|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Volume:12 Issue 10 Web site address: www.squamishgardeners.com Date: Nov 2009 |
|||
|
Letter from the Editor: "Down the Garden Path" by Ellen Grant Many years ago I fell in love with a garden on the north shore. It was featured in magazines and the newspaper and even on T.V. It had an oriental theme and had several water features and rockeries, exotic plants, a wisteria covered patio with a trout stream gurgling along one side and imported landscaping materials from around the world. The owner said he would rather invest in his home than fancy cars or trips to far flung places. Well that was then but I have just heard that he has redone the whole garden. Out are all the many special plants that took so much effort to maintain or that were not suited to our climate. Out went the trout stream that just fed the raccoons and the herons. Gone are the many beds of annual |
||
Halloween slipped past in a spooky mist lighted by an icy full moon that turned the roadway to silver. It seemed like from an illustration for Noyes's Highwayman or Washington Irving's Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. What a special night for the ghosts and goblins to fill the neighbourhood! And now the color scheme turns from orange to blood red as we prepare for Remembrance Day, from pumpkins to poppies. The two brightest colours we use to light up perhaps the dullest days of the whole year. Recently I overheard another gardener state that they hate orange in their garden and were glad to get rid of a particularly hued plant. It is true that strong pure colours are sometimes hard to blend in with the rest of the landscape. However if you plant flowers that are opposite on the colour wheel, the orange will be balanced and not so overpowering. Another trick is to use varying tones of a colour to provide a more subtle blending that is not so jarring to the eye. Sometimes flowers that are vividly hued can be used effectively to draw the eye to garden features that you want to enhance. Then, like a neon direction sign, the bright colours direct the viewer attention. Massed together as in the display of autumn leaves, bright rainbows of the garden display can brighten the spirits of both us and our neighbours on dull days as the season finally is put to rest under a blanket of white. Popular floral colours change just as the fashions in home décor or clothing change or music choices or movies. Every gardener is master of their own space and should decide what is comfortable for them.
|
Page 2 Newsletter |
|
Now that the majority of leaves have left their perches on my many, probably way too many, trees and shrubs and will spend the winter in piles along my growing berms, I can now look at the skeletal design of my yard. This means not only the hard landscape, walkways, buildings, fences, arches, beds, etc but also the evergreen structure and tree forms that will be the basic scenery for the next four or five months. We used to put the garden to bed in October and forget about it until March but now the emphasis is year round enjoyment of our home environment. Your palms and banana trees may be decorated with holiday lights to raise the temperature by a few degrees and your door side planters may have heuchera and hardy grasses replacing geraniums and petunias. Winter is the time to assess your pruning priorities too. Most flowering trees and shrubs are pruned immediately after blooms to ensure adequate time for the plants to recover and produce buds for the following year. Plants that bloom late in the season, September to December are usually pruned from mid-February to Easter for the same reason. Fruit and berry bearing trees and shrubs are also pruned at that time. A recent article I read recommended that magnolias and other suckering plants should benefit occasionally from a late fall or winter trimming as the lush new growth prevents |
flowers and trees that required endless pruning. In their place he has installed a landscape dominated by rocks and gravel. He has kept only a few trees and shrubs to give a little softness and floral accents. The perennials are in manageable clumps and are hardy. A few goldfish still hide under the water plants but most have given way to native frogs, toads and salamanders. It is still an oriental style retreat but it is updated and no longer an over-grown dream. And, best of all, the owner loves it! I also remember the garden of Arthur Erikson, the Canadian architect, in Point Grey. It too was designed with the best of intentions, to provide a quiet refuse for the owner. But business commitments, lack of incentive and the passage of time left the garden in a sad state until it seemed that a developer was about to take over the property and destroy what had once been a beautiful, bamboo walled hideaway for a busy man.
