Art in the Garden

Just read in the Herald that Katharine Ylitalo (formerly of Edwards garden Center) is now working at the Banff Center on The Banff Butterfly Garden at the Walter Phillips Gallery. On Aug 7 the gallery will present Art in the Garden with Katharine from 1-2 Pm followed by a garden tour and drawing session. If you are in Banff or area consider signing up and going. Sorry I don't have any further details but those should be available from the Banff Center.

Cardoons - A New vegetable for me!

According to Wikipedia, acclaimed chef Mario Batali calls the cardoon one of his favorite vegetables and says they have a "very sexy flavor". Of course this is not why I tried them this spring. But it might be why I keep growing them.

Like most "white bread" gardeners I hardly ever try a new vegetable. I know and grow my favorites and that is enough. In fact this one is so unusual you can't even buy it in the stores or markets in our cold zone 3 climate. I tried it because Ed and Mariann at E & M Woodland Gardens near Innisfail started growing them from seed for their Italian neighbors. Ed Wassenaar convinced me it would be a dramatic addition to my pots and that it might reach heights of 2 meters in a season. In warmer climates (Zone 7?) this plant overwinters easily and sometimes becomes a weed, but In Calgary this exotic Italian plant will not winter so I put this Artichoke relative in a big pot for its showy leaves thinking they would cause a drive-by sensation.

I only have one plant in one pot but neighbours and friends walking by all comment. Finally, one woman who has a winter home in Spain, stopped to tell me I should be making Cardoon risotto or soup with my plant. A single leaf stalk is similar to a giant celery stalk. Pick 1 or 2 stalks and strip off the leaflets along the petiole edges. Remove the woody veins before chopping and parboiling the leaf stalk and finally add it to any number of dishes. A search of the internet shows this is not just a pretty plant, it is a virtual wonder. It's amazing I never cooked it before. Tastes a lot like an artichoke without the warm climate needed to get the artichoke flowers. Wow, the longer I garden the more I learn.

Fast fact: Cardoon is Cynara cardunculus while artichoke is Cynara scolymus so they are closely related. They are in the daisy family but don't look that way until they bloom and look like giant thistles.

Oriental Poppies are Pretty

Yes it is Oriental Poppy time again and they are beautiful! Trouble is once they bloom they are done, finished, caput.

Remember to cut back or deadhead the blooms if you want to keep the plant as strong as possible. This means cutting off the dead flower head and the stem it is on. If you leave the stem, the little pointer sticks up in the air looking miserable and the plant has to decide what to do with it. Sometimes it is wise to leave a pod or two to mature and go to seed so that you have young plants coming next year. You will know the seeds are ripe when you tip over the pod and can shake out the black seeds.

Do not immediately cut back all the leaves because the plant needs to wind down. If the leaves brown, cut them off as they discolor and eventually you may have to cut them all back.

New Diseae at Reader Rock Garden

Just noticed the Hosta virus has hit Calgary - saw it a few years ago when touring Hosta growers in Holland and now there are hostas showing signs of disease in Calgary's Reader Rock Garden. Look at photos of normal (top) and disease (leaves smaller, speckled and veined, below) Hostas pictured. This problem has been in Eastern Canada for several years so had to eventually come here too! Sadly there is nothing to be done- perhaps removing and destroying infected plants?

Plant Annuals in July?

Okay- last night I planted annuals in my front yard. Yes it was raining and yes it is late by most people's standards but I was away earlier and then it hailed and I could go on and on. This is just a public service message really to say why not fill in a space where an oriental poppy pooped out or the hail nailed a favorite plant?

Surprisingly, there are still annuals to be had and with our weather finally turning nice (for today anyway) it is a good idea to plant and reap the rewards of late summer bloom. Meanwhile I have to say my new Terra Nova perennials are coming along nicely. More on that later!

Join Me at the Eleanor Luxton House in Banff

It is a rare thing that a garden continues and sometimes even improves long after the owners have passed. Thanks to the foundation set up by Eleanor Luxton in Banff Alberta, her historical family home is not just humming along, it is happily being weeded and planted and loved as if Eleanor or her parents still lived there!

If you are going to be in Banff or want an excuse to come out to visit this weekend, join me as we open the garden to the public. Eleanor's house is at 206 Beaver Street. The event is Sunday, July 18 from 2-4 PM. I will be on hand to answer garden questions of all kinds and to show off some of the work the foundation has been up to. Meet the gardener Lance Woolaver and the hard working "Friends" who have planted and weeded on behalf of the foundation for the first time this season.

Remember Banff is a cooler climate than most of Alberta so plants long gone in your own garden will be peaking here now. I look forward to meeting you so don't be shy - come over and introduce yourself.

Front Door Wow- First Impressions

Check out my Calgary Herald article July 9 when I look at ways to add more wow to the front yard! Here is another bonus photo taken last week in Croatia... this front door is in Ston- just north of Dubrovnik.

Sarritor Works in Calgary

Newly released this spring, the fungus Sarritor is being promoted as a non-chemical cure for dandelions. Well- in my test of one lawn it has worked. And not in ideal conditions. It was applied last week on a pleasant day but the week deteriorated with snow by the weekend. The homeowner Bruce just e-mailed me to say it has killed all his dandelions and he is very pleased, I will follow up with him later to see if it is a long term control or just a short term cure.

Developed at McGill University this native Canadian fungus - based on Sclerotinia minor - seems to work. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Available in Calgary at Green Gate Garden Center.

Calgarians - source of "Snow Princess" found

My favorite new plant in 2009 was an outstanding alyssum that bloomed all summer and never went to seed. I just found this Proven Winner's introduction at Sunnyside and wanted to let reader's of this Blog know. Snow Princess is with the annuals on the west side of the road...

