by Angela Lassam
It’s Still Just Dirt, The Tillsonburg News – March 2016

Patience is hard for gardeners this time of year. The clocks have gone forward giving us more evening time and El Nino has provided much warmer days than is normal. Frosty mornings should remind us not to uncover those tender new perennial shoots. Lawns are greening under the winter debris and it is time to de-thatch and tidy up. The leaves that appear to have been glued down need a good raking and go into the composter. Remember not to compost anything from under walnut trees as they are toxic.

I am sure we have all noticed our feathered friends have returned early. How do they know when to come? There has been sightings of bluebirds, robins, grackles even a killdeer in a corn field. Of course the annual Tundra swans migration has landed over in the Police College at Aylmer and surrounding fields. One day the fields looked very odd as if huge snowballs had dropped down, there were so many feeding.

The spring garden shows that most of us try to attend were once again differently focused. Stratford Festival is always popular. It’s not large but is well planned and offers a good array of speakers. The displays were full of whimsy and colour and as always good ideas. Solar lighting has become brighter and larger, even lamp posts are available. David Hobson gave a presentation on the famous Chelsea Flower Show in London, England.  Frankie ‘Flowers’ Ferragine did a presentation on food to grow.

Frankie is a family man raised at Holland Marsh north of Toronto so he grew up on homegrown produce. He said we can all grow vegetables in pots and in larger containers. Even a novice can buy transplants at the local nursery. Children can plant seeds and watch them grow into food they know (cherry tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers and if you have the space for them even pumpkins). By growing your own you know where it has come from and what has been put on it. It is fresh and the taste is so much better than anything from a store. He commented about a grocery chain that will be selling imperfect produce and I wondered if the marketing gurus have realized that the public are buying more and more from local markets and roadside stands where food is fresh and good. Market gardeners and farmers are becoming bigger competition. What a thought!

Canada Blooms has become smaller but still gives some great ideas – a good marketplace as usual. A presentation on pollinators was very informative and thought provoking. Honey Nut Cheerios have a new program where they are giving away free wildflower seeds and want every Canadian to plant at least one seed. That would be 35 million seeds according to them. Go online www.bringbackthebees.ca to see their program and lots of good bee information.

Also there is a blog on the Breck’s website titled Bee-Buzz. Bees and other pollinators go for all bright colours. Early summer coneflowers and yarrow are good, then in mid-summer bee balm and hyssop, and for fall asters, sedums and sunflowers are popular. A sad footnote, the monarch butterflies have had another disaster in Mexico with reports of freezing rain hitting them hard.

Due to the March meeting being cancelled the April one will be full of information about our garden volunteer signup as well as a reminder about the annual plant auction, and Christine Nagy will tell us of the upcoming trip. The guest speaker will be Kevin Kavanaugh from St Williams talking about growing magnolias, rhododendrons and azaleas in Ontario.

The next meeting is April 5 @ 7:30 pm in the Seniors Centre Auditorium, Tillsonburg Community Centre. Members and non-members are welcome.

For information about the Tillsonburg Horticultural Society visit tillsonburghorticultural.ca online.

It’s Still Just Dirt – January 2016, The Tillsonburg News
by Penny Esseltine

The Tillsonburg Horticultural Society is gearing up for the 2016 year with plans for great speakers and excursions and other entertaining events throughout the year. And amidst all of the planning and organizing by executive members for the year ahead we’re going to talk about New Year’s Resolutions for the Garden.

I know, I know, your garden is buried under snow but you’ll be surprised to hear about some of the plans that gardeners have so early in the year.

For example … Joan Massicotte tells us that at her condo apartment she has only a small patio. “I have found through trial and error that I just don’t have room for large planters,” Joan says. So she is on the lookout for information about, and items to incorporate into the two fairy gardens that she is planning for her patio in 2016.

Christine Nagy knows just what she will be looking for for her garden this spring. “I spotted a unique hosta in a recent gardening magazine and fell in love with it immediately,” Christine says. “The difference with this hosta is that it has a colour that you won’t find in any other hosta. It has red petioles (the stalk of the leaf), red flower stems, a red blush in spring that lasts four to six weeks and a thin red edge to the leaves all season long.” Christine isn’t sharing the name or the source of this hosta because she says there are limited numbers available and she can’t wait to get one.

Juanita and Richard DeRoo are looking for two things this year, a dwarf cherry tree to add bloom and some height to their small garden as well as a lovely Godaishu peony in light yellow or orange for both colour and diversity. “We will remove an otherwise hum-drum peony to make way for the new,” they say, “and add a bit of a tongue to one bed to accommodate the new cherry tree, a sort of Japanese makeover for 2016.”

