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1370 Wain Rd
North Saanich, BC
V8L 5V1
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1 (250) 656-0384
©2022 Russell Nursery | Design by Caorda
Thank you to all our contest participants in May and congratulations to Caren on Pender Island, the winner of this months’ draw!
All of your entries bring us joy and therefore we want to share them! Thus here they are, in no particular order:
May Entries
Leda in Curteis Point
This is Spotty Dotty planted in a copper coal pot and it was given to me by an avid gardener. I knew it was a special Podophyllum and I planted it in a pot so I could keep track of it: as time went by I noticed that it liked the pot. I always look for this plant to make its entrance onto the Garden stage to announce the spring season.....
Nancy in Sidney
Tree peonies are one of the early spring showy plants. Over four years, I have watched this plant grow and become quite full. The blossoms remind me of frilly party dresses. This photo has a bit of a "shy Di" look - the raindrops of the day are weighing down the plant, yet even the rain drops add to its beauty.
Shirley in Cordova Bay
The rhododendrons are always spectacular in May. I love wandering up this garden path enjoying a new vista around every corner.
Brenda in Curteis Point
This little beauty is one of the first signs of spring and makes me smile. It also reminds me of the prairies, where I used to live.
Elsi in Cordova Bay
The fall tulip bulbs in the potio pots were a wonder to behold this spring. The rains and hail bent the peony blossom stems, but the cuttings just kept blooming.
Kathy in Brentwood Bay
This is the shade garden I came up with. Many different types of hosta, astilbe, bleeding heart, pink dogwood Satomi, small red Japanese maple, Solomon’s seal etc. I loved this garden.
Lisa in Langford
Our garden is currently awash with tulips, which are such a hopeful sight!
Jeanie on Saltspring Island
I have enjoyed this sweet combo of chocolate lilies, daffodils Jack Snipe and Thalia with botanical tulips Praestans shogun and a euphorbia.
Glynis in North Saanich
This is an old black walnut that was having to be pruned almost annually by both Hydro and my husband who scared me every year teetering on a tall ladder. So we took it right down and the rhodo behind is now thriving. With the carpet of daffodils, now over, bluebells and forget me nots it seems to have attracted a number of flower fairies.
Wendy in Brentwood Bay
Sagae Hosta, one of the first to show. All my hosta were divided last year so are much smaller but it gives me room to add a couple of new ones.
Janice in Roberts Creek
Low-growing cotoneaster is a wonderful groundcover. It is excellent for holding banks and grows so thickly that weeds have a tough time establishing. Small white flowers appear in spring, helping early pollinators with red berries coming in the fall. The very rare Scottish Terrier flower happens only when conditions are just right. Sometimes you have to put a sweater on them to prevent frost damage.
Nicki in rural Saanich
Multitasking at its finest. I bought some beautiful perennial shrubs at Russell nursery and my wonderful and handy big and little helpers are helping me find homes for them!
Mirjam on Mayne Island
Tulips are my favourite especially orange princess irene and different varieties. Love lots of colours in my yard to contrast all the surrounding green Trees and plants. These were planted in a pot at my front door. I’ll plant them in the garden after they bloom.
Caren on Pender Island
A spot of brightness in a cool and rainy springtime.
Gail in James Bay
This is a Tree Peony called Abkhazi Princess, developed in the Abkhazi garden in Victoria. There are 36 huge buds on it this year and every spring it’s an amazing experience to watch it open up to dinner plate size.
Shirley in Cordova Bay
A sunny May day in the back yard. Native dogwood in bloom in the background, Japanese Maple “ Uno” in full leaf, rhododendrons, azaleas all springing to life.
Heather in North Saanich
Loving these colours in the garden!
Barbara in North Saanich
This unusual shade plant, podaphyllum “spotty dotty” was purchased at a garden show/sale about 2-3 years ago. I was attracted to the large umbrella like spotted leaves not realizing it would present me the next year with clusters of yellow pendulous flowers. When I see it in the garden I am amazed at it beauty.
Wendy in North Saanich
I planted these violas outside my kitchen window in early September looking for a little fall colour. After being buried in snow and -10 degree temps they continued to flower all winter long. I don’t think I have ever been so pleased with a purchase. Thanks for the recommendation from the Russell staff!
