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Volume:12 Issue:4 Web site address: www.squamishgardeners.com Date: April 2009 |
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Letter from the Editor: "Down the Garden Path" by Ellen Grant
There he is up in the sky, He dropped some whitewash in my eye! I‘m alright, I won't cry, I'm just glad that cows can't fly! UNKNOWN I came across the above poem as I searched the net for spring poems for my grandchildren. I hope you enjoy a laugh too. I have decided that this is not really a newsletter but just a correspondence that I have with my gardening friends. I know it is all one-sided and I have invited you to reply or add to my observations and musings but only a few of you have taken the opportunity to use this space as your own. Originally the newsletter was an essential tool for the club to announce meetings, executive decisions, and keep the membership informed between our monthly gatherings.It was an expensive and time consuming task to print and mail out the hard copies. With the Squamish Gardeners web-site in full operation and with the addition of the pass-worded “Members Page” I have found that information can be more easily send to members as soon as the membership needs it. Not only that but past minutes and important facts, coming events, web links to gardening info., and all the “news” part of this letter is better served by Dave Colwell, our web master. I will continue to share my gardening experiences with the club but for up to date club news please check our excellent website. I was afraid that I would not have any photos to add to the letter this month. Although I have waited until Easter to write this, it has only been in the last week that the garden has really felt like winter is at last behind us. The early magnolias are now in bloom and the first of the rhododendrons has burst into bloom. Usually it flowers in February! The crocus put on a great display this year. I guess it was because the nights were cool. The flower buds on the fruit trees are swelling now and they may be able to catch up with the usual schedule if the days continue to gain warmth .Many of the camellias and evergreen azaleas seem to have lost a lot of their buds. I also notice that many of the roses started to bud out but have died back. I am hoping that the ones on their own roots will sprout from the base. If they are grafted usually they don’t come true. Instead you get the growth from the graft. The hellebores have fared quit well through the winter and are at the peak of their display beneath the forsythia. Even the trilliums have popped out to welcome the warming rays of the sun. |
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Page 2 Newsletter |
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As usual the winter has left the Grants with major tasks to do. The bear began a pruning job on our apple trees last fall so we completed most of the task this month. We sawed off all the branches that spread upward. Now both the bears and I will have an easier job reaching the fruit. Hopefully I’ll be able to pick the harvest before the bears but at least they won’t be tearing off branches trying to reach the limbs that I couldn’t get with the ladder.
The third big task we completed this week. We drained the lily pool on the patio and hauled away buckets of the goop that had built up on the bottom of the basin. Days later I can still feel the stiffness in my shoulders. I was originally the deep end of our swimming pool about 18’ in diameter and 6’ deep. We had not cleaned it out for many years because we didn’t want to disturb the fish. However the herons and raccoons had feasted on the poor things last year so we transferred the remaining survivors to the big pond and disconnected the fountain pump during the winter. Usually we keep it running with a pool heater in it too. I was pleased to find that all the plants are growing. We divided some from the mass of roots that covered the bottom and added them to the big pond too.
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Another difficult chore was to cut back a rambling rose that fell out of a spruce tree during the wild north winds that we encountered in December. It was a Paul’s Himalayan Musk that I had allowed to grow to about 50feet across and 50feet high. When it came down it covered a huge area of shrubs and smaller trees. It lay there, covered in snow and ice, all winter. It took a week to clear it out and I was covered in scratches and thorns. I am sure it will grow back again. It blooms only once a year, filling the whole corner of the yard with masses of fragrant pale pink frothy flowers. It will take years but that is what keeps gardeners going… the visions of what is yet to be!
Now that these things are done I can concentrate on preparing for the growing season, transplanting, weeding, fertilizing, potting up summer bulbs and tubers, searching garden shops for new things, taking out the patio furniture, power washing,, the list goes on, and on. It takes me longer these days, not just because I’m getting older but because I now spend more time enjoying my space.
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Page 3 Newsletter |
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A pair of Chick-a-des is building a nest in an old pine snag we have outside our family room. We were going to finish cutting the tall stump down but we can’t rob this couple of their home can we! The hummingbirds are back and busy protecting their home territory. I have spied another two nests in the bamboo but I don’t know who the owners are yet. And this morning I saw two female wood ducks visiting one of the nesting boxes. There doesn’t seem to be a recession in the wilderness housing market! The turtles have emerged from their muddy winter abodes and the koi are up at the surface feeling on hapless mosquito larvae. A snake was even out sunning itself this week so I guess spring has actually arrived! Even a little rain will be welcome to water in the newly planted roses.
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Please remember when fertilizing your plantings or adding compost to beds to mix it with equal amounts of regular garden soil. Do not place it next to the emerging leaves. Place it in a circle outside the natural drip line to encourage the roots to spread outward. After a few years you will find that your perennials are down in a bit of a pit. This is alright if you have good drainage or the plant likes boggy conditions. For most plants however, it is then necessary to lift them, add soil under the plant and reset it with the top of the root just at or below the surface. This will ensure that drainage is sufficient to prevent root rot. Peony, iris, most lilies and roses do not like to have damp roots. They prefer to dry out on the top but enjoy a water supply at a depth. Water deeply then let them dry out for a few days.
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Page 4 Newsletter |
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Some hints this week from the magazine Women’s World: Bell peppers benefit from a spray of one tablespoon of Epsom salts to a gallon of every two weeks. Mix shredded newspapers 2parts to very 8 parts of soil to reduce tomato root rot and wilting. Make your salad greens and tomatoes produce more antioxidants by adding a pinch or salt to each gallon of water used to water your crops. Gardening also benefits the gardener. Weeding, digging and lifting strengthen the bones. Gardeners are three times less prone to develop Alzheimer’s than the general population and studies show that four hours of gardening reduces your blood pressure for up to eight hours.
A Gardener’s PrayerO Lord, grant that in some way it may rain every day, say from about midnight to three o'clock, but you see, it must be gentle and warm so that it can soak in. Grant that at the same time it would not rain on campion, alyssum, helianthemum, lavender and others, which you in your infinite wisdom, know are drought-loving plants. (I will write their names on a bit of paper if you like.) And grant that the sun may shine the whole day long-but not everywhere (not, for instance, on spiraea, gentian, plantain lily and rhododendron) - and not too much. Grant that there may be plenty of dew and a little wind, enough worms, no plant lice or snails, no mildew; and that once a week thin liquid manure and guano may fall from heaven. Amen.
Reminders1. Our next meeting will be Monday, April 20th at the West Coast Railway Park. It will begin with our spring plant exchange. Bring what ever plant material you wish to share. Try to label plants as to name size, color and any other identifying info that may help its new owner. Seeds, cuttings and extra bulblets or tubers are also welcome items. Just starting out with nothing to trade? Don’t worry! There are usually lots to share. Come early, around 6:45 or 7pm, as our meeting follows and we have Jeff Larcombe demonstrating hanging baskets.
3. Have you asked that neighbour who has a green thumb to consider putting their garden in our tour? The deadline for registering is May 9th. The Tour will be June 14th this year. |
Nairn Stewart has also forwarded the following poem from the West Vancouver Gardening Club’s Web site.
Submitted by Norma Buckland
2. Ten perennials for everyone: a. peonies b. lilies (all types), c. phlox (all kinds), d. anemones, e. asters, f. pansies , g. iris (all varieties), h. heather, i. delphiniums and j. lupins. I am sure that there are many others that you can grow very well in your garden. This is just a list to start the foundation of a collection that will see you from spring until autumn with easy color in the garden.