Photographs of roses of many colours, interspersed with less-known and well-known lines of verse about roses.
So Many Trees and Shrubs Bloom in Early May
On the first of May, that is on May Day, while walking to Brock House in West Point Grey to lead a tree-identification walk in their grounds, I came across a lily-of-the-valley shrub, scientifically known as Pieris japonica.
The leaves are green and oval with a paler-green central vein; the flowers are white and urn-shaped, several hanging in clusters from one bud.
In Vancouver’s West End, lilac trees, Syringa vulgaris, are abloom. These trees have an opposite branching pattern so the
The Last of the Ornamental Cherry Trees for 2026
It is now the end of April and most of the late-blooming ornamental cherry trees have finished their display for the year. Even so, let us watch them bow.
The City of Vancouver has planted 9,900 trees with the cultivar name of ‘Kanzan’, Prunus Sato-zakura Group ‘Kanzan’; it is also called ‘Kwanzan’. This is the greatest number of all ornamental cherry trees planted here. There is bound to be one near you, if you live in Vancouver. And it is the oldest cultivar
A French Style of Gardening
Using a burner phone, I was disappointed with my photos of plants in France. Only these are worthwhile:
An avenue of London plane trees (Platanus x hispanica) leads to the Palace of Versailles.
A tree in the Cercis genus gets attention through its bright pink flowers and lime green leaves.
Many male catkins hang below immature,still-yellow leaves on a pedunculate or European oak, Quercus robur, in the Tuileries Garden. Behind is a stand of horsechestnut trees, Aesculus hippocastanum,
Author’s Last Draft Is Editor’s First Draft
The author’s last draft is the editor’s first draft. That’s when the work begins for both the editor and the author as a team together. For the author, it’s different from writing; it’s trying to see it more through the eyes of the reader, as guided by the editor. Some authors say that the editing stage is the hardest stage, because it’s when other eyes are looking at something very personal, very close to the author’s heart.
What Is a Hedge?
A hedge is “fence or boundary formed by a dense row of shrubs or low trees.“ So says the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
I grew up in South Wales where every little row house, semi-detached house, single dwelling house, or even castle sported its own fence, often of bricks, railings, or plants.
The hedge idea continues. If it is to be a plant, how does one choose? Should the plant be evergreen or deciduous?
Now that we are in April, all the deciduous hedges are sporting buds, tiny leaves, and even
A Yellow-Flowering Shrub from Japan
At the beginning of April I saw for the first time this yellow-flowering shrub from Japan: Japanese kerria, also known as Japanese rose. Another member of Rosaceae, the rose family, this shrub’s scientific name is Kerria japonica.
What a beauty!
