By Sue Healey – Tillsonburg Horticultural Society 

Although we’ve become used to green Decembers in Southwestern Ontario, roses blooming in the last days of a warm and wet November make winter seem far away. And yet, snow or not, the holiday season will come. With it the lights and jingles and gift guides; the lists of ideas for those of us out of them. As a gardener, I am and have been the target of those lists. I’ve been fortunate to have received decades of garden gifts. Useful, playful, thoughtful and unexpected, most were used, all were appreciated. But there are those that resonate, that continue to give long after they’ve been given. When I think of what my own gift guide would include, it is these few treasures I wouldhave again and give in turn. They would be those that have introduced me to a new facet of the natural world or broadenedmy understanding of it and my place in it. They would be those that have helped without harming.

One of my first and most prized gifts for the garden was a birdbath. For almost 30 years it has anchored my gardens. It’s basin, sides covered in lichen, has held flocks of bluebirds and reflections of the summer sky. It has grown spears of surprise ice when we’ve been hasty or slow in our ritual to open and close the seasons. Chipmunks and robins have sat at its edge, sharing evening drinks. Bees and butterflies, wasps and dragonflies meet there too, all equal in their thirst. The cleaning and refilling of it, my son’s first garden task, is a daily reminder that we are not alone in the garden. Grand or whimsical, on a pedestal or at ground level, water brings life to the garden as no other element can.

The simple gift of a seat can be profound. It is the gift of rest, of stillness, of pause. I am a restless gardener, as my father was,always on the move and never content to sit. But I’ve found the joy in stillness. Found it on a bench made just for me. Found it there, with my back warm against the west wall, sitting and reflecting upon my work and my world. A garden seat offers rest for the weary and encourages contemplation. It offers a view from a different perspective and can become a destination in it’s own right; a seat in the shade or a dry spot to watch the rain. Benches and chairs, stools and seats, each a gift beyond measure. 

And I would have books on my list. Great stacks of them; huge picture books with glorious photos of far away gardens, thick reference books brimming with facts, biographies, diaries and how-to guides. I would want them well researched and written, full of knowledge and inspiration. What cold Sunday morning isn’t brightened by a tower of gardening books to peruse? If space is tight, digital and audio versions offer another whole world of information to explore. Many are available at our local libraries.

Gardeners are a finicky lot, and I would advise against giving tools as gifts. Garden tools are like shoes, they need to fit the owner and are best chosen in person. There are however, a few basic hand tools that all gardeners should have in their repertoire. Good quality secateurs in a medium cutting capacity are a gardener’s most used tool and make wonderful gifts no matter the occasion. Likely not the first, a second or third pairwill gladly be accepted. Long handled loppers, anotherindispensable pruning tool makes light work of most small tree branches, and a ratcheting set will get you kissed. A folding hand saw takes care of what the loppers won’t and completes a good collection of pruning tools.

Small but mighty gifts are gloves to work in the garden. My favourite are made by Watson, have a Nitril coating from palm to fingertips that makes them resistant rose thorns and water. A breathable back and a snug fit for my shortish fingers plus being machine washable, makes this a gift I would gladly receive every year (I am a size medium).

For those gardeners who’ve already got their water and their rest, the gift of experience is a sure way to please. When all of us seem to have just too much stuff, garden tours, exhibitions, clubs, and societies all offer new and exiting ways to enjoy the garden without adding to the pile. Wrap your gift in the ribbon of companionship by going along on the excursion. 

Gardening can be a solitary endeavour, but some of my fondest memories are of those times when I could share my passion and in doing so see it from another’s point of view. Whether it’s a garden tour on vacation, a walk through the forest, or a trip to the garden centre, sharing can be the rarest, most valued gift we give or receive.

In this spirit of sharing and celebration, The Tillsonburg Horticultural Society will be holding their annual Christmas Potluck dinner instead of regular meetings on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. We wish you and yours a safe and healthy holiday season and peace in the new year.

Regular meetings will resume on January 7, 2025.

