LITTLE QUICK FIRE — AND HOPE
Looking back in my weather records at the unusually high and frequent rainfall of last October and November, and the freezing temperatures and snowfalls of December, it’s no wonder that almost none of the crucial autumn cleanup and rehabilitation work in the garden was done. January delivered frozen ground. Deluges and more snow came in February and March. There was rain almost every day in April.
When usable outdoor gardening days finally came, there remained almost all the routine autumn, winter and early spring work still to be done, along with spring planting.
Amidst that stressful telescoping of gardening tasks, I made a decision: to relish every moment of sunshine, to don work shorts and plunge bare knees and hands into the soft, warm soil at every opportunity. After almost three seasons of mainly wretched weather, it was truly a summer of rebirth for gardeners.
My hopes now are for a long and pleasant autumn, a mild winter, an early spring, and a garden well prepared for the next growing season. Meanwhile, the summer garden was blessed with delights for which to be grateful.
Little Quick Fire. A bed that extends the length of my front fence poses challenges (hot sun, tree roots) for all but the most rugged plants such as spireas, border sedums, an Aztec Pearl choisya, and summer zinnias, marigold and cosmos.
The most recent trial plants in the bed are a few Hydrangea paniculata plants, the very hardy kind I used to grow in my Okanagan gardens. Unlike the more commonly grown bigleaf hydrangeas (H. macrophylla), which bloom on buds formed the previous year, Paniculatas flower on new (the current season’s) growth. Flower buds begin to form as new growth develops in the spring.
I remember cutting H. paniculata shrubs back to around 30 cm in spring, for compact, sturdy plants to bear the large flower heads, but they can be cut back less drastically if taller plants are desired.
Of these plants, it was ‘Little Quick Fire’ that drew the greatest admiration this summer. The shrub has been amazingly beautiful since it began producing blooms in June. The flower heads start out pure white and turn very gradually to a dusky pink.
Little Quick Fire is compact, growing 90 to 150 cm tall and wide. My plant stayed at 90 cm tall and wide, filled with flower heads, for most of the summer. In August, it developed two taller stems that now bear even larger flower heads just starting to take on pink tones. For its ease of care and summer-long beauty, this is a small shrub to appreciate, in garden beds or containers.
Redskin. When the T&T Seeds catalogue arrived late last November, I was surprised to see among the sweet peppers a compact variety called Redskin — a pepper I’d grown years ago in pots. I ordered the seeds, which produced fine, sturdy transplants. Four of them in a 35-cm wide patio pot have produced a beautiful and productive display of sweet, juicy, thick-walled red peppers, up to five at a time on each 25-cm tall, bushy plant. The peppers are blocky, and around 10 cm long. Great for patio, balcony and deck gardens.
Next year I’ll be growing Redskin again, as well as T&T’s companion dwarf pepper. Mohawk produces orange-yellow bell peppers on similar plants.
A very Happy Thanksgiving to all. May your weekend be filled with family, friends, and tables resplendent with colourful garden foods.
GARDEN EVENTS
Floral arts fall show. The Victoria Floral Artists Guild invites the public to their 2017 Fall Show titled Artists Reflected on Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Garth Homer Centre, 813 Darwin Ave. The free show, which will follow an annual general meeting, will feature a number of the guild’s floral artists creating designs that interpret the colours, textures, lines and emotional energy of a painting or sculpture.
Qualicum meeting. The Qualicum Beach Garden Club meets Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Q.B. Civic Centre. Amy Robson, from Nature’s Choice Design landscape business, will talk about putting your garden to bed. Non-member drop-in fee is $3. Annual club membership cost is $15.