Gardening friends, make a note and plan to attend the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society Annual Fruit, Flower and Vegetable Show, Wednesday, August 7 from 1:00 till 5:00 p.m. at St. Gerard’s Parish Complex, 125 Third Avenue North, Yorkton. This is a chance to see the best of the gardening season! Your admission includes coffee or tea and dainties, so bring a friend or two and enjoy a most pleasant gardening afternoon! Everyone is welcome!
Guess what? Wednesday, August 7 has been proclaimed “Garden Day” in the City of Yorkton! This proclamation was made on behalf of the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society, and is a wonderful way to focus on the beautiful gardens, parks, and plantings within the city. So here’s the goal for the day: get out and enjoy your garden, take a walk through your neighborhood, or visit one of the City’s parks. And of course, be sure to stop in at the annual flower show, too! Make it a real “garden day” and enjoy the beauty outdoors!
And remember, the Yorkton Gardeners’ Market is now on, every Saturday beginning at 8:00 a.m. till noon at Melrose Avenue and Simpson Street, Yorkton. Fresh garden produce, potted plants, honey, jams, pickles, all those yummy things and more will be for sale! If you’d like more information, either as a buyer or seller, please call Glen at 783-7040 or send a note to ethelda61@hotmail.com
When is a weed giving us an important message that might help us? Black medic does just that! Black medic: the name sounds sinister and troublesome, but sit down with me for a few minutes and I’ll tell you what I learned about this interesting plant. My research began when we noticed an unfamiliar plant growing in our “work corner”. It is a flat, low-growing plant that looks like clover, with tiny yellow flowers. It has a spreading habit, and it is quite resistant when you try and pull it out, but once you get a good grip on the core of the plant and pull it out, it makes a big difference!
Time for homework! I discovered that this is a plant called “black medic”, and it grows in areas where the soil is packed down. It is a cousin to the clover family. So do you see, if we have this plant growing in this kind of soil condition, it tells us that perhaps we need to improve and/or loosen the soil. Another interesting thing: if you have black medic in the lawn, it may send the message that the lawn is lacking nitrogen. But as you know, clover sets nitrogen, so this guest in our lawns may be helping to make them better! If you like a perfectly manicured, golf-green-perfect lawn, the plant may upset your lawn vision… but it is not always a bad thing! One more plus, the bees enjoy it.
As I mentioned, the plant is growing in our work corner, where we store planters and there is a lot of foot traffic. But pulling the plant out by hand is an easy and practical way to remove it. And more good news, I read that it is a short-lived annual.
I don’t remember who said that a weed “is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered”. Maybe that’s the case with black medic! So if we have it, we shouldn’t panic!
Maybe we should, in moderation, let it do its thing and live in harmony in our yards.
Are you familiar with the wonderful actress Helen Mirren? She said this, and I agree: “Gardening is learning, learning, learning. That’s the fun of them. You’re always learning.” So true!
So get out in the garden, (be sure to wear a hat), learn something new, and have a great week! Visit us at www.yorktonhort.ca and see what’s “coming up’!
