After the ten years I spent living in a country with no real change in seasons, except hot, hotter with rain and rainy, I was excited to come home to Canada, where we enjoy four distinct seasons each year. Eight years ago I moved to Victoria. We do have four seasons, although they are much more temperate than in the rest of Canada. On Vancouver Island flowers grow all year round.
The gardens on provincial grounds and city parks are replanted at least twice a year for spring gardens, summer gardens and winter gardens. Fuscias aren’t annual flowers here; they come back in the spring! We have bulbs such as daffodils and tulips blooming late February.
One of my good friends decided last year to post a photo each day of a new flower that she discovered. She kept up with her “365 days of flowers” and even had a few extras, without any overlaps.
Whenever I walk from my home to downtown for errands or work, I walk past many beautiful gardens, including this one that is on the grounds of the Empress Hotel. Several years ago the hotel was covered with English Ivy. New owners decided that it needed a face-lift, and they removed the ivy, including the humungous root system below the basement of the hotel. They removed old (and ugly) shrubs and trees that people had obviously loved. Change is tough for many people, and I would walk by crowds of protestors who didn’t want any green or brown thing taken out of the ground. The protestors are no longer concerned. I think the flowers and new shrubs that have replaced the old dark trees have certainly brightened up the neighourhood.
I have decided that spring is my favourite season. I love to see the new buds shoot up through the moist soil, and watch the rhododendrons bloom with their beautiful bright flowers.
Reflections 