Give clematic flowers room to open fully
Dear Helen: I have a young Mrs. N. Thompson clematis vine growing in a container, trained against a trellis. I’d like to know how to manage it. The vine produced a few large, spectacular blooms this month.
K.G. Mrs. N. Thompson blooms are dramatic in deep violet purple with a red bar down the centre of each sepal. It is similar in flowering pattern to the popular pink and carmine Nelly Moser.
These clematis vines give a heavy flush of flowers in May and June on the previous year’s growth, followed by another, smaller flush of bloom in September on stems produced in the current year.
Once the June flowers have faded, trim the stems that bore them back lightly and monitor new stems as they develop. These new stems will bear late summer flowers and also the main flush of bloom next year, in late spring. Direct their growth to keep them well enough spaced on their support to allow for the flowers to open well and create a full display. Thin some of them out if necessary.
In late February or early March, prune only to remove dead and weak growth. Follow the late winter tidying with a top dressing using a nourishing compost. Make sure the soil in the container drains freely of excess moisture.
Mrs. N. Thompson is a compact clematis, suited for container cultivation. The flowers are good for cutting.
Dear Helen: Our garden is infested with goutweed. Do you have any advice on dealing with it?
F.B.
Goutweed (Aegopodium, bishop’s weed) is a member of the carrot family, to which dill, parsley, parsnip and fennel belong. All these plants bear tiny flowers in a broad, flat cluster called an umbel.
The form of goutweed usually seen has cream and green variegated leaves. I know it well, after acquiring a plant decades ago. It is still not controlled in my garden, because the plants have grown into a large rock pile that I’m not willing to pull apart to get at the plants.
This is a very invasive plant, one that should never be grown except in a container. Even then, the plants should not be allowed to flower and set seed. That’s the first rule of containment.
The plants spread on underground stems, but are fairly easy to weed out provided the soil is moist and loose. It is important to lift the roots and as much of the attached running stems as possible.
Regular digging and lifting out of the plants, and not letting them go to seed, will eventually eradicate the plants.
Aegopodium is called goutweed and bishop’s weed because it was at one time thought to cure gout -- to which high-living bishops were presumably prone.
Dear Helen: I love this time in the year for all the fresh salad greens in the garden. My issue: As much as I desire it, I have not succeeded in creating a salad that satisfies as a complete meal. Is it possible?
H.F. I’ve heard vegetarian friends voicing the same frustration. And there is no solution that fits all appetites. For me, additions of nuts, seeds, cheese and sometimes fruit create a complete meal. One of my favourite additions to a green salad is the combination of cubed apple, shavings if sweet onion, toasted seeds and walnut halves, and small pieces of feta or goat cheese.
Toasting the nuts and seeds (mainly sunflower and pumpkin) is important. The toasting intensifies their flavours. I place them in a pan and roast at around 275 F for around 20 minutes or until they have a rich taste.
The season and the nature of the greens determine other salad meals. When there is endive and other tart greens in a salad, I’ll add a sweet fruit like halved orange segments or roasted figs along with goat cheese and pecans. In summer, watermelon chunks with feta is pleasant.
This month, I’ve been roasting or frying crisp short lengths of garlic scape for scattering crunchy little garlic chips on salads.
I often top a green salad with caramelized onions and roasted sweet potato cubes along with nuts and seeds.
Topping a salad with freshly grated parmesan cheese adds depth and satisfaction to the meal, especially if a high quality product like Italian Reggiano parmesan.