HELEN CHESNUT,
As notes from garden clubs come in daily with information on meetings, shows and sales, they often include personal comments on the writer’s own garden.
A notice from a Nanaimo club, written before last month’s snow and frost, included this: “Isn’t it lovely having blooms coming on madly now? We have Sarcococca pouring scent into the garden along with fragrant violets, at least on warmer days.”
Another email expressed delight in the wee early flower bulbs — crocuses, dwarf irises, snowdrops and winter aconites.
Then, soon after one of my columns featured plants that add interest to the winter landscape, an email about an upcoming event on Quadra Island added this: “For winter colour in the garden, my favourite is coral bark maple. If it catches the morning sun, it glows.”
Vegetable favourites. Among reader responses to a column listing some of my most reliable and productive vegetable varieties, Dannie Carsen wrote with a list of “Bill’s Picks,” — Bill Morgan being a neighbour in Brentwood Bay. Of Bill, Dannie says: “He’s my gardening guru. We share notes and ideas on what to plant.”
Dannie adds: “I’m a convert to these varieties. We have both convinced many gardeners in Brentwood Bay to grow them.” Here they are, with Dannie’s descriptions. I’ve added seed sources using the catalogues I have. You’ll find further sources by visiting seeds.ca and clicking on “Find Canadian Seeds.”
Bill’s Picks
• Fortex pole bean: This is a hardy French heirloom with exceptional flavour that we plant in pots in April for transplanting outside under cover in May and beans to eat in late June or early July. The beans are tender even when 30 cm long. West Coast Seeds (WCS). • Cascadia snap pea: Developed for West Coast conditions, this is a superior producer. Bill plants them four or five times a season, two weeks apart at intervals until August. WCS (suggests using twigs to support the short vines); Stokes Seeds; Salt Spring Seeds; William Dam (says this is the best variety in summer heat). • Touchstone Gold beet: This has excellent flavour and delectable tops that are tender and tasty even in late summer. Stokes; Dam; WCS (calls this the “ultimate golden beet . . . belongs in every foodie’s garden.” • May Queen butter lettuce: You can plant this tender and delicious lettuce all year in our climate, with cover in winter. It grows quickly to form a 30-cm head with rosy tinges. Chiltern Seeds. Some sources list this variety as Queen of May or Reine de Mai.
Garden Events
HCP events. The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in Saanich, is hosting the following. Details at hcp.ca. • Hellebore Sunday, 12 to 3 p.m. Hellebores and their companion plants for sale, master gardeners on site, free admission to the gardens. • Soil Basics for the Home Gardener workshop, March 11, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Learn about soil types, organic matter, and living organisms in the soil. HCP members $35, others $40. Register at 250-479-6162. Seedy in Nanaimo. Nanaimo’s Seedy Sunday tomorrow, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Nanaimo District Secondary School, 355 Wakesiah Ave. will include a gardeners’ seed swap, more than 65 exhibitors, sales of local seeds, seedlings, plants, small fruits and succulents, and nine workshops on seeds and seeding, composting, food growing and more. Admission $3, Children under-12 free. Gordon Head meeting. The Gordon Head Garden Club will meet on Monday at 7 p.m. in Gordon Head United Church, 4201 Tyndall Ave. in Saanich. Gordon MacKay of Alba Plants will present Fruit Tree Pruning and Care. Visitors are welcome. No charge. VHS meeting. The Victoria Horticultural Society will meet on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Garth Homer Centre, 813 Darwin Ave. Jeff de Jong will speak about Designing and Landscaping Your Garden for those planning a new garden or thinking about a redesign. The pre-meeting workshop at 6:30 will feature Charlotte Trim presenting Perfect Planting for a Healthy Tree.