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Via EnjoyGardening)
Posted by admin to Jim's Notebook on 2007-09-27, 08:32:08
I saw the movie Stardust last week. It starred Michelle Pfeiffer as an evil witch who apparently (and I say “apparently” because I dozed off briefly during the beginning of the movie) was determined to capture eternal youth by ripping out the heart of a star, played by the beautiful Clare Danes. Yes, I know, this movie sounds like it could have been a Hollywood documentary but, in fact, it was a fantasy film. What I found particularly interesting about the charming plot wasn’t so much the prospect of Clare being challenged in a cardiovascular sense, rather it was that the hero, played by Charlie Cox, was protected from the powerful witch by a tiny glass flower called snowdrops (Galanthus), an early spring bloomer that is a common fall-planted bulb. Now I’m not suggesting that if you come out and buy snowdrops from us this fall that they will protect you from evil witches at Halloween, but really, can you afford to take the risk?
Hits & Misses
Hit: Simple Pleasures
We had to pause a moment in Coldframe 8 this week to embrace and imbue the scent of the trial garden mums. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day care of greenhouse plants and forget to stop and smell the mums, so to speak…thousands of mums, some with at least 500 fragrant and richly coloured flowers that just seem to burst out of the pots…life just doesn’t get better than that.
Miss: Unreasonable Request
African Violets are an odd mix of tough and temperamental. They can dry down to a point where you wouldn’t think they could possibly recover, and then they just seem to pop back to life once the watering resumes (but don’t try this at home!). On the other hand, African violets are also one of the few plants that suffer irreparable damage to their foliage if droplets of chilled water (5C) sit on their foliage for any length of time—a problem that one of our growers is having to deal with. It seems one particularly finicky variety of African violets has taken a liking to having its water gently warmed for it…shaken, not stirred. It’s a request that’s proven to be a bit grating.
Question of the Week
Dad, are these bugs rare?
My daughter managed to find some really cool bugs in the garden the other night and was asking me if they were rare. Unfortunately, the cool gray-and-black coloured “bugs” she found were far from that—they were female inchworm moths. These wingless moths emerge from cocoons in the ground and then climb up trees to deposit bands of eggs. The following spring, loads of “icky green worms” emerge from the trees, chew the heck out of the leaves and dangle menacingly from threads when disturbed…can’t wait for spring now, can you?
The Business
Official Launch
On September 28th, my family and I have the pleasure of attending the launch of the Lois Hole Campus Alberta Digital Library. It’s an initiative that supports Mom’s vision of providing greater learning opportunities for all Albertans. We are very honoured by the dedication.
Trend Spotting
Gardeners are demanding great colour and interest from their gardens all year long, which is why Bailey Compact maples are more popular than ever. Brilliant-red fall colour; terrific for small yards; Height: 2–3 m.
Did You Know?
Sinistral gardeners are also known as left-handed gardeners.
“When the world wearies, and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden.”
–Author Unknown