Jennifer on Galiano Island
My Checker Lily Fritillarias that I bought from you a couple of years ago gave me a lovely surprise this spring. I had forgotten where I had planted them. I am hoping they will continue to thrive and spread. They are tucking in among the native vanilla leaf in what we call our woodland garden, with an arbutus, native huckleberry, sword ferns, azaleas and rhodos.
Joanne in North Saanich
For me, May is all about Rhododendrons. With their variety in blossom colours, some fragrant, all sizes, evergreen and tolerant to shade, they tick all the boxes for many spots in my garden. For over 50 years, I lived in a climate that is deadly for Rhododendrons, unless they were in heated greenhouses. Now, when I see them in my back yard, I reminded how lucky we are to have landed here. With the cool, wet weather this spring, the colours have been especially deep and vibrant and the blossoms are lasting a little longer than usual.
Lori in North Saanich
Behind my garden gate, this is a most valuable treasure one could ask for. I love to see this treasure in my garden, she is a ray of sunshine, even on a rainy day. Seeing Jane in my garden brings me joy and the flowers and plants thrive after her visits as well.
Roberta in North Saanich
The first bloom on my Abkazi peony this year
Dorinda in North Saanich
The fragrance of Lavandula Stoechas and the soft humming of the bees, busy with their work, invigorate the senses of the Gardener. One can spend countless hours watching these workers while immersed in scent bliss.
Margo in Saanich
We are so fortunate to have a beautiful Princess Abkhazi tree peony in our garden. This is the first of many blooms on this plant. The first year there was just one bloom and now after a few years and a transplant it is very productive and very beautiful.
Michelle on Pender Island
My favourite late spring display- reliable every year with proper pruning- my Alba Wisteria- which I've let wind up into the background fir trees I planted 16 years ago. Accompanied by the volunteers who make it a real event: Columbine, Sweet Rocket, Centaurea major, and the bee-sy blossoms of Ceanothus to herald in the beginning of June.
Karen in Brentwood Bay
My 7 year old grandson’s garden, he was so inspired by our neighbours garden that we went to your nursery where he picked out all the plants and helped plant the entire garden. He added the bunny this month!
Dianne in Deep Cove
I love all the colours and textures of the plants, framed by the pond. Thank you Russell Nursery for providing them.
Wendi on Pender Island
This new area around the apple tree is bursting with lavender, columbine, yarrow, haskap berries, chives, kale, nigella, bluebells, comfry, wild strawberries, euphorbia, and catmint. With all the rain this spring, it is a bit of an explosion, but I love seeing how much an area can go from sparse plantings the previous year to a full palette of colour and texture... especially if allowed to self seed!
Barb in Langford
This is an area I planted last year….off our back deck. I have ceramic goldfish in the pond which the raccoons love to play with. I usually find them all over the lawn.
April Entries
Margo in Victoria
We spent many years in Ontario so were delighted when we found a trillium plant blooming in our front garden here in Victoria. Unfortunately, renovations meant that it had to be moved and we were warned that trilliums did not like to be transplanted so we did so with great care. I am so excited and delighted to find that not only did the trillium survive the move but also put forth a small flower this year.
Heather in North Saanich
So hard to choose my favourite in the garden right now but I think it would have to be this one. I have never planted this bulb before so I thought I would give it a try last Fall and I have to say, I’m thrilled with the results!! I may have to plant more this Fall, if I can find space for them!!
Marcia on Saltspring Island
Trillium maculatum is the star of my early April garden. It looks fragile but it just gets bigger every year. I surround it with pieces of quartz I find in my garden to mark its spot when it dies down
Jessie in Swartz Bay
Spring blooms on our patio, beside our mason bee house, all from our favourite place.. Russell Nursery! The beautiful garden beds and patio planters we have created from our finds at the nursery make our life here in North Saanich therapeutic, healing, and peaceful.
Michelle on Pender Island
Amidst the predominate green foliage, colour begins to pop out like subtle fireworks along the garden paths. Since rescuing plants from my back garden where the ever-growing forest shade crept in, the newer, sunny location was created. I am so pleased that the careful transplanting effort over time paid off. Floral islands abound next to veggie patches and soon my indespensible greenhouse will be filled with heirloom tomatoes, cukes and peppers to supply our table and my farm stand.
