I live on Galiano in the southern Gulf Islands. My garden is very different from city gardens. I am B.C. born and raised, having lived most of my life on the North Shore in Vancouver. The Galiano climate is so different. It is as close to mediterranean as you can get in Canada, a similar microclimate as northern California with no real rainfall for 5 months in the summer. The area is so dry that the dormant season really is July and August. The plants are so drought adapted that they start to come back to life when the evenings are long and cool enough for dew to form.
I live on 2 1/4 acres in a forest interface on the waterfront, with 3 large dogs. My garden is certainly nothing like the gorgeous photogenic beauties I see in most Master Gardeners' gardens. I have learned to relish individual successes surrounded by a very rustic backdrop. After making every mistake in the book and a few that are not in any books, I have begun to learn about the crazy seasons in the garden. The shasta daisies start to flower as the daffodils come up. Without gallons and gallons of added water, perennials need to finish flowering by early July if they are to survive. Garden chrysanthemums really don’t get going until the fall rains and then flower best in late November and December.
I do grow an amazing Fremontodendron californicum (California flannel bush). It is 10 feet tall and flowers for 6 months of the year. The only care it gets is to be tied to the arbutus tree it’s growing under. It never gets watered or fertilized.
I have learned many things and have so much more to learn about Gulf Island gardening. Roses love to be mulched with arbutus leaves. Grass does very badly; clover survives. No place for bark mulch in an interface, especially anywhere near the house - fire risk! Deer protection that works: a very high fence, period - there are no deer proof plants. A hungry deer will eat any and everything of every colour.
Slug control that really works with pets? Rock piles. Dogs like beer and good luck devising something that a slug can get into and a 150 lb dog can’t, plus the slugs are the size of Volkswagens - and no, the slugs did not read the chapter in the book that claims they only eat native forest floor. The many rock piles attract garden snakes that use them as dens. The slugs use the rock piles as nests to lay their eggs. The snakes eat the slugs’ eggs, breakfast in bed, and then they go out and eat the rest of the slugs. The hard part was learning not to scream every time I saw one of the snakes.
I love my water feature: Trincomali Channel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrincomaliChannel. Marine wildlife abounds. Seals are a daily sighting. I call my dogs my marine mammalian early detection system. They bark when the sea lions and whales approach. I love the orcas. I photograph them and any other cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) that come by. I report all cetacean sightings to the Vancouver Aquarium as part of their conservation and protection program for these threatened and endangered species. The orcas are all numbered and most have names. Many are available for adoption through the Aquarium. They are all identified by their dorsal saddle patches, as seen on the right side, and their dorsal fins. Many have now been DNA typed. There are 3 types of orcas, the residents, the transients and the offshore types. Some of the ones I photograph are residents, and some transients.
Final thoughts: Regardless of location, with gardening there is no ending, just more new beginnings and more things to learn. Chores to do and problem areas to sort out, while awaiting the return of old favourites.
Author: Lynn Doyle, 2nd Yr Student, Vancouver Chapter
