I know that it happens on a regular basis in other parts of the country, but the snowfall on April 19 in the valley was, to say the least, surreal. April 19 in the Okanagan is all about magnolias and forsythia blooming, tulips and daffodils lighting up flower beds, cutting the lawn for the second time this spring. It’s not about waking up to see snow blanketing the flower beds you just weeded the day before.
If you think it was bad here consider the poor gardeners in Nanaimo. On Vancouver Island April 19 means rhododendrons and flowering cherries in bloom, with spring in full flight and the garden approaching the peak of mid-spring glory. They had to endure 24 centimeters of snow that day. Not 4 cm. like we received, but 24 cm. of wet and heavy snow deposited onto their tulips and daffodils.
At the garden centre that day I think we were in shock. None of us had ever seen that much snow on the ground
that late in the spring. Snow on the branches of blooming forsythia just didn’t compute in my mind as I drove to work. I was glad I still hadn’t taken the studded winter tires off my truck; I needed them that morning on the highway to navigate the slush.
I have written a column about monochromatic gardens, specifically the white garden our friends built in Summerland several years ago. April 19 produced white gardens like no other. I wondered late in the day after the snow finally melted if you could construct a white garden built completely of plants that had “snow” in their common or cultivar name. I set out to research the possibilities and the answer is yes!
Every garden needs trees; they’re the bones of the landscape. Malus ‘Springsnow’ and Styrax japonica ‘Snow Charm are two small flowering trees that would be perfect. And then there’s Chionanthus virginicus. It’s know commonly as Fringe Flower, but it’s other lesser known moniker is the Snowflower.
If you had an arbour or a trellis that needed a vine Clematis ‘Snow Queen’ is the obvious choice. Your shrub palette may be somewhat limited, but Spirea nipponica ‘Snowmound’ would give you some spring colour from the small white blooms. Symphoricarpos albus, the Snowberry, would give the garden large white berries through the fall and winter.
There is no shortage of perennials for the “snow garden.” Shady spots can be filled nicely with Hostas such as ‘Snow Cap,’ ‘Snowmound’ and ‘Snowbound’ and then there’s the Astilbe ‘Snowdrift’ and Tradescantia ‘Snowcap.’ Polemonium ‘Snow and Sapphire’ could withstand some shade as well.
Out in the sunnier areas Physostegia ‘Summer Snow’ would produce tall spikes of white blooms, along with Salvia ‘Snowhill.’ The trumpet-shaped flowers of Incarvillea ‘Snowtop’ are attractive too.
Looking for groundcover for a slope? Look no further than Cerastium tomentosum, or Snow-in-summer. The grey foliage is covered with a carpet of white blossoms and it does indeed look like snow in summer.
Finally, there is one plant which looks just fine surrounded by snow, unlike the forsythia. The galanthus, or snowdrop, bulbs could care less if it snows on their delicate blossoms. They soldier on, just as we will as we wait for the real spring to arrive