The “friends of the garden” saved the land and restored the garden. It is a mature image of the original plan with the foliage trimmed and maintained. If you every get an opportunity to visit it the garden is open to visitors on Thursday afternoons in the summer. Gardens and gardeners change, just as the seasons change. Don't be intimidated by the whole idea of revamping your landscape, perhaps bit by bit or in one huge adventure.
|
Page 3 Newsletter |
|
There are many more tasks that can fill our days as the darkness of the winter solstice approaches. Once again may I direct you to the web site of the Natural Gardener: www.thenatural-gardener.com. It contains a great newsletter that highlights chores and tasks for the lower mainland gardener. A special reminder to composers: Save your leaves in an old garbage can to add to your compose about 7to1 with the garden waste for an odor free pile that breaks down quickly and provides the right home for worms. Also it is time to repot your Christmas blooming bulbs and plants and place them in a bright light area of your home. If you don’t have any, buy some now for Christmas decorations. The Natural Gardener’s Newsletter also has directions on how to keep your indoor forced paperwhites from growing long stems that cause the flowers to fall over-feed them spirits (gin, vodka, rye etc.) Even as the colours fade from the golden waterfall of azalea leaves that seems to flow into my pond to the beige and grey of the ferns and grasses, there is always beauty and joy to discover in the garden. My six year old granddaughter and I wandered the yard recently collecting bits of dried plants for a collage to frame for the kitchen wall. We concentrated on the more muted shades and gathered seed pods, leaves, and even bark from the birch tree. Three tiny burgundy leaves were the only touches of bright colour that was added. Tehya decided to make a silver moon with a ring of golden beads adorning it to represent the cooler autumn moon and the rest of the family added little mushroom shapes to represent themselves in our picture. We repeat this process several times a year with the garden and the seasons being the inspiration for some artistic or craft project. It is a great way to make a walk around the garden educational, creative and generation-spanning. |
the gardener from assessing the form and shape of the tree after it has bloomed. Other trees and shrubs could also do with some shaping when the leaves have left the branches exposed. You will lose some of the next season's blooms but benefit in having a more balanced and productive plant and the beauty of your garden will be enhanced during the winter months when the "bones" of the yard are on public view.
|
Page 4 Newsletter |
|
This creative picture reminds me to remind members that we will be featuring photography in the garden at our 2010 Garden Tour. There is a wide variety of subjects you could try from plant portraits to groups of four season photos, garden structures, activities in the garden, steps to building something in the garden, night photography, container gardens and so on. Involve your family: recruit your friends: enlist your neighbours. Frame one photo , make an album, produce a slide show or a Power Point presentation, you can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. Since November 16th is our election of executive meeting and it looks like most of the positions have sparked some interest from some of the newer members, we will be able to elect an active and varied group to steer us through 2010. It is always nice to get new ideas and energetic members helping to move the club in new directions. A balance between the experienced members who know the ropes and the newer group is always the sign of a healthy club. Remember to sign up for the wreaths at the next meeting if you have not already done so. December 7th is our annual Christmas gathering at the Brackendale Art Gallery. Bring decorations for your wreath and holiday treats. Dorte’s delicious apple cider is on the house but other drinks are available at the usual charge. Even if you are not decorating a wreath, bring your own craft or just join us for the wonderful holiday atmosphere. What a lovely way to welcome the season! There will not be a December newsletter so may I wish you all a great Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year. |
I have noticed that many stores now have do-it-yourself photo cropping and enhancing so you don’t even need your own computer to achieve great results. I have even seen photos reproduced on canvas to make them appear like oil paintings. Remember, this is not a contest or competition. It is a sharing of what you find rewarding in your garden without having to invite anyone beyond the garden gate. Gardening is the fastest growing, most enjoyed leisure time activity and everyone has a different reason for participating. Picture yours!
|
Page 5 Newsletter |
|
If you have some of those “Why?” or “How Come?” questions to ask please bring your queries to our November meeting. Dave has promised to throw open the meeting to try to get answers to some of those perplexing gardening items that pop up as you read articles or try to decipher instructions. Webmaster note: This picture is a very appropriate one for this Remembrance Month (thanks Ellen). |
Dave Colwell will present a slide show illustrating the scientific basis of some of the common garden practices. By looking into the structure and basic needs of plants, we might better understand what to do with them and why we should do it. He emphasises that he is no expert and only seeks to share a slightly different point of view.