“My New Year’s resolution for 2016 is not to buy another plant until I’m sure I’ve decided where it is to be planted,” says Jean Mann. Jean says she needs to make sure she has just the right spot with the right amount of sunlight or shade for each plant she decides to bring home. Although her intentions are good, Jeans says she’s concerned about being able to stick to this resolution. “When I attend the first gardening show of 2016 and suddenly see all those beautiful plants just waiting for a good home, the temptation may be too hard to resist. Odds are if you check around my yard in the spring you’ll see a potted plant or two still waiting for me to find the perfect spot.”

Jan Torrell says instead of putting more perennial plants in the ground she’ll be looking to add annuals for show. “We are considering a move so I will want to dig out all the perennials and take them with me,” Jan says. That could be a lot of work.

Catherine Burke has plans to transform one of her front gardens where a woody honeysuckle is crowding out the hydrangea tree. “With the removal of the honeysuckle bush, I will need to fill the gap,” Catherine says. She plans to consult a local nursery for suggestions about what will best fill the space.

“My New Year’s resolution is to make my garden more manageable this year to make it easier on my back,” says Marian Smith. Marian says this will mean planting more native species that can look after themselves and using more mulch to prevent weeds.

Benoit Janssens has a New Year’s gardening resolution that he’d like to share with all gardeners. “If every one of us planted one native plant (a perennial, a grass, a tree or a shrub) we could collectively increase the chances that a bee, or butterfly, or worm, or bug, or even a bird would find this little island of sustainability during the growing season.” Ben encourages us to plant with nature in mind and give our local ecosystems a boost. “Grow a beautiful garden for yourself and for all of our local creatures too,” he says.

Thanks to my fellow Horticultural Society members who shared their New Year’s resolutions for the garden. As for me, my resolution remains the same as in years past. It’s more gardens, less grass. I’d much prefer to grow gardening spaces and add beautiful new plants than to nurture grass. Some would say my lawn speaks to that? Regardless, as with many things, anticipation is half the fun so it’s a New Year and we can all look ahead to new experiences in the garden in 2016. Enjoy!

This will be my last It’s Still Just Dirt column for the Horticultural Society and I’d like to express my thanks to the Tillsonburg News for helping us to promote gardening in the community through the column. I’m pleased to report that Angela Lassam will take on the It’s Still Just Dirt column starting in February.

As always, for information about the Tillsonburg Horticultural Society visit tillsonburghorticultural.ca. on line.

It’s Still Just Dirt – November 2015, The Tillsonburg News
by Penny Esseltine

Santa’s suit is red, snow is white, shiny glitter can be silver or gold, but the dominant, in fact the only Christmas colour at the meeting of the Tillsonburg Horticultural Society earlier in November was green.

Henry Eising, owner of Eising Greenhouses and Garden Centre on Cockshutt Road in Simcoe, came with containers full of fresh cut local greenery. He was eager to share the fine art of making Christmas wreaths from fresh evergreen cuttings. Working alongside Henry was Dave Zeldon, former president of the Simcoe Horticultural Society and past horticultural teacher at Simcoe District High School.

Henry says, “There’s no such thing as an ugly wreath.”  Simply put the task for each of the three, three-person volunteer demonstration teams that night was to make small bundles of branches about the size of the space formed by joining your thumb with your index finger together. Then each team was asked to do the same thing eight times in total. “The bigger the bundle the bigger your wreath will be,” Henry says.

The greenery in Henry’s containers included Fraser Fir from Fox Hollow, Eising grown White Spruce as well as Norway Spruce, White Cedar, Yew, Boxwood, White Pine and Blue Juniper. For Christmas greenery you could also choose Hemlock, Blue Spruce, Austrian Pine or Red Pine.

“There’s an upside down and a right side up to all branches,” Henry says. They definitely look different. For example Fraser Fir branches have white lines on the underneath side. You can choose to have either side facing up.

To form the bundles Henry suggests you start with the longest branch (about 8 to 10 inches) and work your way down so that all of the different kinds of foliage can be seen in the bundle. “The stuff on the outside of the bundle should be the heavier stuff,” he says, “and work your way toward the finer stuff.”

The wreath frames that Henry brought consisted of two connected circular wire frames with pairs of tines spaced evenly around the outside and inside circles. These tines can be pinched together by hand, by using a pair of pliers, or by using Henry’s Wreath Maker 5000 machine. Pinching the tines together around the bundles will hold each bundle of branches in place. The wreath frames come in a variety of sizes with up to 20 pairs of tines for bunches of greenery. The ones we used for demonstration had just eight pairs.

