jUNE TREATS!

Hurrah!   The shortest day has been and gone and we know we are on the upward turn again, we heave a sigh of relief - even though we know the worst is still to come!

It was only a week ago that my ornamental grape went from looking like this

to this ........

Just a week between brilliant red across my verandah and dwindling red over the verandah, so we know the seasons are beginning to turn very fast now.  Yet, even though it's halfway through June, there are still a few sad leaves trying to hang on despite the odds in my garden

And from from all about colour in mid May

a month later in mid-June everything is drained of colour and it is form and structure which counts.

​And yet by mid-June in the depths of winter the common Snowflake appears.  It's botanical name is Leucojum and it multiply's like the clappers, not to be confused with the charming little english Snowdrop - Galanthus, which is not nearly so common or anxious to be first, so waits till July before it appears.  
​NOTE - the so-called english Snowdrop Galanthus is actually not english at all - far from it.
It originates from the Middle East and eastern parts of Europe,  and it grows in the wild in Iran and around the Caucuses, flowering in late winter and spring there - from January to April - depending on the variety and location.  I was lucky enough to be Iran in late May almost 3 years ago, too late to see it flowering, but I did see it's green foliage growing on after it had flowered, as we explored it's natural habitat. 

Is the Snowflake or Leucojum which can't wait to invade our gardens and woodland so early in the season, really such a treat? More of a weed than a treat, a lot of gardeners would think!

---

Although the little white bell shaped flower  holds it's head down demurely in a similar fashion with both the Snowdrop and Snowflake, they are quite different plants. Many people mistake the   the green leafy Snowflake Leucojum for the Snowdrop.  That is actually, a bit of a sham!  The reason  being that  the Snowflake is an unexceptional invasive plant - a common weed popping up in unwanted places and not nearly as gorgeous as the true lower growing Snowdrop. 
​The common Snowflake Leucojum is taller and is more about it's fleshy green leaves than the flower.  And it tends to pop up everywhere, like a weed with huge fleshy bulbs, which can take a lot of effort to dig out. 
Whereas the charming Snowdrop Galanthus comes up pure  white pushing it's way through brown leaves and carpeting the winter ground in pure white.  There is no hit and miss here as in the sparser flowering Snowflake, also there are many different strains and variations of the true Snowdrop Galanthus, which endlessly intrigues Snowdrop lovers. 
​So much so, that they have been given a name - Galanthophiles (besotted Snowdrop lovers).  Especially in the northern hemisphere and in England these strange creatures can be seen bottoms up, in english woodland, peering down into the ground in late winter, looking for different and unexpected strains of this treasured white jewel.  ​ There are even places in New Zealand where they grow au naturel in areas of exotic deciduous woodland, so there are some besotted people here too!  These areas are often privately owned, so there is not always access to them, and of course Snowdrops being strictly deciduous, do not come up in native bush!
Native bush and Woodland Snowdrops are like chalk and cheese!​

And who can blame Galanthophiles for being Galanthophiles, when they are met with a sight like this in late winter! And this is here in New Zealand!! On a private property in inland Canterbury.

The taller leafier greener Snowflake (Leucojum) flower is sparse in comparison to Galanthus - the true Snowdrop, I fear. The intensity and purity of the white Galanthus (Snowdrop) is apparent here as it pushes up through the crackly brown leaves of winter.

---

​ Snowdrops flower mostly in July, so although they are winter treats, they are much more refined, than the common Snowflake, waiting till July to beguile us.

But there are also other June treats if you really look, and the interesting thing is, that June combines the last of the previous seasons treats with a few new seasons treats.  Which means you can find some bright colour even in mid-June.  ​

What a triumph this winter flowering Kniphofia 'Winter Cheer' is. Commonly known as Red Hot Poker this variety flowers in June, and is shown here backlit by low winter sunshine in the Herbaceous border of Christchurch Botanical Gardens.

---

From a distance I thought this was an exotic flower that had found it's way into my garden - but no! It is the last leaves of the new Hydrangea 'Bloody Marvellous'

So do look out for winter treats and colour - they are there if you look hard enough!   Our other much coveted winter treat in the garden is of course Helleborus, and they will be starting to flower right now - but that is a whole other story!!