ANNUAL CHECKUP
I had my annual checkup. No, not at the doctor, at William Dam Seeds.
On Highway 8 in West Flamborough they have a trial garden full of flowers and herbs, and it’s blooming intensely. We visited on Sunday; the store was closed and the only other creature there was Nelson the cat, pretending to be a guard dog.
After looking at the rows of flowers, I came to a couple of conclusions: I blew it, and bring back spring so I can try again.
William Dam sells flower and vegetable seeds, some standard and some unusual.
If you want something out of the ordinary, then ordering seeds is the path to greatness.
Where to start? How about a cosmos called Cupcake Blush? I spotted it among a row of cosmos and it’s about as girlie as you can get, with pale pink petals shaped like a cupcake wrapper. Tall and willowy, it’s more intricate and lacy than standard cosmos. The seeds sold out fast when the William Dam catalogue came off the press in the spring. They are pretty sure a new supply will arrive for next year’s season.
Cosmos in all its forms are a happy, carefree annual and one of the easiest to start from seed directly sown in the garden. I have but one measly plant; I should have planted more.
The sturdy and stunning annual rudbeckia called Prairie Sun is a multiple award winner and noted for heat and drought tolerance. In the trial garden, it was hard to miss with its glowing gold colour. An excellent cut flower and long bloomer, it’s at home in garden beds or containers.
Like the rudbeckia and cosmos, pretty much everything looked lush in the trial beds and the reason is rain.
“We had rain when we needed it,” said Connie Dam-Byl. “Everything is growing to tropical size.”
Dam-Byl is in charge of flower seeds and the flower trial gardens at William Dam (www.damseeds.ca). Though vegetable seed sales dominate at the 69-year-old company, the increased interest in flowers to attract and nurture bees and butterflies is strong, she said.
“There’s growing interest too in rustic flowers and cut flowers, ones that look at home in a cottage garden.”
Old-fashioned and flashy zinnias check all the right boxes; they are pollinator friendly, easy to start from seed and peak in the
hottest parts of summer. They were blooming in vibrant masses in the trial gardens.
Many of us, whether we want them or not, have Queen Anne’s Lace blooming in our gardens. At William Dam, I saw a lovely mimic called Ammi majus, Queen of Africa. The flowers are at the top of tall stems of feathery foliage. Florists like it for its straight, strong stems.
If you’re looking for fireworks in your garden, there’s a celosia called Sunday Orange Imp that’s a standout. Blooming from June to frost in big, bushy bunches, it looks like it’s a few degrees away from ignition.
The heat and rain have also been kind to the vegetable trial gardens — and while pests this year have not been extraordinary, the Japanese beetles are persistent.
“We just have to hand pick them off the plants,” said DamByl. “I use basil as my trap plant.”
Walking through the trial garden reminded me to try growing the hyacinth bean vine called Dolichos lablab again, and maybe a little clutch of ornamental chili peppers, like the ones I saw at William Dam called Numex Easter. The sunflowers were tempting, but in these parts end up on the groundhog buffet.
Mark it on the calendar for next year: order seeds, don’t forget to plant them and enjoy.