Some sources call it a woody perennial, some classify it as a deciduous flowering shrub but I call Caryopteris clandonensis, the Blue Mist Spirea, valuable. Flowering in August, its small blue blooms are a magnet for bumblebees and butterflies alike. All this shrub wants is a sunny, warm location and a few pastel colours from […]
Although they are commonplace in our gardens now it was only two decades ago that ornamental grasses first started to appear on garden centre shelves. One of the very first varieties was Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum,’ also known as Purple Fountain Grass. I distinctly remember receiving the first pots of these from a nursery in California […]
You know that it’s “high summer” because the large trumpet-shaped blossoms of the Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans), also known as the Hummingbird Vine, are showing themselves off in many locations in the valley right now. They are spectacular in bloom and hummingbirds find both the colour and shape of the blossom irresistible. If you need […]
CROCOSMIA There are a host of plants that fall into the “not really supposed to be hardy according to the literature but definitely are” category and the crocosmia is one of those plants. Despite being a relative of the gladiola and native to South Africa they are winter hardy for the south Okanagan. Summer gardens […]
