I鈥檓 wondering, on this weekend occupied with honouring mothers, whether there is a particular plant or flower that most precisely reflects the nature of motherhood or the mother in your family.
Some probably would choose 鈥渕ums.鈥� Chrysanthemums are well loved. They come in all shapes and sizes. Dressed up in bloom, they display a grand variety from plain and simple to the ultra-fancy.
鈥淢artha Washington鈥� geranium (Pelargonium domesticum, Regal geranium) is another natural choice as a 鈥渕otherly鈥� plant. These too can range from muted to glowing and dramatic in flower. They prefer to keep cool, and are at their velvety, blooming best that way.
Rock daphne (Daphne cneorum) is a favourite gift to mothers in May. Its neatness and sturdy evergreen nature, and the clustered masses of intensely perfumed flowers, reflect both the sweetness and endurance of听motherhood.
Then there is the rose, possibly the best loved flower of all. Like human mothers, these blooms are infinitely varied, from completely simple to flouncy and complicated, each with a distinct fragrance of its own.
In their individual comeliness, versatility and usefulness certain herbs too reflect those who have brought warmth and flavour into our lives. There鈥檚 the nostalgic comfort of lavender and the pungent strength of rosemary, the healing touch of garlic and refreshing sprightliness of mint.
My choice of plant as personal emblem of motherhood? Lilac Wonder.
Tulipa bakeri 鈥楲ilac Wonder鈥� has resided in my front garden for over two decades, its two little patches of plants expanding in demure, orderly fashion over that time. The delicate mauve-pink blooms have deep gold centres and are held on slender 25-centimetre stems.
Visitors to the garden always ask what these flowers are. Sadly, species (botanical) tulips are not widely known or grown in home gardens, yet in sunny, slightly summer-dry sites they flourish easily over the long term.
How is Lilac Wonder mother-like? The simple flowers are unassuming, yet they charm all they encounter. They are deceptively delicate, for the plants are reliable and tough. They endure.
Lilac Wonder bulbs are not easy to find in the fall. A similar species tulip, more commonly available, is Tulipa 鈥楽axatilis.鈥�
Like clockwork, every spring until this year, Lilac Wonder would be at its flowering best on the Mother鈥檚 Day weekend. This spring, the plants were in full bloom early in April, almost a听month ahead of their usual flowering.
Such a dramatic change suggests an issue that garden tour organizers may choose to think about.
听
Changing times. Almost three weeks ago I met a previous neighbour in a garden centre. She was acquiring plants to put finishing touches on her new home鈥檚 beautiful garden, which was to be on a Mother鈥檚 Day weekend tour.
She was lamenting that her favourite and most showy rhododendrons, usually in bloom in May, were already at their flowering peak and would be finished, like so many of my usual May flowering shrubs and trees, by the weekend of the garden tour. Even fruit trees are extraordinarily early in bloom this year.
What to do? Perhaps, to capture the best of spring flowering on garden tours, the timing could be shifted to earlier dates in the future. Tours in anticipation of Mother鈥檚 Day: something to consider.
听
GARDEN EVENTS
Peninsula meeting. The Peninsula Garden Club meets Monday at 7 p.m. in the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney. Paul Sprigs of Sprigs Gardens will share his secrets on creating crevice gardens. Learn how to convert unusual spaces into beautiful gardens.
听
VIRAGS meeting. The Vancouver Island Rock and Alpine Garden Society meets Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Gordon Head United Church, 4201 Tyndall Ave. Todd Boland, research horticulturist at Memorial University of Newfoundland, will discuss spring in the Pyrenees. There will also be an info session, a show, raffle, and tea social. Visitors are welcome.
听
Lily meeting. The Victoria Lily Society meets Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Rose Garden at Royal Roads, 2005 Sooke Rd. Greg Hines will lead a tour of the rose garden and speak about growing roses for the Pacific Northwest.