Pinch/Prune Mugo Pines Now

Not one- but two gardeners asked me last week about pruning their mugos. They had grown at least 30 cm last year and were galloping along again this year with fully extended candles. I showed them how to pinch the candles to remove at least half the new growth without clippers or any fancy equipment. See pruned and unpruned photos above.

If you have a mugo pine pinch it now to keep it in good shape and to keep it small and compact.

Smelly Water Barrel... mystery solved

Thanks to an avid CBC listener the answer to the smelly water barrel question from last week is solved:

Shelagh writes:
In response to the question about the horrid smell in the rain barrel, I
suggest that the problem is pigeons. While in Calgary I had the same issue,
year after year. No matter how often I cleaned the barrel, it stank. One
spring, just after one of the famous Calgary downpours, I noticed egg shells
and baby bird bits in the rain barrel and it all came together. I had had
pigeons roosting on the roof that drained into the barrel for years - could
not get rid of them. So, I think the caller's problem probably stems from
pigeon guano and pigeon nest refuse. It's nasty stuff and the water should
not be used any where near food crops. Pigeons carry quite a few diseases
that are transmittable to humans.

Momentum Mower- Love it

If you were listening to CBC Radio on Friday you heard me interview two husbands about their new mowers. The two husbands had something in common - they both hated their old hand push mowers - one had a Lee Valley Tools push mower and one had a Gardena push mower - both top of the line cutting machines.

One husband bought a new Cadet battery powered mower and one a Momentum push Mower from Fiskars. In the end it has become a love in for the Fiskars mower - half the price of the Cadet and just as effective. Available from Canadian Tire.

My neighbor came over to borrow the Momentum by Fislars to mow his neighbor's lawn. When he returned it he was overwhelmed. "It's my favorite mower - not just among push mowers but all mowers". Pretty good testimonial. But with all the bad push mowers out there it may be hard to get gardeners and husbands to try this new machine. It is not like any other push mower so has to be tried to be believed.

Yikes- It is cold out there!

The weakest link in the garden is always the newly planted tender annual. Old perennials, such as the Gold Heart Bleeding Heart pictured here, has been in the garden for four years and even though it had snow and cold temperatures this weekend it is standing up just fine and in full bloom this morning.

Meanwhile the zucchini planted a week ago in a pot was covered with frost blanket during the cold spell and this morning it is showing cold temperature injury. Yikes! Yes- the frost blankets (sometimes sold under the trade name Reemay) do help with frost and the geraniums and other hardy annuals are just fine after the really cool spell after a cover up with the frost blanket but the tender annuals such as Begonias and yes - Zucchini- are showing signs of cold temperature injury. The leaves have collapsed as the cells burst and they will not bounce back. Instead, the crown of the plant looks alive and if I keep it covered over the next few days it will survive. Love Alberta in the spring!

Spuds Cut for Planting

Save money by cutting seed potatoes into pieces before planting. This gives you more plants from a single spud and a bigger potato harvest later on. Make sure each piece has an "eye" or a little growing point and leave cut potatoes on a sheet of newspaper overnight to dry a bit before planing.

Beasts & Blooms

I live downtown. On a busy street. So of course I was surprised to see a coyote posing beside a double flowering plum while I was out walking my dog this morning. Yes it is coyote season again and the young puppies and their parent's are hungry. All dogs on leash.

Reader Rock Garden a Bloomin' Beauty

So many things are in bloom at Reader Rock Garden in Calgary this week I had to post a few pics for all to enjoy. This is a free City of Calgary Park so feel free to take the train to the Erlton Station and pop across the street to see a full spring display. In bloom this week are Anemone vulgaris, Pushkinia spp., Arabis spp., Double Flowering plum, hepatica, squill and of course tulips.

Purple Passion-In bloom this week

The Double Bloodroot is fading now in Calgary but on it's heels the grape hyacinth is in bloom. This curious plant sprouts leaves in fall and they overwinter and then bloom in May. This is a wonderful small bulb to fill the garden in May - hardy in all climates and in bloom for two to three weeks depending on the weather. It is about 20 cm tall and tolerates an east exposure.

Seeding Beans, Planting Strawberries

Yes - I am on the coast again for a few days and the climate is perfect for planting beans, pruning tomatoes in my greenhouse and popping in some day neutral strawberries (Hecker- everbearing).

Seeded Renee’s classic slenderette bush beans in a square bed . Soil looks great. Broadcast whole package and poked in to the soil which is soft because that is where I dumped all the compost in February.

Am just about to dig over winter cover crop of peas and fall rye in the new beds along the fence. Too much to do and too little time to write.

PS Bought some white asparagus from Kathy Zipp- that gal is talented! Funny she did not mention the asparagus until I saw the row obviously covered....with a black tarp while of course my asparagus is up and bright green. After a few questions she admitted she had some in the fridge for her regular customers. Of course I begged for some.

Cherry Blossom Season In Calgary

Finally- it is cherry blossom season in Calgary! Yes, cherries were in bloom in February during the winter Olympics. Cherry blossom season was big in Japan in April.

Nanking Cherries are the pale pink blossoms you will see around town just coming into bloom - they reach a height of 3 meters tall. Russian almonds are the short pink shrubs - usually kept at aboout 1 meter. Double flowering plums - featured here - are a darker, pinkier pink.

Enjoy - spring only lasts a few weeks in this city.

Cut the Grass!

Yes - it is time. Time to cut back the ornamental grass such as this Karl Foerster seen at a neighbor's yesterday. These grasses look great all winter but they need to be cut back before they start growing. As you can see it is too late for that so cut it back right now!