DELICIOUS IDEAS FOR THE GARDEN
Spring is here, which means it’s time for gardeners to take up their trowels and haul out their hedge trimmers. But before digging in for another gardening season, why not consult an expert who can help expand your blooming and magnify your blossoms?
Gardening guru Niki Jabbour will speak at the Edmonton Horticultural Society’s monthly meeting on April 25, taking place at the Central Lions Senior Citizens Recreation Centre, located at 11113 113 Street. Jabbour’s presentation, entitled Groundbreaking Food Gardens, shares the same name as her most recent book. She aims to educate and inspire, showcasing concepts like vertical growing, container gardening, intensive planting, and year-round harvesting.
“I’m going to have some inspiring ideas to share, along with gorgeous photos and a lot of ideas about how gardens can be more productive,” Jabbour said. “Whether you only have patio to grow on, or you have sprawling in-ground space, we all want gardens to be beautiful and productive. I’ll focus on getting more out of your space, whatever it might be, and techniques to help extend the growing season into the winter.”
FOCUSING ON FOOD
Jabbour notes that rising food prices during the winter have boosted interest in vegetable gardening — an area that she specializes in. She won the 2012 American Horticultural Society Book Award for her book, The Year Round Vegetable Gardener.
“For the last 10 years my focus has been food gardening,” Jabbour said. “I’ll address saving money by growing high-yield and high-value crops. If you’re looking for ways to cut costs, I’ll discuss what you can grow to see the most savings.”
Productivity is an important aspect of food gardens, although some careful planning can give them the same visual appeal as an ornamental garden. In fact, combining different elements in the same container or in-ground plot can help boost your garden’s beauty and productivity.
“There’s nothing like the sight of a blooming garden with different colours,” Jabbour said. “But food gardens don’t just contain edibles. I also use a lot of flowers and herbs to bring pollinators and bees into your garden, because if you have draw those pollinators into your garden you’re going to have a bigger harvest.”
CONTAINER CREATIONS
Earlier in the day, Jabbour will be appear at Salisbury Greenhouse at 2 p.m., hosting a demonstration and creating three edible planters. Anyone interested in attending the afternoon session can sign up at www.salisburygreenhouse.com or the Edmonton Horticultural Society at officeadmin@edmontonhort.com. The planters will be raffled off at the evening event, with tickets available for $4 each or three for $10. All proceeds will benefit the Edmonton Horticultural Society.
Each of the planters will have a different edible theme. The “cocktail garden” planter will feature plants that enhance the taste and the look of a drink, the “pollinatorfriendly food and flower garden” planter will highlight contrasting elements that draw helpful bees, and the “shady food garden” planter will contain a variety of nutritious shade-tolerant plants.
“Every gardener deals with issues like shade and poor soil,” Jabbour said. “I’ll look at how you can avoid poor soil by going to container or raised beds. Also, shade impacts each of us in different ways, so we’ll look at certain edibles that will handle poor shade conditions better than others.”
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., Jabbour’s presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free for EHS members, $10 for non-members. Based in Halifax, Jabbour was recognized by the Garden Writers Association in September 2015 for her work on The Weekend Gardener radio show. She’s a regular magazine contributor to Fine Gardening, Birds & Blooms, Horticulture, and Garden Making, and is a founding member of www. savvygardening.com.