Kilmeny in Langford
This is a Chocolate Vine, purchased at Russell Nursery about four years ago. It’s blooming now - those little round “berries” open up into tiny white and purple striped flowers. It’s vigorous and attractive, staying green through most of the year, including winter. It’s growing in a spot where it gets a fair bit of sun, especially in the summer, but also has partial afternoon shade. It is on top of a rocky hill in Langford.
Karen in Brentwood Bay
I bought this magnolia from your nursery last April 2021 to do a tree planting ceremony for my mom who had just passed, and who loved her magnolia. This was taken a year later in early April 2022 and it’s a beautiful reminder of my mom’s love of gardening ❤️
Paige in Saanich
I have been gardening with native plants for over 12 years now, and despite being a renter I try my best to leave the yard or garden more pollinator-friendly than I found it. In this backyard I had just the right conditions to establish a patch of White fawn lilies. Every April their blooms remind me that spring is just beginning and there is so much more to look forward to.
Shirley in Cordova Bay
The Acer palmatum 'Uno' is the anchor for this view. This amazing tree leafs out in a lively yellow. As spring turns to summer, it turns to green. When autumn arrives, the leaves turn yellow-orange before fluttering down to mulch the ground below. Some double yellow primroses along the border were a gift from a dear departed friend. They have been split often and offspring given to other friends. Some yellow daffodils peek through. The yellow and blue pansies in blue pots provide contrast.
Louise in Curteis Point
Behind my garden gate is a happy cat under the plum blossom canopy.
Kathy in Saanichton
The little helper, alway ready to lend a hand in my veggie and flower gardens.
Barbara in Deep Cove
This prairie trillium appeared in my garden 3 years ago as a single flower. It first pokes its head through the cold earth in early January to become this beautiful multi stemmed delight in April. I smile every time I walk by it and think how lucky I am to have this stunner in my garden.
Wendy on Saturna Island
The spring emergence of my peony is always a huge delight! I am amazed at the deep red colour that is uniform throughout the whole stem, including the tightly curled leaves, which sweep around with so much sense of movement! Also there is something in the tenderness of this colour that defies the chill of early spring weather and warms my heart with images of huge, pink petalled flowers yet to come. And who can deny that these stems don't entice a craving for the sweetness of red licorice candy?
Jenna on Galiano Island
Our cherry blossom tree brings me so much joy this time of year. It is always one of the first true signs of spring’s arrival and I wish I could bottle the smell for the rest of the year somehow!
Beth on Saturna Island
Here's the red flowering currant that I got at Russell just a couple of years ago, happily welcoming the bees, hummingbirds, and all that spring has to offer, with a burst of colour in my garden on Saturna Island.
Eliska in Saanich
When I bought my first Jack Frost Brunnera I had no clue it would produce such beautiful happy flowers. They definitely bring a lot of light into the dark spots of my garden.
Joanne in North Saanich
Spring flowers make me smile. There are plenty of spaces to tuck in colourful bulbs and corms in the yard. Blossoming shrubs and trees add to the mix along with early blooming perennial plants. The fragrance is an added bonus that entices me to stand in the garden and just take it all in. I can feel my blood pressure drop when I do that.
Barb in Langford
I love this time of year….watching my plants form new buds. Here is a section of the garden with a Pieris japonica in full bloom, Euonymus fortunei, Hydrangea anomala petiolaris ( full of bees when it flowers), Skimmia japonica (sweet smelling right now), and a Camellia just starting to open it’s flowers. A Japanese Lace fern and big leafed hosta will fill in the space.
Pamela in Sidney
Mock orange and yellowtail butterfly.Taken last year.
Dorinda in North Saanich
These Pretty Woman tulips which are typically pure red in colour, decided to show their stripes this year! What an unexpected and pleasant surprise to see these lovely alterations of Nature!
Kendell in Saanich
Lunaria annua also known as silver dollar plant is a true biennial. Self seeding and no maintenance, I just leave it alone and enjoy its unique purple trusses of blooms for all of April.
Brian in North Saanich
Each spring we look forward to a chance hybrid blooming, which we have dubbed ‘Dr. B’. This hybrid is assumed to be a cross between Ribes sanguineum (red, next to hybrid and the probable seed parent) and Ribes sanguineum 'White Icicles' (white, a short distance away and the probable pollen parent). The buds are a deep pink, opening to a white centre with pale pink petals. Definitely a pleasant surprise the first time we noticed it flowering.
March Entries
Anne in Sidney
Hellebore at entrance to my driveway just after recent snowfall. Miraculous colour and strength of "character", holding itself upright and beaming spring and all its promises, forth.
Margaret in Fernwood
Here is a photo of my Fernwood back yard taken in late afternoon sun during the last week of March. From the left: a star magnolia, my witch hazel past bloom but in leaf bud, a Cornelian cherry in bright yellow bloom right and behind and a red flowering currant to the right. Up top at the back is a flowering Pisser plum. There are numerous other shrubs, conifers and perennials in here too, all creating my inner city ‘sacred space’ and providing well used food and habitat to many birds and pollinators.
Kevin on Pender Island
After a dreary, cold start, March 13th decided to relinquish some sweet waining sunlight for the first time in these days of late frosts. My husband got excited and with delight he repositioned the Adirondack chair back on the dock so he could glimpse the timid goldfish arising from their hibernation. Also, a relaxing spot to view the Monet-like surrounds - rimmed with perrenials, grasses and sedges, bamboo, bulbs, gunnera and our favourite willow- all slowly shrugging off Winter and awakening to Spring renewal on this well-loved 'golden pond'.
Karen in Brentwood Bay
This view is in my front yard and I planted lots of daffodils as I’ve loved them for years and never had any in my previous gardens. They remind me of the Wordsworth poem "I wandered lonely as a cloud" and they bring the first joy of spring after the cold dreary winter.
Barb in Langford
Here is a picture of two of my Helleborus orientalis plants. I love getting out in the garden this time of year - cleaning, pruning, mulching and watching everything starting to grow. My garden has kept me sane during Covid. We have 2 acres, mostly woods but my husband has fenced off an area to keep our deer friends out.
Shirley in Cordova Bay
With a view like this, working in the kitchen is doubly enjoyable. Some Camelia ‘Donation’ cut for the vase bring the blossoms closer to us for the times we can’t be outdoors. They are interspersed with osmanthus sprigs which add a beautiful scent. In the back yard, flowering plums provide some lacey background, Rhododendron ‘Cheer‘ is in full bloom, heathers nestle on the edge of an island bed, and Viburnum ‘Summer Snowflake’ is beginning to leaf out while Japanese Maple ‘Uno’ shows its yellow spring foliage. We are fortunate to have forest in the rear of the property to provide a year-round green background.
Lisa in Langford
I love this time of year because it's full of hope and anticipation. These roses have survived the winter and the novice pruning and look ready to thrive again. They make me hope for warm, beautiful days and colorful blossoms, with no lasting effects from heat domes, king tides, and atmospheric rivers.
Joanie in Gordon Head
This little south west facing garden is nestled below a maple and looks it’s best in the late afternoon light. Watching this tiny garden come to life always brings a smile to my face because it heralds the coming of spring. By mid January the snow drops are in full bloom, closely followed by hellebores and then mini daffodils that once again survived the winter despite the snow covered and/or rain filled pots in which they reside. These mini daffs are super resilient!!!
Kilmeny in Langford
This is a photo of a winter-flowering white heather, “Silberschmeltze”, which I bought from Russell Nursery and planted atop my back yard Rock the fall after I moved into my house, so about five years ago. The Rock had been engulfed by a rather aggressive blackberry, which took some evicting. The heather is roughly five times it’s original size now, and blooms profusely, sometimes under snowdrifts (!) from December to May.
Wendy in Brentwood Bay
I love the first spring flowers and the bumblebees they attract. I find violas very hardy over winter and always plant several pots. This one is mixed with hyacinths.
Joanne in Cloake Hill
Our property is on a hill and we have many rocks that form tiered beds. I love the little vignettes that are created by the crevices and small spaces within the rock wall. This little space allows one to view the Hellebore blossoms from below as you climb from the greenhouse to the house.
Heidi in Oak Bay
After pruning the Starflower Magnolia in the front yard I didn’t have the heart to throw all those beautiful buds in the compost bin! So I gathered them up and, in a sense, brought my tree inside to enjoy the blooms as they emerge over the next several days.