📷Sue

By Sue Healey, Tillsonburg Horticultural Society 

The cold reality of November usually hits me in the garden. Most often, it’s late in the day and raining and I am struggling to find space in the already packed beds for that last bulb or plant or bush that I so blithely bought in the spring. There, with wet shoulders and numb hands, I realize it’s November and there was snow last night. The growing year is over. Whatever plans I had for the garden will now have to wait until spring. And while I love the austere beauty of winter, the loss of light and colour isalways keenly felt. It’s this time of year that I appreciate my potted plants most. While outside is bare and black, the indoor garden is alive and growing. My collection of indoor plants has just come in from their summer outdoors and most are at their finest. None more so, than the begonias. This large and diverse family of plants, with colourful leaves and outlandish shapes, is an excellent way to dispel some of the gloom November can bring. Their care, a healthy distraction from the shortening days and worsening weather.

While I grow a paltry few begonia, there are thousands of varieties to be had. One could easily fall down the rabbit hole of collection. There are three main categories: 1) fibrous rooted, examples include angel wing and wax, 2) tuberous, container plants featuring prominent flowers and 3) rhizomatous, grown for fabulous foliage. Over the decades I have grown all three types and found outstanding examples of each. 

For outdoor hanging baskets or mixed containers, tuberous begonias with their Day-Glo blossoms offer a wide selection of both colour and form. With blooms in white to fuchsia and every shade in between, this variety is best with some sun during the early part of the day and consistent moisture. The leaves can be large and jagged, sometime suffused with colour, depending on the variety. But they are mostly overshadowed by the exquisite, double blossoms reminiscent of piped icing flowers. A well grown blooming begonia is a showstopper as a specimen. Plants can be overwintered from year to year by storing tubers in peat or sawdust in shallow trays and replanting in spring. More often, they are treated as annuals. 

Fibrous begonias include both the bedding type, often referred to as wax begonias and the angel wing begonias. Wax begonias have been used for decades in outdoor public gardens and make good filler, taking more sun than most in their family. Angel or dragon wing type offer outstanding foliage with leaves held in pairs, often with jagged edges and silver markings. Frost tender and usually grown as a houseplant, the canes can be pruned to maintain a bushier, shorter profile. In late winter, small bunches of pink or red blossoms dangle among the leaf bracts. Bright, indirect light and consistent moisture will keep these begonias going for years. 

For spectacular foliage, the rhizomatous begonia reigns supreme. No other plant can rival the range of leaf colour and form that this category encompasses. The Rex series includessome of the most dramatic plants available to the average gardener. Extensive breeding and hybridizing have resulted in otherworldly combinations. Some boast huge leaves, glinting like metallic shields, veins etched in contrasting red or purple. “Escargot” is a fine and popular example, it’s leaves made of impossible swirls of silver and green. 

The large leaved Rexvarieties are at their best grown outdoors where summer light and humidity are ample. They are less amiable to overwinter but worthy of the effort. Smaller divisions and a cool, bright room with good air circulation is the best starting point. Easier to grow and keep, if less flashy, is beefsteak begonia (Begonia erythrophylla). This stalwart old favourite was introduced in1845 and it’s glossy, plate sized leaves have been gracing ourwindowsills ever since. Tough and resilient, I use it as a houseplant in dim rooms, the deep green leaves getting larger (but fewer) the farther away the light is. In bountiful light, the leaves will pleat and ruffle in their rush to expand. In outdoor containers, it makes a good foil for showier begonias, ferns or primrose. 

Easily propagated but hard to find in shops, your best bet is a gardening friend or neighbourhood plant sale. Mine came as gift, wrapped in a wet paper towel one cold December day, 20 years ago. It has been nick-named Maida’s begonia ever since.  

Smaller rhizomatous versions come in hot pink, silver, or lime green. My favourite drapes over it’s pot with leaves like eyelids streaked with neon and edged in winking lashes. Begonia bowerae forms small, neat mounds on long winding stems. It isa hardy plant, easily adaptable to any but the darkest environments. But given a cool spot where it can stretch towardsbright light, moist but not damp soil, this begonia will bloom in late winter. Thin, foot long stems shoot out over it’s mounding leaves, dangling ballerina-pink blossoms for a month or more. There is a daily shower of papery husks, its cleanup gladly done, a small price for the gift of beauty on early winter days. 

Lift the November blues with the gift of sharing and society. Your local Horticultural Society holds regular meetings, fundraisers and workshops – a great way to spend an evening, meet some interesting people and learn something new.

November’s featured speaker is Sharon Bowler, author, historian, teacher and gardener. Sharon will present “Four Seasons of Winter Hardy Cactus”

Tuesday, November 5, 2024, Tillsonburg Seniors Centre, 7:30 pm. $20/year $4/meeting

“Come as guest, stay as a member.”

