Master gardeners: fall is the new spring
Buy plants from the experts next Saturday
Labour Day weekend marks the official end of summer: days are noticeable shorter, kids are heading back to school, baskets of local produce fill the markets, some might say it’s time to pack up the flip-flops, bathing suits and white pants.
Some might also claim it’s time to pack up the garden — Niagara’s master gardeners don’t agree — to the master gardeners, fall is the new spring.
This week I met with Barb and Alan Large, Diana Jones and John MacLean to learn about the Master Gardener’s Annual Plant Sale on Saturday, Sept. 8, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. Their advice for novice and experienced gardeners alike? Fall is a good time to plant.
Pull up a chair and join us for a round table discussion on the benefits of gardening in the fall. Let me start by introducing you to our panel: Barb and Alan Large are hosting tonight’s get-together on their deck — it’s a great vantage point to overlook their beautiful garden, filled with mature trees, perennials, roses, shrubs and vines. Barb, a master gardener since 2001, has co-ordinated the master gardeners plant sale since it’s inception nine years ago, her husband Al, humbly adds he’s a master gardener assistant helping out wherever he can.
“I was a tool and die maker in my former life,” he says with a smile, “I sharpen tools for people at the sale.” Last year he started sharpening tools and 8:30 and worked right up to closing time. Proceeds from the tool sharpening are donated to the master gardeners.
Diane Jones is in her 16th year as a master gardener. She helps with setting up and collaborates on different projects. Recently, she’s been busy dividing and potting up plants for the sale. “Our members are asked to pot up 10 plants each for the sale, and most bring more.”
That adds up to some 200 plants, or more, for the sale — think generous, mature clumps of reliable, easy care perennials such as her Barbara
Frum daylily with large purple flowers with a yellow eye.
John MacLean, salesperson with Maple Leaf Nurseries in Vineland, joined master gardeners in Toronto before transferring to the Niagara group in 2012.
“When I worked at a garden centre, I was the go-to person to answer gardening questions, but where does the ‘expert’ go to find answers? They go to the master gardeners, you can always find someone who knows more than you do.”
The consensus around the table: Fall is a good time to plant.
“People seem to think that the fall is not a good time to plant, but the ground is warm and plants settle in quickly,” according to Barb. John agrees, and adds, “If you’re like me, I’m busy shipping in the spring and don’t have time to garden, I might have two weekends to get things done, by mid-summer, it’s too hot and you don’t really feel like doing much.”
And, the garden may have filled in at this point. “Fall is usually a little quieter for people, they have a second chance to do the jobs they didn’t have time to do in the spring. Garden renovation, as we were taught, are always undertaken in the fall. The rains are more predictable, you’re not going to get a snap back to cold frosty weather, you might get an early onset of cold weather, but lately, that’s just not happening.”
Another big advantage of planting in the fall — there are some great bargains to be had. If you are putting in a large garden, you can save some money. The group offers very good plants at ‘give-away’ prices, all grown by master gardeners.
“You are getting a large plant for the price of a small one, ”says Diane.
The group will be offering spring bulbs, such as tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and fritillaria for sale along with garlic.
“You plant garlic in the fall, it’s so easy, you don’t have to do anything with it, just put it in,” Diane says. “Ontario garlic sells for $7.99 a pound at the grocery store, you can save money by growing your own.”
You will find perennials such as hosta, perennial sage, daylily, coneflower, coreopsis, hellebore, beebalm and sedum, at the sale. Woody shrubs like buddleia, tiger eye sumac, honeysuckle and caryopteris are always popular, along with raspberry and rhubarb plants.
“What you are trying to do with perennials is preserve the root mass, at this time of the year, the top growth is less important,” John explains.
The sale is arranged with the plants in alphabetical order, as you will often see them at a garden centre. Shrubs and trees in one area, grasses in another. Everything is labelled with common and botanical names, sun or shade preference, colour, size. If in doubt, just look for the green aprons — the master gardeners will be happy to offer advice. The sale also includes generous donations from Valleybrook Gardens and Maple Leaf Nurseries.
Barb says, “Vineland Research and Innovation Centre is very generous as well, they let us have a room and free parking.”
If you aren’t ready to plant your purchases now, what should you do?
“Plants (pot and all) can be heeled into the garden (like the vegetable garden) until you are ready to plant.”
Along with the master gardeners’ plant sale, Start Me Up Niagara has a 0.8-hectare plot at the Vineland Station. It will be selling produce again this year.
“Last year, they had several tables of fresh vegetables for sale just outside the door,” Barb says. “People were quite happy with that.”
Money raised by the plant sale helps to fund scholarships.
“We pay for one seminar for new master gardeners. Our mandate is to educate, the money goes back into the community for projects like the hospice garden and a raised herb garden for their chef,” Barb says.