A walk through the neighborhood

Every year, Les at A Tidewater Gardener hosts a fun event called "Winter-Walk-Off" where bloggers take a walk and share photos of their surroundings. I have always wanted to participate but until now, never have. It seems that I was either working or too busy. Now that I am semi-retired (I will soon be working part-time with the Fort Vancouver Library System), I was determined to do this. There is also the factor that this neighborhood is new to me too. 

Today, between downpours, I walked the surrounding streets in our Vancouver, Washington neighborhood, about 8 blocks in all. I focused on plants growing in neighbor's yards. Spring is popping out all around us and it is quite an experience. This is my first Spring here in our new home and the plant kingdom is overwhelming. 

The flowering trees are stunning and the blooms are lasting a long time. I think the reason for this is because temperatures here are fairly consistent. The flowering plums are very popular in Vancouver. They are everywhere. 

Camellias are really catching my eye. They are one of my favorite plants and I grew about twenty varieties in my Alabama garden. I cannot get over the sheer number of blooms on the camellias here. The flowers are so thick that you can hardly see the foliage. It is incredible. They seem to be everywhere and it is not uncommon to see them in full sun.

I have not seen as many quince and just noticed one on my walk today. Isn't the color incredible? I have not adjusted the saturation!

Pieris (aka Lily of the Valley Shrub or Andromeda) is also highly popular and I see it everywhere. I purchased the pink variety "Valley Rose" but have not planted it yet.

There is also a white variety.

Everyone seems to shear and shape their Forsythia. I can imagine that it gets out of hand if they do not. I still prefer it unsheared.

There are lots of weeping ornamental trees in the neighborhood. They have looked completely dead until a few days ago when they suddenly burst into bloom.

Of course rhododendrons are everywhere and it is a plant that I look forward to grow. This early variety is a gorgeous shade of lavender and both Michael and I have been going crazy over it. According to the man at the nursery, it is "PJM".

Red Tip Photinia. There is a hedge of these that border the back of our property. It provides good privacy from the houses behind it but they are about 20 feet high. They are not this pretty and seeing these make me wonder if I should prune them a bit.

Heather or Heath are also everywhere. They have been blooming all winter.

Grape Hyacinth (Muscari)

I drive by this tree almost every day and I always admire it. I am not sure if it is a willow variety or something else. It might be a corkscrew willow.

Michael loves this tree. It is the Monkey Puzzle Tree (Araucaria araucana). Of course it reminds me of one of my favorite movies "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" ("What have you done with me Monkey Puzzle Tree?") I told him it gets too big for our garden.

Unusual conifers are everywhere

A nice arrangement of varying textures.

I like this garden. It seems very calm and serene.

Another nice garden is one block over from us. This is a small hedge of Viburnum davadii that winds around the curb.

They also have a Hinoki Cypress, a conifer that I want for our garden.The tall evergreen in the background is a weeping sequoia. People refer to it as "the Dr. Seuss tree".

I also really love this garden. I would never have the restraint to do something like this but I think it looks really great.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. Check out more bloggers "Winter-Walk-Offs" at A Tidewater Gardener.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy