in February awaiting spring awakening

We acquired an established apple orchard with a view of Okanagan Lake and I have a goal of adding an oasis of ornamental landscaping in the corner of our property.  The plans are to plant climate-appropriate plants that are also attractive to bees and butterflies.  I follow with interest the worldwide plight of honeybees and worry what their future holds.  I like to believe that gardeners can help out the bees with by growing flowers they appreciate, especially adjacent to large mono-cultures of (sprayed) trees. 

Morning at Powell Beach in Trout Creek

So far, only the heathers are blooming, but it is only February.  I should be happy I'm not shoveling snow with the rest of Canada.  Now is the time to hoard seed catalogs and propagate seedlings in the sun room.  Lee Valley Tools has a free shipping event right now, so I have been lingering far too long on their website.

This week, I pruned the mystery-variety plum tree that have lived here untended on a steep bank for many years.  This tree gets to be my practice subject and received several sprays with neem oil last year and is now on a watering system.  We will try dormant oil, sulphur spray, and wrapping the trunk with the tanglefoot kit I bought, hopefully reducing pests.  Time will tell if any of this is of use.