It’s been interesting to observe the containers of potted flowers on the patio as they go through their autumn melt-down.
As usual, the petunias have been the enduring, low-maintenance stars of the summer patio flower show. Tidal Wave Silver, once again this year, retained a pleasing appearance well into October.
Tidal Wave Silver has never disappointed. A few plants in a pot create a summer-long mounding, spreading display of silvery lavender blooms that are lightly scented. Once installed in a container filled with a robust potting mix with a little slow-release fertilizer in it, all that is required is regular watering.
The Calibrachoa I grew from seed this year also continued flowering past mid-October. The potted planting formed a neat mound liberally covered in small pink flowers with rosy-red centres. This Calibrachoa was called Light Pink Blast, in the Kabloom Series. I’ve had similarly gratifying results with Kabloom Orange. The seed I planted for both was from T&T Seeds.
I’ve been as impressed this year with the semi-climbing Tickled Blush petunia as I was last year with tickled Pink, both from T&T Seeds.
Beside the gate into the back garden, in an old metal planter, I planted Tickled Blush together with a bushy, ferny marigold, a Mexican heirloom species, from Salt Spring Seeds. The mari gold has the impossible name Cempoalxochitl (pronounced Zem-pul-so-chee-tul). Its vivid orange-yellow flowers and ferny foliage, provided an interesting backdrop to the pale blooms held on the petunia’s billowing stems. This container planting remained fairly flower-filled and imposing last week, at the time of this writing.
Planning time. Home gardeners are already planning for next year’s growing season. I usually begin around mid-autumn by making a rough sketch of the vegetable garden plots and pencilling in the placement of the main plantings — tomatoes, roots, peas, squash, kale and so on.
I use an old clipboard, which holds beneath the 2022 plan the sketches I made for the past 10 years. Referring to recent years allows me to be sure of moving the vegetable types around. This is especially important for plants like garlic. The spores of some garlic and other onion family diseases can remain in the soil for years. A four-year rotation is recommended.
Then comes the seed inventory. Because I grow so many of my plants from seed, I keep seeds on hand in large envelopes, sorted by month of planting. I go through the envelopes, listing in a notebook, by month of seeding, all the ones I want to keep for another year.
At the same time I note essential seeds that are missing or in low supply. They go on a shopping list, ready for when the new catalogues and online lists are available, and when racks of new seeds are set up in garden centres.
I anticipate those first lists and catalogues with considerable glee. There will always be something new to try. One of my notable “finds” this year, apart from Tickled Blush petunia and Cempoalxochitl marigold, was a pink onion called Blush, in the William Dam Seeds catalogue.
Blush produced fine bulbs with a rich onion flavour. The flesh is beautiful — pale pink with darker pink rings. Thin slices add zest and visual appeal to salads.
HCP workshops for children and families. The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in Saanich, is offering the following workshops. Register at hcp.ca/events or by phone at 250-479-6162.
• Three season planters, Saturday, Nov. 6, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., for ages four and over, with children under six to be accompanied by an adult. Plant a container garden for colour, interest and edibles during fall, winter and spring. Fee $25 for HCP members, others $30.
• Succulent Gardens, Saturday, Nov. 6, 1 to 2 p.m., for ages six and over. These little gardens are easy to care for and increasingly popular because they are well suited to the drier growing conditions we face. Members $25, others $30.
• Wreath Making for Families, Friday, Nov. 26, Saturday, Nov. 27, Friday, Dec. 3, Saturday, Dec. 4, 1 to 2:30 p.m., for family units of up to four people. Materials are provided to create a long-lived outdoor decoration for your home or garden. Bring gloves and hand pruners. One adult for each participating child or youth is recommended. Fee is $30 per wreath.
