Exotic Gardening with Rare and Strange Plants


So rumor had it this winter would be colder then usual. Yesterday the Victoria blizzard hit and the snow kept falling. While the snow brings back memories of getting a day off school and riding sleds all the day, it also reminds me of the plants that didn’t make the cut for finding a spot in the warm house. A peak into the greenhouse today showed a frozen wonderland, a whole season of echeverias and aeoniums frozen solid (more pictures soon, i promise). Among the victims was also one very sad looking standardized lantana I decided to chance in the cold-frame instead of bringing it inside with it’s 5 friends. How Cruel!

-8 weather in November in Victoria B.C… It’s unreal, and I hope things warm up a bit asap.

When winter started approaching I did the rounds and brought in as much of my collection as I could, still what’s a guy to do with such a large collection and minimal space to put it in. Thus begins the expensive and heartbreaking trial and error to see will would survive in the cold winter. Although everything is frozen solid in my mini greenhouse, they aren’t exactly soaking wet. I made an effort to not water for the last couple months so hopefully that will be the saving grace. Cold and wet is a killer I hear.


Shot taken NOV 18TH 2010

Before I became a gardener I never noticed plants and the various states they go through. This year as I walked around the back of my house I noticed the battle these plants seemed to be fighting. The leaves look damaged and frozen, the majority of the plant life looks totally fried and barley hanging on. My poor melianthus major which started to really thrive this fall is looking cold and unimpressed. It’s amazing that only a few short months ago everything was large, happy, and as care free as a plant could be. Below is a comparison between this August and November. Wow!


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Mr Nat. Gardener, Plant Nerd
Tips and tales about gardening in one of the most mild climates in Canada. Specializing in rare and strange plants from far out destinations, this is the story of an obsessed young gardener in Victoria B.C. Let's create more tropical gardens in the garden city on the southern tip of Vancouver Island.