Once you have a bunch of greenery held in place by the tines Henry says to trim off the stem end of the bundle to about two inches past the peg. Then pinch the next bunch in place and so on until you have worked your way around the wreath frame. Lastly, snip off any brown tips or anything that’s sticking out and look to see that the wreath is well-balanced.

You can hang a wreath on your door for the entire festive season. The fresh evergreen smell is marvellous. “To make it last even longer you can spray the wreath with a product called Wilt Proof,” Henry says.

The all-green demonstration wreaths that were created at the meeting consisted of just greenery. “Some people,” Henry says, “ask where all the frou frou glittery stuff is.” He says that if you choose to add decorative pieces, bells or ribbons or bows before Christmas you can take them off after Christmas and your just-green wreath will still be perfectly fine.

Of the three demonstration wreaths assembled at the Horticultural Society meeting the favourite was the one with all of the underside of the foliage facing out. It was lush and full and people thought it looked much more shimmery. It was constructed by the all male threesome of Horticultural Society members Norm, Bill and Louis.

If you’re unsure about trying to make a fresh evergreen wreath of your own at home, Eising’s offers Build Your Own Christmas Wreath Workshops for groups of various sizes in the lead up to the festive season. The cost is about $40 each and this includes the greenery. Call 519-428-4607 for information or visit eising.ca online.

For information about the Tillsonburg Horticultural Society visit tillsonburghorticultural.ca.

It’s Still Just Dirt – October 2015, The Tillsonburg News
by Penny Esseltine

From  Bear Lake, Kelowna, and Vancouver in the west to Sackville, Conception Bay, and Charlottetown in the east and even Aklavik in the north, 140 Canadian communities will be planting Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Gardens this fall in recognition of the 70th Anniversary of the original Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Garden planted in Ottawa at the end of World War II in 1945.

And did I mention Tillsonburg. Yes, we are one of the 140 communities selected from the more than 400 applications received by the Canadian Garden Council.

Tillsonburg Director of Parks, Culture and Recreation Rick Cox says he thinks this is a really good thing for this area. “Local people of Dutch ancestry have helped to build this area so it’s appropriate that we recognize and celebrate this connection.”

It all started 70 years ago at the end of the war. Princess Juliana of the Netherlands presented 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa, Canada’s capital, in appreciation of the safe haven that members of Holland’s exiled royal family received during World War II, and in recognition of the role Canadian troops played in the liberation of the Netherlands. This presentation of tulip bulbs was the beginning of the Canadian Tulip Festival.

The tulips in Ottawa have grown to be a symbol of peace, freedom and international friendship. Today over a million tulips in 50 varieties bloom in public spaces across the National Capital Region during the Tulip Festival each year.

Each of the 140 new 70th Anniversary Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Gardens across the country will consist of 700 red and white tulip bulbs (350 of each colour) generously donated by Vesey’s Bulbs in Prince Edward Island. Rick says our bulbs have already arrived.

A planting ceremony for the Tillsonburg Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Garden is set for Saturday morning, November 7 starting at 9:00 a.m. at the northeast corner of the Tillsonburg Cemetery facing Simcoe Street.

Everyone with an interest in the Friendship Garden is invited to come and help plant tulip bulbs. A special invitation is extended to children of all ages, veterans, gardening enthusiasts, and of course local residents of Dutch descent.

If you would like to participate as an individual or as a group you are welcome to come out with a trowel and perhaps a pair of garden gloves too.

Whether you are planning to plant tulip bulbs in the Friendship Garden or at home in your own garden, here are some basic instructions to consider.

• Tulip bulbs should be planted right side up, at least six to eight inches deep measuring from the  base of the bulb. Ideally you should dig a little deeper to loosen the soil and allow for drainage. Remember, the bigger the bulb the deeper the hole needs to be.
• Make sure the top of the bulb (the pointy end) is facing up toward the light. You should be able to see leftover root scales on the bottom of the bulb and perhaps some dry remnants of foliage at the top. Set the bulb in the hole and press the soil firmly around it.
• Water bulbs right after planting. Bulbs will need water to trigger growth.

Of course in the spring we will all be looking for our Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Garden to bloom and Rick says a bloom celebration will be planned. In Southern Ontario tulip bulbs generally bloom between the end of April and the beginning of June depending on the type of tulip and where it’s planted.

In 2016 the Ottawa Tulip Festival expects their tulips to bloom during the annual festival celebration which is scheduled for between May 13 and 23, 2016.

For more information about the Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Gardens visit canadasgardenroute.ca; and for information about the Ottawa Tulip Festival visit tulipfestival.ca.

If you would like more information about Tillsonburg’s Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Garden call Rick Cox at 519-688-3009, ext. 4228.

Lastly, for information about the Tillsonburg Horticultural Society visit tillsonburghorticultural.ca.