Friend of the GPOD Cherry Ong is taking us along for another visit to the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific (HCP) in Victoria, British Columbia. This time we’re taking a look at the gardens around the HCP Library. Cherry visited in the spring, as the gardens were just waking up and coming into growth.

This usual form of Akebia quinata ‘Cream Form’ (Zones 4–8) has dark chocolately purple flowers, but the cream form is a beautiful variation on that theme. In summer, the flowers are followed by large, unusual-looking lavender fruits that split open to reveal the edible flesh around the seeds.

Close-up of the beautiful flowers of this akebia

This spring garden is just coming to life. The shrubs in the foreground look like yellow-twig dogwood (Cornus sericea, Zones 2–8), and the bright gold stems look fantastic against the dark wood siding on the building behind them.

A flagstone path leads through the garden. The curve of the path behind the fence draws you forward to explore what lies beyond, and it is clear that beautiful gardens await you as you do.

The resident garden cat enjoys the warm spring sun and hopes for some pets from garden visitors.

Wood chips give a softer, more informal feel to the path in a shaded part of the garden.

These twisted rebar sculptures give fantastic structure to the garden even before most of the plants are in full growth. The light color of the plantings behind them ensure that they stand out beautifully.

It’s wonderful to look back at the fresh, spring growth this time of year!

Have a garden you’d like to share?

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