by Brian Minter

Thanks to La Nina our winter so far has been milder and drier than usual. However, winter doesn't end until March 20, so there could still be challenging weather ahead.

We all have unhappy memories of the severe cold at the end of last February. The good news is we can take some steps to minimize the affects.

The first suggestion I would like to make pertains to hardiness. Most of us know which hardiness zone we live in and should, there­fore, be planting only those plants that will tolerate that zone.

Certainly slight variations will exist, but as a r... Read More Click Here

by Brian Minter

A wealth of flowering shrubs have been blooming since November, though slightly interrupted by a cold spell.  Many folks have yet to discover the beauty winter flowering shrubs can bring to a winter garden.  To me, a fragrant Chinese witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis), blooming in mid-winter, is more special than a whole row of flowering plums in May.  Winter flowering shrubs provide that lift we need during those cold, grey days, and they bring a gentle reminder that spring is on its way.  Let me unfold a chronological map of winter treasures that everyone can enjoy.

The star-like yellow blossoms of Jasmine nudiflorum are open now and will continue to flower until mid-March.  I recently saw an artistic bouquet of these branches in someone's home, and the old-fashioned charm of these flowers was a match for any spring bouquet.  These shrubs are actually a semi-vine and look smashing against an old wall or rustic fence, and if you can provide a south or west exposure, the blossoms will appear earlier and bloom more reliably throughout the winter.

In colder parts of the Lower Mainland, winter flowering Japanese cherry trees (Prunus 'Autumnalis') are rather fickle when it comes to early blossoms, but in Vancouver there is a row of them along Nanaimo Street north of First Avenue which actually starts flowering in November and continues almost non-stop until April.  How many other trees do you know that tease you with colour for almost half the year?
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