Further into the Native Forest

You too can bring native plants into your home gardens. Many nurseries stock native plants so I would never advise plucking them from their habitat, but sometimes you find young native plants starting out life in all the wrong places. I have a lovely vine maple (acer circinatum) that needed rescuing as a small sapling growing right in the middle of a popular trail. It is now my prized 20' tall beauty, providing much needed privacy from my big-box and too-close East Vancouver neighbours. Speaking of acer circinatum, the new foliage is just opening up now is shades of electric green when the sunlight hits it in forests near you. Beautiful understory trees to watch out for.

Vine maple - Acer circinatum

Huckleberries are another favourite native plant leafing out right now. They are a little trickier to bring into your home garden since they only grow on the decompsing wood of other fallen trees - nurse logs - usually fir. This makes them extra special in my book, The red huckleberries are a treat to eat as well, slightly tart but delicious. Being such a tiny berry, it's very rewarding to find a loaded bush in July and take some time to eat your fill. I have never been patient enough to collect adequate huckleberries to make jam, though some people do.

Native Red Huckleberry - Vaccinium parvifolium

A more commercially available huckleberry is the black berry from the evergreen huckleberry shrub, Vaccinium ovatum. Not as prolific in the berry department, it is otherwise a very handsome native shrub, well worth planting, with the added bonus of being handsome all year long.

Evergreen Huckleberry - Vaccinium Ovatum

To completely shift gears and enter into a political discussion, what do you all think about the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) we're supposed to be getting this July in BC? In the landscaping world, I think it's going to be devastating. Currently, landscapers pay PST (7%) and GST (5%) on products, but we don't charge out PST, so it is absorbed into the cost of goods only. GST gets charged on both goods and services. Our labour is subject only to GST right now. HST will blend the two taxes and be charged on everything. Since we are primarily a service-based industry, our cost is going up 7%. Our hourly rate effectively goes up almost $3!! Is anyone else worried about this? There is a lot of rhetoric from the current BC Liberal government regarding how this tax will be beneficial for the province but I really can't see it. Consumers are going to be paying a lot more money for anything service-oriented and the government gets the extra tax. They have already taken all the lottery money that used to fund non-profit organizations, cut health care, the arts and education and are currently selling our natural resources to anyone with enough money to buy them. Sorry about the rant, but it really is becoming annoying. Another old provincial politician, Bill Vander Zalm, who wasn't much better when he was in power, has started a campaign to fight the HST and he tells us it can be fought. Perhaps politicians CAN redeem themselves. If you feel the same way I do, why not visit the Fight the HST site to get involved at http://fighthst.com/ ?

Thanks for reading.
Liz

Native Spring in Abundance

I will get around to talking about fabulous ornamental shrubs, trees and perennials we grow here in Vancouver, but right now, the native plants are really shining. It's truly spring in abundance in the forests right now, while in the garden, mid-season tulips are at their peak, lilacs are bursting open, mock orange fragrance is filling the air, rose buds are fat and current and daffodil blooms are fading away. When the sun shines it's glorious and when it rains, as it's just starting to do right at this minute, well, at least it still smells like spring out there. The rain brings all our wonderful plants, so we suck it up. And wait for sun.

On my forest dog walk this week, I immersed myself in one of my all time favourite fragrances, that of the new leaves of the balsam poplar 'Balm of Gilead' opening. It's pervasive where the tree grows but you might not recognize where it comes from because there is no flower associated with the fragrance. The leaf buds and young leaves are resinous, sticky, and it is from here emanates the smell. If you walk the seawall by Jericho Beach or the trails of Seymour Mountain this time of year, you will be familiar with this smell. On my scent-o-meter, it rates an 8 out of 10. Ahhh. I am fond of plucking a young branch and keeping it in my car to offset the dog smell. It's heaven. Don't worry, the trees are like weeds here, so they won't miss a small branch! And you can find actual skin balms made from the oil, though rare. Look for the yellowish green leaves covering large deciduous trees this time of year and take a sniff.

Balsam Poplar 'Balm of Gilead' (Populus balsamifera)

Another favourite year round plant, native to BC, is our Western Sword Fern. What a fabulous plant. The new fronds are unfurling at this time of year and they are architecturally brilliant, covered in fuzzy gold hairs. The mature fronds are full, upright and statuesque. You need never prune them unless you feel a need to clear off the dying leaves that neatly layer themselves around the bottom of the plant. The tolerate our wet weather and even survive our recent drought-like summers. It is one of the plants I use most in west coast style landscaping these days. What a winner.

Fronds opening of Western Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)

More later. Spring is too mind-boggling to try and lay it all out at once. I'd better pace myself.