The Gardens at HCP has a long-standing partnership with the Victoria Horticultural Society (VHS).

Share what you know ... Show what you grow ...

The VHS was established in 1921 and is a non-profit society. All activities are run by volunteers from the membership and the society is dedicated to:

• Collecting and diffusing information on all matters relating to horticulture
• Stimulating the knowledge and love of horticulture
• Co-operating and/or affiliating with other horticultural organizations

The VHS provides annual funding of $1,000 for the upkeep of the beautiful Doris Page Winter Garden each year as a memorial to horticulturist Doris Page for showing that Victoria is one of the few places in Canada where you can garden year round. Membership with the VHS is $30 and because of our partnership we will reduce your HCP membership fee by 25% if you show a current VHS Membership card when taking out a new or renewing an existing HCP Membership. Visit the Victoria Horticultural Society website

vichortsociety.org to see all their membership benefits. 

Eranthis hyemalis (Winter Aconite)

• - is native to Europe and Asia
• - has single yellow flowers resembling buttercups that carpet the ground in January-February
• - is ideal to naturalize under trees and shrubs
• - beam a golden glow into the garden at a time when the sun rarely breaks through the clouds
• There are several patches in bloom in the Doris Page Winter Garden right now so make sure you come see them on your next walk.

Presented by Berwick House, this event will provide information that  everyone should know when doing their will.

When: February 27th

Where: Berwick House at 4062 Shelbourne Street

Time: 2 - 4pm

 

Speakers:

Sara Neely , Director of Philanthropic Services at the Victoria Foundation

Stephanie A. Sieber , Principal at Sitka Law, specializing in Wills and Estates

Bill Fosdick , President of the Capital Region Beekeeper Association, with a talk on "Bees - Victoria's Plant Pollinators"

 

Please join us for this informative event - Coffee, tea and cookies will be provided.

 

RSVP to director@hcp.ca to secure your space as seating is limited.  

 

Our winter here in the north-west UK has been extremely wet and we have had a good deal of snow. Yet in the last week the temperature has risen a bit and the bulbs are responding. There are already snowdrops ( Galanthus nivalis) opening and daffodils (Narcissus spp.) are beginning to push up out of the ground although I haven't seen any flowering yet.  However, given that it is still only January, I fear they may be getting ahead of themselves.

I have recently been visiting friends in Somerset in the south-west part of the country and one cannot help noticing the contrasting regional styles of field boundaries. Up here in Cumbria, close to the Scottish border, dry-stone walls are the tradition and over time these become covered with a range of mosses, ferns and lichens. In the south, in Somerset, fields and roads are bounded by high earth banks topped with thick hedges. Many of the high banks were established to control water movement in what are the low-lying marshy areas of the Somerset Levels. These are therefore very different types of environments and naturally support different flora and fauna.

 On the largely limestone-based walls of the north varied species occupy the tops and sides. Schistidium moss ( Grimmia apocarpa) is a plant that colonises the top and upper, more exposed, parts of the walls, another common group being the Bryums. On the lower more shaded sides of the walls grow different mosses ( Brachytheciums and Camptotheciums). Small ferns also establish themselves in the cracks and crannies, one of the most widespread being the common polypody fern ( Polypodium vulgare). Some herbaceous plants also like to root themselves between the stones, yellow Welsh poppies ( Meconopsis cambrica) and broad-leaved willowherb ( Epilobium montanum). Chinks in the walls may be occupied by field-mice, small birds such as wrens and solitary bees.

In contrast the Somerset banks will be topped by thick hedges of holly (Ilex aquifolium), beech (Fagus sylvatica), hazel (Corylus avellana) and spindle (Euonymus europaeus) , often thickly infiltrated by ivy (Helix spp.). On the earth banks themselves will grow various gras ses. B ut in amongst those I spotted sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum), herb robert (Geranium robertianum), cowslips (Primula veris), purple bugle (Ajuga reptans) and lords and ladies (Arum maculatum). The hedges provide habitat for all sorts of birds, animals and reptiles. Frogs and newts like the damp shade, many birds enjoy the protection  and food source the hedge provides, bullfinches and turtle doves preferring the tallest hedges where the tree species are less hard pruned. Small and medium-sized mammals, voles, hares, hedgehogs, weasels and foxes all profit from the biodiversity found in these natural green corridors.

