Hello from Canada's west coast

Chris wrote:

Hello all,

I'm the guy who developed the NARGS Seed Exchange program for Laura Serowicz. As well, I'm the webmaster for the Alpine Garden Club of BC www.agc-bc.ca/ and the Fraser South Rhododendron Society www.flounder.ca/FraserSouth/.

With the incredibly mild weather we've had in the last couple of months, the list of plants in bloom is simply too long to detail here. Attached are a few pictures of where I live.

Hello Chris, welcome to the NARGS Forum!  I'm nearly blinded by the all the color in your garden full of magnificent rhododendrons; you see sir, it is still mostly white here :o .  As a one time active member of the American Rhododendron Society, your garden photos conjure fond memories of unbelievably beautiful rhododendron gardens in the Puget Sound area of Washington State where I lived for 4 years.  Moving back to Northeastern USA, I could only dream of growing a small fraction of the rhodies that grace gardens in the Pacific Northwest.  I bookmarked Fraser South and look forward to scanning through The Yak newsletters... I like the pun :D

In addition to rhodies and azaleas, what other favorite plant groups interest you?

Hi Mark,

indeed, at certain times of the year our garden is a riot of colours.
I like most plants; growing amongst all those rhododendrons are trilliums, lilies, erythroniums, hostas, gentians, campanulas, fescues, juncus, gunneras, cortaderias, yuccas, adiantums, polysticums, aspleniums, trollius, viburnums, tricyrtis, thalictrums, sempervivums, sedums, saxifragas, rodgersias, primulas, pulmonarias, phlox, papavers, paeonias, lysimachias, meconopsis, cherries, apples, just to name a few, too many to mention them all here.

Chris wrote:

Hi Mark,

indeed, at certain times of the year our garden is a riot of colours.
I like most plants; growing amongst all those rhododendrons are trilliums, lilies, erythroniums, hostas, gentians, campanulas, fescues, juncus, gunneras, cortaderias, yuccas, adiantums, polysticums, aspleniums, trollius, viburnums, tricyrtis, thalictrums, sempervivums, sedums, saxifragas, rodgersias, primulas, pulmonarias, phlox, papavers, paeonias, lysimachias, meconopsis, cherries, apples, just to name a few, too many to mention them all here.

Hello Chris!
Your inventory is impressive! I do try to grow some of the plants you mention but succeed not like you. Don't you have any problems? (Like slugs, Phytophthora etc?)
It seems as if I have got all the winter you lack. Do you want some snow back? What is the long climbing plant with blue(?) flowers?
I collect rhodos myself, have about 200 I think. Here is one grown from seed, hybrid with Rh sutchuense-blood. Should have started flowering soon, this is from last spring.

Hi Trond,

slugs are a problem, no Phytophthora here, our soil is extremely well drained. Which is a good thing, the attached image of one of our paths, taken on the 15th of January this year, illustrates the substantial amount of rain we get here sometimes.

Thanks for the snow offer, we could have used it for the Olympics, although last year we had more than our fair share of snow with more than one meter accumulating in certain spots.

The vine is a Wisteria hybrid.

I can see the R. sutchuenense blood in your hybrid, very nice.

Chris wrote:

Thanks for the snow offer, we could have used it for the Olympics, although last year we had more than our fair share of snow with more than one meter accumulating in certain spots.

The vine is a Wisteria hybrid.

Thanks, I suggested it had to be a Wisteria but I am used to see them on walls.
We had mild, wet  winter last year. Luckily the weather forecast for next week promise rain and milder weather, it has been extremely dry and cold here. I have a wet spot in my garden where I grow this one:

Welcome Chris, and many thanks for your work with the seed ex!

Hi Rick,

thanks for the welcome. It was a pleasure working with Laura on the Seed Exchange program, her computer literacy made my job a lot easier.

Hi Chris - thought I would find your here!  Welcome to the Forum.  Your pics only whet my appetite for the promises to come here in Colorado.  We finally have some indicators that Spring is on the way! 

Welcome Chris!  That is quite the garden you have!  Better than our Botanical garden!

Thanks for the welcome, Hugh and Todd.

Running the risk of rubbing it in, some of our plants are a full month ahead of 'normal'. We had hellebores in bloom at Christmas, as were Viburnum xbodnantense and Jasminum nudiflorum. By the end of January Rhododendron ririei, R. dauricum, R. strigillosum, R. sutchuenense, Galanthus nivalis, Hamamalis mollis, Chimonanthus praecox, Corylopsis spicata, Pieris japonica, Chionodoxa lucillae, Iris reticulata, and some camellias were all in full bloom, enough already!

It's been an incredible winter, actually, it's one of those years where fall turned into spring, we had a little bit of snow early November and a few nights with the mercury dipping below freezing point, but that was it (for now, sure hope we don't get a late frost!)

I envy you! We started like you with hellebores in flower for Xmas, but then we got this Siberian touch and now it's weeks later than normal - more snow this night.
You managed to arrange the Olympic Games with splendor even with the warm weather!

Hi, Chris, and welcome!  What lovely gardens you have!  Well, you certainly deserve a mild and short winter after that miserable one last year!  

Hi Lori,

thanks, and just like I thought might happen, we had a late frost and a little snow this past week, which did in a lot of flowers, but still lots more to come.

Hi, Chris--
often folks in other countries think of my sort of winter when they think of typical Canadian winters-- I always remind them that your 'winter' exists too, as unimaginable as that is...lol

cohan wrote:

Hi, Chris--
often folks in other countries think of my sort of winter when they think of typical Canadian winters-- I always remind them that your 'winter' exists too, as unimaginable as that is...lol

Not unlike here in Norway, lol :D

I guess we think every country is one uniform climate/landtype culture etcfrom border to border..lol

Hoy wrote:

Thanks, I suggested it had to be a Wisteria but I am used to see them on walls.
We had mild, wet  winter last year. Luckily the weather forecast for next week promise rain and milder weather, it has been extremely dry and cold here. I have a wet spot in my garden where I grow this one:

Do you protect your Gunnera in winter, Trond? Which species is it? G. tinctoria? I have a couple which overwinter in the cellar...

Stephen, yes I think it is tinctoria. Have had it for at least 10 years. Where it grows the soil never freezes deep due to a steady stream of groundwater (makes a little creek when it rains). I cover with dead fern leaves and some mud but last winter took a hard toll but it survived. I have forgot to take a look at it this spring - last winter was worse with no snow cover and almost as cold as the previous winter.