Out and About Other Events

Cuttings

Barrie’s Garden Club February 2011

Open Meeting Tuesday,Feb01/11 7:15 pm

Southshore Community Centre

Ettie Mountain from Botanixbrings us a timely presentation on drought tolerant perennials entitled ‘A Scorcher of a Garden’.

The present winter notwithstanding, climatologists tell us the year 2010 was the warmest on record – so far. Best to be prepared & still have gorgeous gardens we can enjoy.

Out and About – Other Events

Gardening with a Purpose

Sunday, February 27, 2011 starting 9:00 am

Victoria Park East Golf Club,

1096 Victoria Road South

Guelph, Ontario

Cost = $40.00 & includes three great speakers, demos & a catered lunch. Sponsored by the Master Gardeners of Guelph & Wellington County, but you do NOT have to be a Master Gardener to benefit from all the helpful & timely information presented this day.

Web address:

Email address:

Telephone: 519 824-4120 ext 56714

Canada Blooms Bus Trip – Save the Date

As in past years, the Club is chartering a bus to go to Canada Blooms. It will depart from the parking lot behind Canadian Tire in the Bayfield Mall.

The date is Thursday, 17 March 2011 (wear green!!)

Watch this space for further details on departure time & cost of trip.

Daisy Committee Members

If you are a Daisy Committee member & plan to remain so for the upcoming season, please return just the packages to Clarinda at one of the next couple of Open Meetings.

If, however, you are not wishing to continue on the Daisy Committee, please return BOTH the daisy signs & the packages to Clarinda at one of the next couple of meetings. Thank you.

Let’s Go Someplace Warm

While February may be the shortest month in the dozen, it always seems the longest, Valentine’s Day & now Family Day, notwithstanding!! It’s the time of the year we dream of being anywhere else & not trapped in the frozen wasteland of a Canadian winter.

So, following are some geographical questions to test your travel savvy.

Which western European nation’s name originally meant ‘land of the rabbits’
What animal are the Canary Islands named for
Where would you find the Spanish Steps?
Where would you find the Swiss Guard?
Where would you find the Luxembourg Gardens?
Where would you find Waterloo Station?
What is the highest point in Canada?
Mexico’s capital is Mexico City. Three other world capitals are similarly named

ie name of country + city. How many can you name?

What independent nation’s name derives from the phrase ‘White Russia’?
Name the only continent in the world without an active volcano.
In what U.S. national park would you find Fairy Falls, Hell-roaring Creek, & the Firehole River?
In all the names of the fifty U.S. states you can find every letter of the alphabet, except one letter. What is that letter?
The nations of East Timor, El Salvador & Ecuador all use the same currency. Which one?
In Venice, all gondolas – except those belonging to high-ranking officials – are required to be painted a certain colour. What’s the colour
Which country occupies almost one-half of South America?

Answers on the BGC website – after the open meeting

Let it snow, let it snow – NOT

Since we Canadians spend so much time dealing with snow – driving in it, shovelling it, playing in it - a few neat things about snow would not go amiss.

Lots of snow is good. As gardeners, we know good snow cover is important to the survival of all our precious perennials, as a thick, white blanket keeps ground temperatures stable. Uncovered ground is subject to fluctuations & the dreaded freeze/thaw cycle which can heave root balls out of the ground & cause death. The chance of that happening is inversely proportional to the cost of the plant!!
Every snowflake is symmetrical. When you examine individual flakes, some will be unsymmetrical, but this is because they have been damaged. Scientists are not certain why crystals form symmetrically, but there are theories about surface tension & microcosmic temperature fluctuations.
Burlap – yes or no. Covers & tents for evergreens in winter are not meant to keep them warm, but to protect them from sunscald & drying effects of wind. As trees need plenty of air circulation, it is recommended to build a frame around them & construct a little tent that does not touch the branches as opposed to wrapping them up snugly in burlap.
Big snow. Snow takes up eight (8) times as much space as water. Put 8 inches of snow in a straight sided glass & take it inside. You should have roughly 1 inch of water after it melts.
Watermelon snow. Some snow is pink & smells like watermelon. Watermelon snow is most commonly found in the high altitudes Sierras Nevada of California, where snow is present through the long days of summer. The colour results from the algae Chlamydomonas nivalis. That is a cold-loving algae which contains bright red carotenoid pigment.
Pukak snow. First nation’slanguages include a great number of words for snow. One of those words is ‘pukak’ & it describes the layer of deep snow next to the ground. This layer, while it starts as an even mass, breaks down as heat rises from the earth inducing the snow to form into ice crystals, creating air pockets. Small rodents break through the walls of these air pockets & build a system of tunnels they use to get around.

An Infatuation for Names

Seeing as February is the month associated with love(ers), hearts, & chocolate I thought it would be fun to see how many plant names I could find that reflected these three themes.

Here’s what I found, can you add to the list?

Bachelor Buttons – Centaurea cyanus

Bleeding Hearts – Dicentra spectablis

Blushing Bride – Serruria florida

Bridal Bouquet – Porana paniculata

Bride’s Bonnet – Clintonia uniflors

Chocolate Vine – Akebia quinata

Cupid’s Bower - Achimenes

Cupid’s Dart – Catananche caerulea

Falling Stars – Campanula isophylla

Floating Heart – Nymphoides

Forget-me-Not - Myosotis

Heart of Flame – Bromelia balansae

Heartsease – Viola tricolour

Honeybush – Melianthus major

Kiss-me-over-the-Garden-Gate – Persicaria orientale

Love Lies Bleeding – Amaranthus caudatus

Love-in- a-Mist – Nigella damascene

Love-in-a-Puff – Cardiospermum halicacbum

Mountain Lover – Paxistima myttifolia

Passionflower -Passiflora

Touch-Me-Not – Impatiens balsamina

Virgin’s Bower – Clematis

Winecups – Geissorhiza radicans

Cultivars of these plants have February themed names:

Calla – ‘Pillow Talk’

Cimicifuga/Actea – ‘Chocoholic’

Dahlia – ‘Candlelight’, ‘Hugs ‘n Kisses’

Hemerocallis- ‘Hope Diamond’, ‘Love Goddess’, ‘Moonlight Mist’, ‘Seductor’

Spiraea – ‘Bridal Wreath’

The Last Word

‘The main purpose of a garden is to give the owner the best & highest kind of earthly pleasure.’

Gertrude Jekyll