Then, with February, came snow, freezing temperatures and the impossibility of accomplishing anything useful in gardens. It wasn’t until mid-March that the soil thawed and the snow melted where I live, though not all parts of the Island or even Greater Victoria were similarly affected. Perhaps February this year will be mild enough for an early start to the growing season. All being well, I’ll soon be preparing plots for early seedings of broad beans, peas, carrots and hardy green leafy vegetables like spinach, corn salad, mizuna and chrysanthemum greens (shungiku, chop suey greens). Indoors, some of the seed catalogues remain to be scoured through and inspired by. Here is one of my favourites.
Calendulas bring colourful notes to vegetable garden plots. They are very hardy. These plants are blooming at the end of November. Helen Chesnut
Another beautiful late autumn garden flower is Nerine, a South African plant that grows from a bulb and thrives in warm, sunny, well-drained sites. Helen Chesnut This late fall season has been even more heavily garden and plant centred than usual. First, there’s my budding re-addiction to indoor plants. It’s become nearly impossible to pass by a local garden centre that I know is filled with a tantalizing selection of house plants without going in for at least a quick inspection of the leafy enticements. My window ledges are quickly filing up.