I had to ask Facebook the name of that plant
Anyone operating a garden business must be smiling, even giddy with joy that summer arrived early this year, coinciding with the peak buying and planting time of late May.
The garden business season is a short one and the weather makes a considerable difference. This year, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen garden centres so busy.
And you only popped in for a flat of petunias? Not long ago it was plants and a bag or two of compost or mulch; now the product line, especially at big box stores, has expanded to include hardscaping materials of every description. No more plain old concrete pavers for that path or patio. Style, colours and shapes rival that of interior floor design, while no flower bed is complete without decorative edging that rivals the content. Need a wall in the garden? Lego landscaping is here to help with tidy blocks that slot into place, and gravel and rocks by the bag or bulk are on the move.
That early jolt of summer has certainly inspired and motivated homeowners to get busy building and creating. After seeing the amount of material that’s being shifted, I can see chiropractors smiling, too.
For me, and others with an established landscape, it’s more about the plants. We may all be happy with the early summer weather, but how are they faring? With enough residual moisture in the soil from spring rains, warm soil and warm nights, existing perennials are loving it, at least for now. All those new plants that are going in can suffer from the heat so be sure to keep them watered, and especially so with hanging baskets. They need to be checked daily at least.
With watering restrictions in place, I’m hoping for rain. If we get enough, and when it’s needed, I’m predicting a good year in the garden and, providing we don’t get a shock of frost, we’ll be eating tomatoes sooner than ever. It will also be a good year for heat-loving peppers.
The heat has been hard on some early blooming plants, quickly finishing off the tulips and daffodils, but everything else is shooting up faster than I can recall their names. It’s always a challenge, and embarrassing when someone asks the name of one. Last week it was a native plant, an early perennial that appears and delights every May. Think I could come up with the name? I stared at it, consulted my garden records, looked in reference books.
In the end I resorted to posting a picture on a Facebook plant identification page. This is one of the wonders of the internet. Within minutes I had the answer, not only the answer, but further discussion of related species and almost an argument over the taxonomic classification with botanists chiming in to declare the genus had been changed. Too much information. The plant in question was shooting star, which should be easy enough for me to remember. The botanical name is Dodecatheon meadia, now apparently reclassified in the primula genus.
Regardless, my plant, which has no idea about its identity, was clearly happy with the weather of late. The foliage is low to the ground with magenta flowers on tall stems. The petals are unusual, swept completely backwards like the tail of a shooting star, the exposed stamens pointing downwards, darting to earth, like me, darting back to the peace of my garden after the madness of marketing.
Phew, that’s been my week in and out of the garden.
See my shooting star online at https://flic.kr/s/aHskykXv6X.
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To chat with local gardeners, or share tips and pics, see Grand Gardeners on Facebook at Grandgardeners.
David Hobson gardens in Waterloo and is happy to answer garden questions, preferably by email: garden@gto.net. Reach him by mail c/o Etcetera, The Record, 160 King St. E. Kitchener, Ont. N2G 4E5