Jim’s Notebook October 11, 2007
Hits & Misses: Buying frenzy & Thanksgiving leftovers
Question of the Week: Do cacti survive outdoors in Canada?
The Business: Opening of the Edmonton Chinese Garden
I suppose it was inevitable. Take one nine-year-old daughter, blend with schoolmates who have dogs, sprinkle liberally with requests of “Pleeease, Daddy” and sooner than later, you’ll end up with a new puppy. So, yes, it’s official. This past week, my family and I became the proud owners of a Havanese pup. I have to admit that it’s pretty darn cute, but I hope I still think so next year when we have to rethink the backyard garden layout to make sure it can accommodate plants and a pup. It will be interesting to see what kind of “gardener” the dog becomes. I suspect, however, that even if she does destroy a few plants, she’ll manage to get away with it. After all, how could anyone get mad at a pup with a face like that. In case you’re wondering, her name is Ginger, but I’ve taken to calling her by her Latin plant genus name, Zingiber. I just hope I don’t end up having to rename her Digger.
Ginger (Zingiber) Hole.
Hits & Misses
Hit: Buying Frenzy
Bulb sales were crazy this fall, and I am not entirely sure why. It could be that people were afraid to be caught off guard by the snow this year, or perhaps bulb gardens are just trendy again. Whatever the reasons, if you want to jump on the bandwagon, you have only the slimmest amount of time to get those bulbs in the ground. They need time to root, and since our fall weather is so unpredictable, you just might run out of calendar days.
Miss: Thanksgiving Leftovers
I know it’s early to complain, but I’m already sick of our holiday leftovers—and I don’t mean turkey sandwiches. We have a bunch of large, indoor pot mums that look great but just didn’t sell as well as we expected. In this case, the reason for poor sales was quite simple: they just couldn’t compete with the massive floral display of our garden mums. Given the choice, most customers view bigger as better. Considering how many garden mums I took home this year, I can’t say I disagree.
Question of the Week
Do cacti survive outdoors in Canada?
Yes. In fact, several species are native to Canada. The brittle prickly pear cactus (Opuntia fragilis) grows on the prairies, in parts of Ontario and well up into the Peace River country of northern Alberta and northern BC. If you’re traveling through the southern prairies, keep an eye out for Coryphanta vivipara, the native pincushion cactus. In the summer, it has lovely rose-pink flowers.
Brittle prickly pear cacti (Opuntia fragilis) love hot days and cool nights.
The Business
Opening of the Edmonton Chinese Garden
On September 23rd, 2007, phase one of the Edmonton Chinese Garden officially opened at Louise McKinney Park. My mother was very happy to have contributed to the plants used in this wonderful garden and would have been thrilled to see its completion. Beautiful public spaces were one of her passions. Our family congratulates everyone involved in the planning and execution of the garden and wishes the Garden Society every success in construction of the next phases.
Did You Know?
In the old Roman calendars, October was the eighth month of the year and got its name from the word octo, meaning eight. The Saxons called it Wyn Monath because it was the season of wine making.
“Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.”
–Albert Camus
