First of all, gardeners, some housekeeping notes: the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society is planning a bus trip to Dauphin on Saturday, June 4. Plans are still being made but the trip will likely include visits to gardens and greenhouses. Are you interested in coming along? Members and non-members are welcome; just call Liz at (306) 782-2830 before Wednesday, May 18 if you are interested in this road trip and she can tell you all about it.
The next regular horticultural society meeting will be on Wednesday, May 18 at 7:00 p.m. in the Sunshine Room at SIGN on North Street; our special guest will be Mr. D’Arcy Schenk, retired horticulturalist from the U of R, speaking to us about “Trees and Shrubs For City Yards”. There are so many new yards waiting to be landscaped, and so many established yards that might need rejuvenating, so we can all benefit from D’Arcy’s knowledge and experience! Come out and get some new ideas and inspiration!
Then, on Friday, May 27, we’ll be having our Spring Plant & Bulb Sale, 9:30 a.m. till 5 p.m. at the Parkland Mall. This is a one day sale, and you know the drill: be there early in the day for best selection, especially if you are looking for certain plants! Enthusiastic gardeners will be on hand in case you have any questions!
Work in our gardens is now in full swing, and I was wondering if you’ve ever grown lamb’s ears? The two dollar name for lamb’s ears is “stachys byzantina” and it originally called Turkey and Armenia home. This is a great little perennial plant, hardy for our area. If you have never grown it, you will find that it is a versatile plant, a fine ground cover, or a nice plant to have at the edge of a perennial bed. (Because of its low growing habit, and its strong network of roots, I think that lamb’s ears might also make a good soil stabilizer on a gentle slope.)
This plant is known for the foliage; later in the summer there will be some flowers spikes that shoot up above the leaves, but they are not significant in terms of flower-power, and some gardeners tell me they just break them off when they appear. The leaves are the stars, and their hues look beautiful with whatever is planted next to them.
Lamb’s ears grow about six to eight inches high, with silvery-grey leaves that are beautifully soft to the touch. If you have little gardeners in your family, this would be a great plant for them to add to their little patch, because they will love stroking the soft leaves. You can start the plants from seeds, but it is much easier to begin with started plants.
Lamb’s ears like full sun and can tolerate partial shade, but it will do best in a sunny location with good drainage.
The plant does not have a problem with pests, is very low maintenance, and the only thing you might have to do is divide it every few years. After they have been around for a number of years, lamb’s ears might die out in the middle, and that is when dividing them will rejuvenate them.
A great plant to add to your perennial collection! Speaking of adding plants, let’s make a pact to try at least one new thing in our gardens or planters this spring. We all have our favorites and that’s great, but let’s expand our gardening horizons with a new plant! It’s so exciting to see the beautiful plants that are out there, just waiting for us to take them home! So: at least one new plant, something you have never tried before! Okay? Okay!
Have a great week, don’t work too hard, and be sure to wear a hat!
