Words & Photos Cynthia Philp
After the drought of summer, our gardens are once again bursting with impossibly vibrant green foliage. Hellebores, camelia, viburnum and heathers are blooming, making it incredible to contemplate what our friends and families across Canada are experiencing.
Our outdoor chores are done. Transplants have been transplanted, pots rinsed out, and tender species moved to a sheltered spot. Herbs have been cut back to make one last incredible pasta dish. Now that we’ve tidied up our garden beds, we’ve found the three pairs of garden gloves we absentmindedly set down, the two trowels that stayed hidden after a rushed transplant job, and discovered the pruning shears we left behind after tackling an overgrown rose bush. Space has been found for fresh daffodil bulbs.
Gardening now moves indoors. We have cuttings on our windowsills or tubers tucked protectively away from a future cold snap. Like our compatriots in the rest of Canada, we enjoy a cozy afternoon, curled up with a soft blanket and a gardening magazine, or scrolling through a seed catalogue. As snug as a daffodil bulb, we happily nestle with the anticipation of what’s to come in the spring.
The days are short and dark, but we can make the most of them by seeking inspiration at Butchart Gardens, Abkhazi or the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific. These amazing gardens remind us of the possibilities we have before us. If the weather is truly horrid, we can stay inside and instead check out the Flower and Garden Visit galleries of the Peninsula Garden Club website.
We may spend the month dropping gift-giving hints. Something with roots, please. A kalanchoe blooms as an indoor plant this December, and it will bloom again tucked into a planter next summer. Conversations are littered with factoids such as: “My gardening gloves all have holes,” or “I managed to break the handle off my trowel,” or “my rusted clippers might not be up to the task next year.” (Feel free to tear this page out, highlight the last line and leave it where family will find it.)
And then there are the people whom we gift a starter plant, trying to convince them that they are, in fact, a gardener. Tillandsia, or air plants, are a fabulous plant for beginners. They are tiny, and don’t need soil. They don’t really need much sun – a north window is just fine. And water? While the websites may say they need a weekly watering, the truth is that they forgive being forgotten for the three months you have enjoyed on a winter beach, as long as you submerge them in a glass of water for half a day upon your return.
The best gift, of course, is a gardening friend. Why not call up someone you know who loves gardening and invite them to meet for coffee? Now is the time, because the daffodils of spring are on their way, and before you can say “spring solstice,” we’ll want to be back in the garden again.