Brian in North Saanich
The first tulip, a species, is always a harbinger of spring and warmer, sunny days to come. Other early bulbs like Eranthus, Crocus, and Galanthus will frequently pop up through the snow, but Tulips seldom bloom until the snow's gone and the spring season is starting.
Eleanor in North Saanich
Close up picture of my beautiful Witch Hazel, lovely bush which flowers for months during the winter and early spring with fascinating small flowers.
Wendy in Brentwood Bay
I love my crocus. They look fragile but they are tough and a sure sign spring is coming.
Eliska in Saanich
Juicy green baby garlic shoots that poked out of the soil definitely made my day. I always feel like a superhuman when I can grow my own food.
Jennifer in South Shawnigan Lake
We have just moved in to our newly built house as of Nov 30, 2021 and it was supposed to be ready April 2021, so we had big garden plans and lots of sketches!! My partner and I are both gardeners professionally so our little yard is a massive dream for us. Well, moving in at the end of Nov, with a mud pit of a yard and waiting on a fence installation, did not allow us to carry out our big plans yet… These three pots at the front door are my little bright lights for the moment and I love seeing them every time I enter and exit the house. The colour on our hens and chicks?!?!
Kendell in Uptown Corridor
The evergreen winter blooming Iris unguicularis (Nov. to March) survives our Saanich gardens poor clay soil. It loves a hot sunny concrete foundation with no fussy care. The colour is an addictive blue mauve, flowers are so large and showy, that I cannot wait for November to arrive. The only perennial that blooms reliability on January 1st allows you to send flower photos across Canada to gloat that you live in Victoria, BC.
Heather in Sidney
Last week as cold, cold air threatened my pots of tulips and delicate azaleas, I huddled them together, looped old Christmas lights over them and flung a sheer curtain on top. When they emerged as the temperature rose, all were unscathed!
Lois in Saanichton Village
I love our aubretia. When we bought our house, it was growing in the ditch amongst the weeds and tall grass barely visible. I dug it up and kept it until we had our front yard and rockwall made and divided and replanted it. It started blooming in January this year. It’s the first blast of colour, and makes me smile every time I see it.
Davina in Oak Bay
This is my front garden. Very colourful in the spring and is enjoyed by myself and passers by. The garden was completely overgrown when I bought the house a few years ago, but some hard work and plants from Russell’s have transformed the spot.
Kathy in Brentwood Bay
I purchased this home in 2017 and it had very old bushes, roses, clematis etc that were not looked after. It took me three years to get the gardens back to their glory and of course I purchased loads of plants and created more gardens. Please enjoy.
Jan on Pender Island
Kids and gardens, always so much fun! Children are full of wonder and the absolute pleasure of discovery, delighted to find that they can eat peas straight off the vine, or squealing with joy the first time they discover that potatoes can be found by digging for treasure under the ground. A great lesson for us adults to pause and take pleasure in small earthly delights!
Maureen in North Cowichan
Coming from the cold, snowy, blustery prairies, I was stunned to see this Helleborus Winter Jewel show its beautiful face twice in February. It arrived early in the month much to my delight. When the snow arrived and bent it face down buried in the snow, I thought it was a memory. But the snow melted and like a little trooper it stood to attention, delighting us once again. It's still sweetly blooming to this day. Thanks, for letting me show it off.
Gail in Sidney
A sunny little spot for some sumptuous herbs and flowers to flourish. We transformed our side garden with a new pebbled path, 2 custom made raised planter boxes, and metal obelisk for the clematis to climb. A garden of any size is always enjoyable, especially when you can eat it!
Richard in Curteis Point
The heathers blooming along the pathways in the garden are the first sign that spring blossoms are on their way. (Erica carnea 'Rosalie')
Shirley in Cordova Bay
Its not something we are used to seeing on southern Vancouver Island but this Japanese Maple (Acer Palmatum Osakazuki ) is like delicate white lace with a fresh snowfall on its branches. Waking up to this view out our bedroom window into the back yard makes it feel like we just landed in a proverbial winter wonderland. The many birds use it as a perch while they take turns at the feeder in winter and the birdbath in summer. This is a tree that can give one pleasure in any season.
Louise in Curteis Point
In June, I always look forward to warm afternoons on the patio, sipping on a glass of wine and watching the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds drinking nectar from our Peaches and Cream Honeysuckle vine (Lonicera periclymenum).