Lilies here and lilies there. On Matthews Street a hedge of lilies, at the Magnus Theatre garden, a swath of orange, white and red lilies, on High Street, a brassy bed of hot coloured lilies. Even the old fashioned tiger lily is happily blooming on Secord Street. If we keep up our love affair with Asiatic lilies, we will rival Neepawa, Manitoba, the Lily Capital of Canada. Neepawa is awash in lilies in the summer and a great place to stop if you are driving through.
Wild and lovely. Want to see a real wild flower garden? Drive along Banning Street. On the western slopes the wild grasses and wild flowers create a changing canvas. Right now, the purple campanula is in bloom but the golden rod is in the wings. The grasses are long and billowy, reminding me of the many vacant lots in the Thunder Bay of my childhood.
These slopes are steep, too dangerous to cut with a mower. In other years they have been scythed creating an unsightly stubble. They are much more lovely left alone.
Midsummer Garden A pile of top soil, a few trees and tiny planted areas combine to start a new public garden. Stroll behind the Hoito on Secord Street and see the beginnings of the Midsummer Garden on land owned by the Hoito. Once slated for parking, the area will eventually beautify the Bay Street area. A path of stepping stones will meander through. The organizers are seeking perennials. If you are dividing your plants and want to donate, you can contact the co-ordinator: Taina Maki Chahal, at tainacee@yahoo.com
Tip. Now is the time to divide the Siberian iris. (see past post on how Martha Steward divides an iris and the Thunder Bay response).
Showing posts with label lilies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lilies. Show all posts
Monday, 4 August 2008
Thursday, 15 May 2008
COMPOST AND LILIES
Some tips on compost from friends and readers.
Mulching the leaves with a mulching mower or a shredder makes the compost work better.
Place leaves in black plastic garbage bags and leave them for two years. When you open the bags, they are pretty well composted. Add to pile.
Put big sticks upright into the compost in the fall and it will not freeze as solidly.
Use a compost mixer to stir up the compost in the fall and it will not freeze.
General agreement that the black composters are not very good.
And thanks for this tip re: my frozen compost. Let the hose trickle for a couple of hours and that should help unfreeze the compost pile. I am going to try this today.
More tips welcome.
LILIES
Even though the spring has been cold and wet so far, I am tempting fate today because I'll start planting today. First the bulbs, then the perennials and finally, next weekend, the annuals. Lastly the vegetable plants.
I have three sorts of bulbs: lilies, acidanthera and crocosmia (also called montbretia). I started all these bulbs inside two weeks ago and all have put out a tiny tip. Six of the lilies will go in big pots and get replanted in the garden in late August. The crocosmia and the acidanthera will mainly go into pots. Left overs go directly into the garden. The acidanthera is a one-off. It will not over winter outside and I have no luck carrying it over inside. I grow it for its scent.
Lilies are a miracle of beauty. The best kind for Thunder Bay are the Asiatics. The oriental lilies do not winter well in the garden although some people dig them up and winter them inside. T&T Seeds offer a hardy trumpet lily which winters well. The martagons are marvelous too but very slow and expensive - maybe next year.
Lilies, like tulips, have to be planted deep, deep. You have to get them down eight inches at least. I'll put some MYKE bulb granules in the planting hole.
However, I have a new worry. Those big black squirrels which had invaded Thunder Bay have sometimes shown up in my yard. I have heard that in southern Ontario, they dig up tulip bulbs and so I worry about lilies. The problem with squirrels in the city is the lack of predators. No wolves, hawks, foxes or coyotes to keep down the numbers as in the wild. So they thrive. In the Toronto area, they are as numerous and pesky as black flies.
Last summer, a squirrel invaded my back shed. I bought a product at Canada Tire called Critter Ridder and sprinkled it everywhere and it worked! Great item to have on hand because it repels skunks too. But watch out Thunder Bay. One of these days, racoons will show up in numbers. They were seen in the city last summer.
Mulching the leaves with a mulching mower or a shredder makes the compost work better.
Place leaves in black plastic garbage bags and leave them for two years. When you open the bags, they are pretty well composted. Add to pile.
Put big sticks upright into the compost in the fall and it will not freeze as solidly.
Use a compost mixer to stir up the compost in the fall and it will not freeze.
General agreement that the black composters are not very good.
And thanks for this tip re: my frozen compost. Let the hose trickle for a couple of hours and that should help unfreeze the compost pile. I am going to try this today.
More tips welcome.
LILIES
Even though the spring has been cold and wet so far, I am tempting fate today because I'll start planting today. First the bulbs, then the perennials and finally, next weekend, the annuals. Lastly the vegetable plants.
I have three sorts of bulbs: lilies, acidanthera and crocosmia (also called montbretia). I started all these bulbs inside two weeks ago and all have put out a tiny tip. Six of the lilies will go in big pots and get replanted in the garden in late August. The crocosmia and the acidanthera will mainly go into pots. Left overs go directly into the garden. The acidanthera is a one-off. It will not over winter outside and I have no luck carrying it over inside. I grow it for its scent.
Lilies are a miracle of beauty. The best kind for Thunder Bay are the Asiatics. The oriental lilies do not winter well in the garden although some people dig them up and winter them inside. T&T Seeds offer a hardy trumpet lily which winters well. The martagons are marvelous too but very slow and expensive - maybe next year.
Lilies, like tulips, have to be planted deep, deep. You have to get them down eight inches at least. I'll put some MYKE bulb granules in the planting hole.
However, I have a new worry. Those big black squirrels which had invaded Thunder Bay have sometimes shown up in my yard. I have heard that in southern Ontario, they dig up tulip bulbs and so I worry about lilies. The problem with squirrels in the city is the lack of predators. No wolves, hawks, foxes or coyotes to keep down the numbers as in the wild. So they thrive. In the Toronto area, they are as numerous and pesky as black flies.
Last summer, a squirrel invaded my back shed. I bought a product at Canada Tire called Critter Ridder and sprinkled it everywhere and it worked! Great item to have on hand because it repels skunks too. But watch out Thunder Bay. One of these days, racoons will show up in numbers. They were seen in the city last summer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
