Vanilla leaf prized for dried leaves’ scent
Garden centres that carry native plants are possible source
Dear Helen: Over a year ago you wrote about vanilla leaf, which I have discovered in wild areas near my home. I love the smell of the leaves as they dry and would like to have some in the garden. I don’t want to take from the wild. Where can I buy plants? S.B.
If vanilla leaf (Achlys triphylla, deer foot, sweet-afterdeath) is found in wild areas nearby, chances are it will grow in gardens adjacent to these areas. That’s how I have it on my property, which is carved out of forest. Why not knock on a few doors? People are usually happy to share plants.
Otherwise, garden centres that carry native plants are possible sources. Make a few phone calls. A mail order source is Fraser’s Thimble Farms on Salt Spring Island (thimblefarms.com).
Slender white flower spikes began appearing on a bright green carpeting of vanilla leaf in a sunny corner of the garden early in the month. Though the plants are recommended for moist, shaded sites, none of my three patches are watered and two are in full sun. Plantings spread by slender underground rhizomes, and are best placed in garden corners. I’ve seen vanilla leaf recommended as an underplanting for lilies in groups of rhododendrons.
The vanilla-like fragrance of the dried leaves inspired the common name. Hung in bunches indoors to dry, vanilla leaf was traditionally used to perfume homes and to repel flies and mosquitoes.
Dear Helen: I took note of your recent directions on preparing plots for planting and on natural-source fertilizers. Two followup questions: Where can I buy kelp meal and soft rock phosphate? Under what name(s) will I find a type of lime that is all calcium, that is without the magnesium that is present in dolomite lime?
B.F. Kelp meal and soft rock phosphate are valued as sources of many minerals and micronutrients needed for plant and human health. Soft rock phosphate supplies the major nutrient phosphorus and kelp meal is high in potassium. They can be combined with natural nitrogen sources such as seed and blood meals for a balanced fertilizer.
The three numbers on fertilizer labels indicate the “major” nutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) contents in that order: N-P-K.
To find garden outlets with natural-source fertilizers, phone a few and specify the materials you want. I find some at my local Buckerfield’s and, this year, at one nursery nearby, because of new people in charge of ordering fertilizers who have a special interest in organic growing methods. Integrity Sales in Saanichton has organic products.
The lime issue: To avoid a magnesium overload in the soil from constant use only of dolomite lime, which has magnesium as well as calcium, it is recommended to use dolomite either alternately or mixed with an all-calcium lime. For that I use Calcium carbonate, sold also under names like “marking lime” or “high calcium lime.” Before I buy a bag, I always check for the “Calcium carbonate” on the label, because some other “high calcium” lime products are caustic and harmful to soil organisms. I’ve bought Calcium carbonate at both Buckerfield’s and Shar-Kare.