This weekend has been gorgeous, I know I’ve said it before but I’m going to say it again “Spring Has Sprung”. Today after a nice lunch at Bubby Rose’s Cafe my girlfriend and I decided to take a walk into Beacon Hill Park to enjoy the spring weather. While enjoying our coffee’s we took a short stroll to the center duck pond and made a turn towards the Vancouver Island Alpine Garden.

What seems like a rather small plot of land holds a high diversity of alpine wonders. I wondered why I had never given this garden much of a look until recently, then the answer hit me, alpine gardens require a keen eye. Without a solid interest in plants you might do just as I did for many years and walk on by. Alpine gardens often focus on smaller specimens, and in turn require you to take a closer look to really appreciate them. I’ll admit I got lost in this garden for quite some time today as snapped photos enjoying the sights.

We were nearly done our tour when we spotted this neon red corydalis. What a color, it caught my eyes from 6 feet away, the flowers smaller then a quarter. It’s as if it glowed, these iridescent flowers are a real treat. After a little research online I have concluded it to be Corydalis solida ‘George Baker’, or something very close to that variety. Correct me if I’m wrong?

Beautiful miniature primulas, idenfication unknown, a little help?

Chionodoxa forbesii (Glory-of-the-Snows) looking excellent. These easily naturalized spring bulbs flower profusely and are sure to impress with their star shaped multi toned flowers. Native to western Turkey, they are widely distributed and can be found throughout Victoria on a nice spring day.

We used to grow Anemone blanda at the nursery but have since been discontinued due to their unpredictable growing habit. I have a lot of these in my own garden placed miraculously through the soil brought home from the greenhouse compost. They pop up everywhere in mid march and open and close with the sun. I remember spending a day pulling 40 flats of these in a hot greenhouse, when I started in the morning they were all closed and as it started to warm up they all opened around me. They develop their buds underground (perhaps to deter snacking mammals) and as they’re ready to open spring force from the earth. An interesting spring bulb to say the least.

While looking at the Anenome patch we happened to see these Puschkinia growing nearby. These bulbs are in the hyacinth family and are an interesting alpine bulb to grow. Like the Chionodoxa they naturalize easily and do quite well in our climate. They can be planted pretty much anywhere but keep in mind that due to their size you might want to place them somewhere that you’ll pay notice. They are tiny!

A couple weeks ago I wrote a post about this alpine garden and was perplexed by these strange red shoots I saw growing out of the ground. I went back today in hopes of finding the answer and was quickly pleased with what I saw. I suppose they’re the early spring shoots of a maiden hair fern, (although they look nothing like one at this point) the photo above contrasts the remains of old fronds with the new ones in the background. For a closer picture of the new fronds refer to my last post on the subject, interesting.

Who would have thought such a tropical looking flower would be a native to B.C. The fawn lily ‘Erythronium revolutum’ is amazing both in it’s speckled foliage and delicate nodding flowers. The alpine garden has a variety of established patches that seem to be quite happy.

Stunning!

If you haven’t visited the Vancouver Island Alpine Garden yet then don’t hesitate any longer. It’s really coming to life right now and shouldn’t be missed. Grab a coffee and a camera and explore. Just be careful where you place your foot as there are a lot of delicate little specimens that on first glance you might overlook. A real treat for any plant geek young or old.