Flowers | My Home Garden

Perennials

The backbone of the border. Hardy geraniums, hostas, and coneflowers come back reliably through our mild, wet winters and need little more than a spring tidy-up.

Annuals

Cosmos, zinnias, and sweet peas fill gaps and keep colour going from June through the first fall frost — started indoors in April to beat our short direct-sow window.

Roses

Rugosa and shrub roses handle our humid summers with far less black spot than hybrid teas — good airflow and a spring prune are most of the work.

Bulbs

Daffodils and crocuses planted in fall push through as early as February here — one of the real perks of our mild winters.

Pollinator Plants

Lavender, yarrow, and native asters draw mason bees, honeybees, and butterflies all season, and directly improve fruit set on the trees nearby. If you only add one bed this year, make it this one.

Fraser Valley Notes

Growing flowers in a wet-winter, dry-summer climate

Watch for winter wet feet: More perennials are lost here to soggy roots over winter than to cold. Raise beds slightly or amend heavy clay with grit before planting anything that dislikes wet feet.
Slugs are the real pest: Our mild, damp climate is slug paradise. Copper tape, beer traps, and picking them off at dusk go further than any spray.
Deadhead for a longer season: Regular deadheading keeps annuals and repeat-bloomers going right up until that first fall frost.