HELEN CHESNUT,
Dear Helen: Several times this fall I have visited local garden centres to select springflowering bulbs for planting in patio containers and the garden. Among the displays of bulbs, I came upon “Dutch Iris.” How are these different from other irises? The pictures don’t look like German (bearded) irises.
C.A. Dutch irises have their own special look. The plants are slender and grow to about 60 centimetres tall. The flowers are more delicate and narrow than many irises, in a colour range of mainly yellow, white, blue and purple. They are great favourites of flower arrangers. In the garden, because of their slenderness, Dutch irises are perfect for planting in small groups in spaces between perennials.
Most garden centres usually have a few varieties in the fall, and possibly a Dutch iris mixture. New this year in some garden centres is ‘Symphony,’ a beauty in white and butter yellow.
Dutch irises are deer and squirrel resistant. The plants bloom late in the spring, in May, and often extend the flower bulb season into June.
Dear Helen: I replaced sections of grass in our small James Bay front yard with woolly thyme and a few other types of thymes, and have discovered that they have not grown thickly enough to crowd out weeds. They made a beautiful tapestry to begin with, but soon it became impossible to extricate weeds from the plantings. What ground covers would you suggest to better crowd out most weeds in a location that is part sun and part shade?
A.W. I have had the same problem with woolly thyme. It forms a flat mat over the soil surface that is fairly thick, but not tight-knit and bushy enough to shade and crowd out weeds. I like its soft texture and the grey colouring, though.
I have found that the slightly higher growing, bushy thymes do better as weed controls. Lavender thyme forms dense mats. When the odd dandelion shows through this type of thyme, an asparagus knife-style weeder lifts it out easily without disturbing the planting too much. This tool is a simple, slim metal rod with a sharp, forked end to plunge into the ground and lever upward to dislodge a weed by the root.
A friend recently took me on a tour around the lovely gardens that surround her condominium building. I noticed several beds of young sword ferns that were forming a handsome foliage cover over partly shaded areas. As young ferns, their foliage spread out close to the horizontal. Cutting them down every few years would help to maintain that habit. In order to create a fairly low foliage cover, the ferns in these plantings have been placed fairly close together.
The best weed suppressing ground cover I have grown is bigroot geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum), which quickly forms a solid foliage cover if planted 30 cm apart. I’m gradually pulling up stems from my plantings and inserting them into other places in the garden that I want to turn into lowmaintenance or no-maintenance areas. My largest planting of G. macrorrhizum surrounds a small flowering plum tree. Dwarf daffodils flower above the soft, aromatic leaves in spring and in autumn the planting is dotted with fall crocuses.
G. macrorrhizum grows anywhere, but is not invasive. Plantings can be left untouched for years and are drought tolerant once established. A bonus: Early summer flowers in pink or magenta, and nice fall foliage colouring.
Garden Events
HCP free admission. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today (Wednesday, Oct. 31) admission is free to the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific gardens for anyone in a Halloween costume.
Dahlia meeting. The Victoria Dahlia Society will meet on Thursday, Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m., at The Victorian, 4000 Douglas St. The evening will feature a Tuber Clump Auction of named show quality dahlias. Visitors are welcome.
HCP workshops. The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in Saanich, is offering the following workshops. Register at 250-479-6162. hcp.ca
• Herbs for Women’s Health, Saturday, Nov. 10, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Learn about herbs that nourish women’s bodies. HCP members $60, others $70.
• Working with Live Willow, Saturday, Nov. 10, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn the art of growing a living willow fence using fresh willow, which will root when planted. The woven shoots will grow to form an intricate fence, covered with green leaves in season, on the HCP grounds. Tools will be provided. Members $60, others $70.