It’s actually sunny right now, but still not as warm as it should be for the middle of May.
Everything is late it seems, but for those of us who still haven’t got all our seeds planted, it’s probably a blessing. I hesitate to recommend that you can now put your seedling broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and squashes out in the open vegetable garden, unless you are going to cover them at night.
I was talking to someone who lives in Dean Park who had frost last night. It’s positively scary, but without a doubt we’ll have temperatures in the 20s within a week, so be prepared. The season of watering is upon us (almost).
As a bit of a change I’d like to talk to you about a couple of my very favourite shrubs, Pieris and Choisya ternata.
The Pieris this year are spectacular, especially the one called Mountain fire, which has brilliant pink new foliage. This, as well as the lovely panicles of white fragrant blossoms, are now pretty well past. This shrub is evergreen, so there are no bare branches during the winter. Pieris need to be treated much like rhododendrons, with a somewhat acid soil, and do best in a semi-shaded location, but need some sun to bring out the brilliant colour of new growth. It is considered wise to avoid dry areas, and spots where it is subject to cold winds, but, oh, it is a lovely plant.
Another shrub that is (in my eyes) a winner is the Choisya ternata which has highly fragrant blossoms and the most interesting leaves which have a distinctive fragrance when rubbed between the finger and thumb. This shrub gets about four feet tall and four feet wide, but flowers twice a year, profusely in spring and sparsely in late summer.
I planted two of these beauties on Melissa Street, one at the start of the walk to the front door where its perfume would put a visitor in a happy frame of mind as he/she approached the door, (especially affective with bill collectors) and another at the far end of the house where I could pick small branches of flowers without worrying too much about ruining its shape.
Now is the time to plant all vegetable seeds, and the first warm day your seedling squash, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc. If it is a hot day put something to shade them (a sheet of newspaper, with a stick threaded through, works well, but one has to be aware of wind or your yard, and the neighbours, will be decorated with the latest news.)
A couple of days in the shade should be enough for plants to establish themselves in their new homes and you can remove the shades, or wet them and use them as mulch (cover them with soil to hold them firmly where they belong.)
The Peninsula Garden Club will meet at the Mary Wincpear Centre Monday, June 13. Gardener’s Forum starts at 6:30 p.m. when Freida Schilling, PGC member and master gardener will demonstrate how to take softwood cuttings. At 7:30 Brian Taylor, who with his wife Joan, is responsible for the restoration of the heather gardens at Glendale Gardens, will speak on Gardens through the Ages — why we do what we do, and why we like or dislike what we see. Non-members of the garden club are welcome to attend the meeting at a cost of $5.
Helen Lang has been the Peninsula News Review’s garden columnist for more than 25 years.