It's been a weird spring. After a very slow start, we had tons of rain, then the mercury shot to 33C. Today it's 20C. For a closer look click on the pictures

Magnolia Victoria is ready to bloom in spite of some winter damage.

Magnolia Edith Bogue has less damage, but no buds yet.

Magnolia DD Blanchard will bloom for the first time, which is strange because the winter was a bit longer and colder than last year.

Magnolia Brackens Brown Beauty was new last year, and it lost every leaf this winter. But it's making a comeback.

Yucca elata

Australian Tree Fern (which spends the winter inside)

Spotted Ligularia is a zone 7 plant that has done well here.

A new Fernspray Cypress

Satomi Dogwood

Sweet Shrub (Calycanthus) has flowers with a Pineapple fragrance.

Cactus patch

more Cactus patch

Aucuba

Alium and Foxtail Lily (Eremurus)

There is a lot happening in the garden today. Survivors of a long winter and (up until now) cold spring, are clamouring to get out of the soil.
Click pictures for a better look
Allium probably won't bloom for another month, but it's still a beautiful plant.











Arundo donax will be 10 feet tall in August



















This Aucuba looks pretty good given that it is in full sun. Shade grown specimens usually suffer less winter burn.











Bergenia Solar Flare.
















Brunnera Jack Frost always blooms on Mother's Day.










Corypantha survived the winter.














As did the 3' tall Cylindropuntia.












Erica carries it's blooms all winter, but the real show is in spring.













Fargesia robusta with new culms already 12-24"














Hebe suffered little winter damage.












Helleborus Betty Ranicar

New foliage emerging on the Larch.

Magnolia g. DD Blanchard keep surprising me with very little winter burn. Location, location, location. It's on the east side of the house.

A fragrant yellow Muscari

Omphalodes Starry Eyes is a real gem.

As is Polygala buxifolia

Christmas fern (Polystichum)

After skipping last spring, Rhododendron Blue Peter looks ready to bloom.

The bloom on Sanguinaria plena is short lived but spectacular.

Saruma henryii

Skimmia is one of the strongest broad leaved evergreens in my garden.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum is getting ready to flower.

Even the Finches are enjoying spring.

February 17, the first spring "like" day of the season with temperatures here near 10 C. The desert garden has emerged from a pile of snow.
Yucca gloriosa (foreground) and elata seem fine.
Click on pictures for a better look.

Yucca aloifolia is a bit winter damaged. We'll see what happens in the next month.














I had my doubts about the zone 8 caesalpinia (pictured in flower last year), but a scratch this morning revealed green tissue right to the top.


























Hesperaloe in a bed of delopserma, both are fine.

The cacti are likewise fine.

On Monday January 25 the mercury dropped to -17 C. Today I went to survey the damage and found surprisingly little.
Click on pictures for a better look.
Top (left to right) Hebe shows no damage, Phyllostachys has some damaged leaves, Fargesia shows no damage.
Below that the Prunus laurocerasus has never had winter damage.
In the third row this is the Skimmias first winter and it looks good so far, the Aucuba also shows very little damage and the Magnolia Victoria is starting to show some signs of frost damage.
Below that Magnolia Edith Bogue is untouched by the cold.
And in the last row Magnolia DD Blanchard again surprised me with no visible damage and another Aucuba is still clinging onto its fruit.

It's been a very hot summer in Niagara. And this has meant the desert garden is doing well. This past spring we added a Caesalpinia that started blooming late August and is still blooming beautifully. I have my doubts about its hardiness, but we'll see next spring.


















In my own yard the Clerodendron has also been in bloom since mid-August. Here it is flanked by Magnolia g. Victoria on the right and a Fargesia robusta on the left.























In the front of the house Magnolia g. DD Blanchard has added about two feet this summer. Although while Edith Bogue and Victoria both bloomed in the back yard, the east facing DD Blanchard did not produce any flowers.


















It was a different story in a friends garden. His DD Blanchard faces south and did produce flowers. The southern exposure might also explain why the Crape Myrtle is doing so well.

















Note the size of the DD Blanchard blooms compared to the beer bottle.

















A few weeks ago I stopped by Gregs in Grimsby to see the Trachycarpus he moved last fall. It had been in his garden for three years but needed to be moved for some construction. I suspected it wouldn`t last through the winter, but Gregs protection methods (outlined in an earlier post) paid off. While the original Trachy (foreground) looks a little weathered compared to the new palm added this spring, I have no doubt it will continue to grow in this Canadian garden.