📷Sue

By Sue Healey – Tillsonburg Horticultural Society

Of all the gardening seasons, Autumn may be my favourite. I love it for its contrasts. Warm days filled with sunshine, mornings of sharp frost and swaths of colour in a rich and diverse palette. October hillsides are still awash in waves of golden rod. Their frothy flower heads break against the scarlet humps of sumac, forming eddies around the pools of purple asters. Along the roadsides native grasses nod their burnished heads in greeting as we pass. The browns are still golden and there is enough green to highlight all of it. October is bold and vibrant and all the more lovely for the frost to come. It’s a good month to be outside and an excellent one for garden work. Moderate temperatures and the eventual autumn rains make this an ideal time for garden projects whether they be renovations, additions or removals. 

While my own garden is full and well established there is always some plant that wants moving or sharing. Most plants prefer division in autumn when cool temperatures and rain make the move easier, for plant and gardener. Spring blooming plants; peonies, iris, rose, and clematis can all be moved now. Most of these have finished flowering and root disturbance won’t jeopardize the display. Late bloomers, think grape leaved anemones, chrysanthemums and sedum, would be better moved in spring. An early spring planting gives them time to reestablish themselves and still produce flowers in the same year. 

This year’s project includes the removal of a decade old peony(Paeonia). Peonies are long lived perennials that rarely need division. When they do, a strong back and a good set of garden forks will make the job easier. Working the forks gently around the clump will eventually pry it out. It’s always harder than I imagine. Those roots cling so desperately that I always have a moment of doubt! But it does let go after a few more rounds. Peony roots are both woody and brittle and are easily broken.Once out of the ground, they can be trimmed and separated intoIndividual crowns, each with 3-5 stalks or growing tips. Divisions should be replanted immediately with no more than 5 cm (2 inches) of soil covering growing tips. Planting any deeper results in foliage and no flowers.  As with all new plantings, water well and regularly until the ground freezes. Peonies may take a year or two to resume flowering after being disturbed but won’t need to be moved again for decades. 

Siberian and Japanese Iris are also on the list this year. Both need frequent division to remain vigorous and promote blooming. Siberian Iris (Iris siberica), with its fleur-de-lis blooms and grass like foliage is tough enough to handle being divided every 3-4 years. Clumps are lifted out whole and cut into manageable wedges using a sharp spade or knife. Japanese Iris (Iris ensata) stands up to the same treatment and will bloom the following spring without missing a beat. Both require rich, moisture retentive soil and full sun to produce years of spectacular blooms. 

Daylilies are among the few perennials that can be moved in either season. Hardy and resilient, daylilies will bounce back within weeks of replanting. Garden forks are the tool here again.I like to work my way around the plant – rocking, poking, pushing. Sometimes cajoling, sometimes swearing. A few rounds and eventually the centre moves, and once it does, you have it. After the clump is out of the ground, two garden forks, inserted back-to-back through the centre of the plant will pry it in two. This can be repeated on each section until you have the sizes you want. Smaller divisions fare better than large. 

Foliage plants such as Hosta, Bergenia and ferns are also best moved or divided in autumn. In early spring, newly emerging leaves are delicate and easily damaged. Whatever damage you do in spring is there all year. Better to divide them at the end of the season when leaves are at the end of their life. Hostas can be uprooted and divided in the same manner as daylilies, if a bit more gently. Treat Bergenia and ferns as you would peonies. Both plants have roots with growing tips that should be shallowly replanted. Rich soil that is consistently moist will result in healthy, vigorous growth.

Of course, there are always extras when you divide a plant. If space or time is at a premium, consider potting up those extra plantlets. Many trees, shrubs and perennials can be overwintered in pots if given the right conditions. A trench dug deep enough to sink the entire pot, backfilled with soil and covered in deep piles of snow will ensure your plants survive the winter. Easier to achieve, but riskier, is lining them against a wall or hedge and covering the pots with leaves to insulate against the cold. Come spring, you will have decisions to make and plants to give. Consider donating extras to the Tillsonburg Horticultural Society’s annual garden auction. The society is an excellent way to give your divisions a new home.

This month’s speaker is Ben Porchuk of Carolinian Canada. Just in time for fall planting, he will be sharing tips on how to use natives in our own gardens and outdoor spaces.

Tuesday, October 1, 2024, Tillsonburg Seniors Centre, 7:30 pm

$20/year $4/meeting

Come as guest, stay as a member.

📷 S Healey