This little poem is sent to remind you that the growing season is upon us once again. Although the soil may still be too wet to till properly outside, we can still start some of the tender plants inside. The multitude of seed catalogues that have been filling my mail box this past month has been remarkable. All the local gardening outlets have also started displaying seeds. The West Coast Seeds still haven’t refurbished their stock at the Village Green (formerly the Garden Center). Tomatoes, the melon family of plants and onion sets can get a head start indoors or in a heated greenhouse now.

I’ll bet that some of you are really reaping a fine harvest of winter sown crops and root vegetables. This has been a perfect season for Brussels sprouts, and cold weather greens. Garlic, planted in the fall, should have a good root system by now. My chives are up far enough to add a bit of zip to scrambled eggs A quick walk around the garden brought some surprises in the flower beds too. The fall berry plants and roses have still got their fruit and hips. The birds obviously have not required this food source. Usually the berries freeze then turn to an avian ‘ice wine”. Have you ever seen a drunk Grosbeak?

This time of year has its own beauty in the garden. The rain has given the ponds a glossy black surface that reflects the stark tree trunks and mirrors the dangling hazel catkins that reach to touch their images in the water. The ice has long gone from around the bulrushes and the ducks are busy pulling out the old stalks and nibbling on the new shoots as they reach for the surface. Squirrels chase each other over the bridge and scamper in coiling circles around the trees . I can only imagine that they have Valentine fever. I have searched and found the little red beginning of the peony flowers pushing up through the dried leaves of winter. Now is the time that I take away their blanket layers, slowly and over several weeks. Liming the lawn, gardens and orchard can be done now too. Gardeners should search out some good top soil to apply around Easter. Compost, well rotted manure, cover-crops like fall rye and seaweed are all great soil enriching items. Remember the old saying “feed the soil not your plants” is a good idea. You may want to give individual plants a bit of a boost midway through the season or plant them with a slow release fertilizer but it is the texture and viability of the soil itself that determines the optimum growing conditions of your garden. If in doubt, have your soil tested and look for natural remedies for your particular condition. Without a good base your garden will not thrive. This should be done every two years.

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I love indoor flowers and I have a selection of vases to arrange them in. For the coffee tables and dining room I prefer shorter square containers that echo the shape of the tables. In the winter these are usually solid colors that will not compete with the blooms for attention.

I splurge at Christmas with fairly large arrangements in all the rooms and even add blooms in the bathrooms and posies in the bedroom. As winter begins to fade so the number of arrangements and the number of flowers in my containers decreases. The vases take on a lighter appearance. I like fish-bowl types that I can partly fill with river polished stones, marbles or crystal shapes. They hold the stems firmly and set the mood for simpler bouquets. I also like tall glass containers that hold only a couple of budding twigs centered by one large bloom or three medium sized flowers. Many florists wrap interesting leaves around the inside of these vases to add a nature looking base for the arrangement. As summer follows spring my appreciation of flower is centered on the growing blossoms in the garden. I hate to pick them because they normally last much longer in the garden that inside. But if a storm is threatening I will run out a rescue a few flowers for the house. And as autumn approaches with its frosty nights, the bouquets again grow larger as I steal the last color from the garden to enjoy as the frost descends. The containers for summer dahlias and sunflowers, fall asters and Michaelmas daisy are usually put into mason jars placed inside baskets or other rustic items. Full and floppy the fall arrangements help to stretch the warm glory of summer for as long as possible

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Steve Whysall will be our keynote speaker this year. He is the Sun weekend garden columnist that seems to be on the same wave length as I am. He is always writing about a topic that I had planned to cover in my newsletters. Because Vancouver’s climate is just a week or so ahead of ours, he usually beats me to the topic. Last week he answered a question from a reader about ornamental quince (often called japonica).It seems that this shrub has gone out of favour and is not available in most Lower Mainland nurseries. This is a shame. These shrubs have many uses. They come into bud very early and can be easily forced to make late winter arrangements with their lovely apple-like blossoms. They come in shades of bright pink, orange and white. Most of the quince plants grow 6-8 feet high but my orange one is much shorter. The forced flowers tend to be a pastel hue due to reduced sun exposure. In summer, the thorny branches provide both a hedge or hedge row and a haven for birds. My plantings have many bird nests among the branches. As autumn approaches the quince fruit begins to show. These are green apple-like fruit. They are much harder than apples however. And they have a tart taste that means the bears don’t touch them. They are full of pectin and when added to other jams or jellies they help with the set. On its own it is very savory and could be used with meats or strong cheese. I have enjoyed adding a spoonful of this jelly to “cherries jubilee’ to enhance the cherry taste. Winter finds this shrub clinging to its leaves long after most deciduous neighbours have shed theirs. So this is a year round valuable addition to a garden.

Our special guests for February (see the web site for details) will again be focusing on photography by showing us some plants found on an estuary trail and how these photos can be used to produce greeting cards. Hopefully this will be both enjoyable and inspiring evening. At a short meeting of some of the executive this Monday we discussed the upcoming Tour and our proposed garden photo show. This will not be a professional photographic display but rather a photographic sharing of our gardening experiences. We anticipate that most members will want to display at least one picture of their garden, of a plant or of special feature or of a garden project. It does not have to be a recent photo. It can be displayed in any way you like from an enlarge photo mounted with matting and frame, to a series of photos, to photo place mats... you be the creative one. It should be a fun event designed to involve all members. You don’t have to have taken the photo yourself or it does not have to even be your own garden. It can be local public gardens or even our native plants.