PUTTING THE GARDEN TO BED

Yesterday was a wonderful day to work in the garden. Every warm and sunny day is precious now. As I puttered about the white-throated sparrows sang their autumn song composed of a few faint whistles quite diferent from the spring song of I-love-Ca-na-da,Ca-na-da, Ca-na-da. The autumn song is a faint echo but like many Canadians the white throats will spend the winter in warmer places.

I cleaned pots and boxes and planted the Orienpet lilies deep in a spot near the patio. All summer they grew in a big planter box and produced large flower heads. But as pot plants they were not entirely successful. They leaned this way and that and the blooms were down facing so you could not really see them unless you were close enough to peek under the petals. I have to think what to put into the big cedar box next year.

I see the lavatera is about finished for the year but the tiny lemon gem marigolds bloom magnificantly on. The tall nicotania is really coming into its own now. A spindly plant all summer, it sprang into bloom about a month ago and still carries on. This old fashioned variety sports thin white trumpet shaped flowers. During the summer, I vowed never to plant it again but now I am rethinking.

In spite of he heavy rain of a few days ago, the compost in the black composter was dry. The lid keeps out rain and that does not encourage what we want - i.e. rot. The lid comes off for the season.

A friend in the country cut down her lovely apple tree. Every year it was attacked by a bear who left behind broken branches and no apples. In the city the apples attract the apple maggot fly and in the country, bears.

This year I bought grand apples at the farmers' market, my favourite Saturday destination. And I am not alone. The place is jammed at the opening bell at 8 a.m. I got another basket of blueberries, perhaps the last of an excellent season.

Schizanthus, Nicotania and Pot Shards

The schizanthus germinated sulkily. A few thin stretched sprouts and a couple of tiny ones. Not only does this plant provide a poor germination rate but it germinates unevenly so you don’t know how long to hold it under the dark covers. I wonder why I plant it at all and then I recall the short stocky plants in the garden covered with pink blooms that go on forever. Only the godetica out blooms it.

A small dish slid out of the kitchen cupboard and hit the floor breaking into three or four pieces. Not a problem for the gardener. The china chunks are good for the bottom of pots as are ripped plastic pots and packs, broken ceramic plant pots, shells and largish stones. I never use packing foam or packing peanuts as some garden magazines advise – what a mess in the fall when you clean out the pots! The soil must be thrown away in garbage bags because the foam will not break down in the compost. Small stones and gravel are also not good for the same reason. At the end of the season, I want to be able to tip the pot in the compost and pick out the three of four large drainage shards. When I bought this house twenty years ago there was a mass of garbage piled in the yard including an abandoned toilet. I broke this up, creating great pot shards which I am still using.

The nicotania, which germinated in a six inch pot, is now very crowded and needs to be re-planted in packs. Last night I planted more cilantro, more parsley and the lavatera, another great annual. The variety is called Silver Cup but, contrary to the name, it is pink, The white lavatera is nice but not so floriferous . Lavatera, which looks like a hibiscus or a malva, is the premier annual in the garden in late July and August. It is about a foot high and does not do well in pots. It likes the open garden.

PLANT ON

Today I planted one packet each of nicotania, wave petunias, parsely, rosemary, and hibiscus. All were alike in one respect, each pack had very few seeds, far too few to plant in flats. (I note here that you should never plant different types of seeds in a single flat. Each plant has its own special conditions for germination and growing. Some are quick growers, others laggards. Planting different things in a single flat is a recipe for frustration.)

I fill six inch pots with moist pro mix, plant the seeds as per instructions on the packet and place the entire pot inside a big zip lock and close the top. This bag acts as a moisture and heat retaining dome. The pot does not have to be watered as long as it is in the bag.

Note: no fertilizer is used at any stage so far. I do use a few drops of Damp-Off in a gallon of warm water to mix with the Pro mix.

A note about nicotania. This is a great annual flower and easy to grow, There are dwarf, tall and very tall varieties. Only the tall variety has any scent. There are also great colours – for example Stokes has a lime variety which looks great with the white. It germinates at room temperature and so the plastic bag sits on top of my computer. This year I am trying very tall.

I only planted one pack of Wave petunias. I find them tricky to get started and the seeds are expensive. (50 cents a seed!). I think the white waves look wonderful at the edge of pots. The white is almost luminous. These need heat to germinate and are in my warm back porch.

Hibiscus. This is the fist time I have grown this annual type. I was seduced by the description in the seed catalogue, not the first time this has happened.