HCP is offering a free Saanich Emergency Preparedness Workshop on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 11:30 am - 12:30 pm.

 

When disaster strikes, your chances of staying safe, healthy and comfortable are much better if you are prepared. This one-hour presentation offers the information you need to prepare yourself and your family to survive on your own for up to 7 days after any type of disaster.

 

You must pre-register by calling the office 250-479-6162

 

Thank you to our volunteer Tim for our February 'Picture of the Month in 2018. Tim is a long-time volunteer who contributes in the Conservation Gardens. 

 

   

 

HCP Members $90

Non-Members $110

To register, call 250 479 6162

Summer - Sunday June 24 - 9 am to 12 pm.

Fall - Sunday September 9th - 9 am to 12 pm

To register, call 250 479 6162

What kind of soil do you have in your garden? How can you improve your soil health? If figuring out how to care for your soil seems like a complex and daunting task, then this workshop is for you.

Instructor Christina Nikolic of the Organic Gardener's Pantry will teach you how to determine the soil types and how they function. You will learn about organic matter and living organism in the soil and how these impact plant health. You will also be introduced to safe and simple fertilizers and amendments to improve your soil health. The home gardener will leave with the basic knowledge and resources to make the best of the soil conditions in their own gardens.

Entire Series (4 Classes) - HCP Members $100/Non-Members $130

To register, call 250 479 6162

HCP Members & Non Members:

Per Workshop - $45  

Both Workshops - $75

To register, call 250 479 6162

HCP Members & Non Members:  

Per Workshop - $45  

Both Workshops - $75

To register, call 250 479 6162

HCP Members: $45
Non-Members: $60 

To register, call 250 479 6162

HCP Members: $250
Non-Members: $275

To register, call 250 479 6162

HCP Members: $120
Non-Members: $140

To register, call 250 479 6162

 

Nothing can beat fresh veggies! And by "fresh" we mean veggies eaten within minutes of having been harvested from the garden. So this month we are looking at a book called "How to Grow Food - A step-by-step guide to growing all kinds of fruit, vegetables, salads and more."  Author Richard Gianfrancesco certainly attempts to cover the field very thoroughly indeed. What's more, the pictures are so attractive as to possibly cause a mouth-watering experience!

 

We are told where and how to plant a great variety of fruits and vegetables - and even how to preserve them. There is information here about soils, including the making of compost. The calendar that accompanies each plant description gives us an idea of what to expect throughout the growing season. Furthermore, suggestions are made as to how we might grow plants in everything from pots to plots.

 

The plants are listed according Root Crops, Leafy Crops, Seed and Fruit Crops, Stem and Flower Crops, Herbs, Tree Fruit, Soft Fruits (rhubarb got tucked into the end of this section), Tender Fruit, and Nuts.

 

Though there is nothing said explicitly about where the author lives and does his gardening, one gathers from a few clues that he lives in England. However, their seasons are so similar to ours that the novice gardener should be quite safe following most of Richard's directions. One does hesitate, however, at the "Almond" page. Reading of the almond's need for protection from frosts and of warmth throughout the summer, we might be inclined to wait a few years for climate change to warm things up here by a couple of degrees . . .  

 

Caution: The varieties of the various plants mentioned in the book may not be available in Victoria, so it may be necessary to look for seeds/plants that simply have similar characteristics.

 

We hope you will find inspiration in this and other books. Even if you don't have a lot of space or energy to grow anything this season, you will at least become a font of knowledge for those who have yet to crack open a book on this subject! 

Library Hours: 

Wednesday - 9:00 to 12:00

Saturday - 10:00 to 1:00