By now, we’ve all got the gardening bug! If you’re looking for new plants for your garden, don’t miss the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society’s Spring Plant and Bulb Sale, Friday, May 25 from 9:30 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. at the Parkland Mall, Yorkton. There will be a great selection of plants at very reasonable prices, and gardeners on hand to answer your questions. If you are looking for a specific plant, my advice is to be there when the sale begins at 9:30 a.m. Sometimes things move along very quickly!
Perhaps you are looking for garden space? A new community gardens is in the works; gardeners do not have to pay a fee for a garden plot. Call Warren at (306) 782-3249 for more information about this.
I’d like to congratulate our three Iron Gardeners from our last meeting: Allona Zeiben, Ed Sek, and Frank Woloschuk. They did an amazing job of planting up three beautiful containers with mystery plants and props. It was great fun and we all enjoyed it! Thank you to our Iron Gardeners for being such good sports; to our commentator Keith Hayward; our time-keeper Marie Monka; and to our great and enthusiastic members who cheered them on!
I can’t stress enough that anyone can garden. I think we all know the huge gardens that were so common in the past are now but a memory for many gardeners. Most gardens are much smaller; some people have no garden at all. Their “garden” may be a collection of containers on the back step or deck. But there are many plants that can be grown in containers with great success: tomatoes, peppers and herbs. There are bush varieties of cucumbers. Lettuce makes a beautiful planter and does very well in a container; how delicious and handy to pick your salad just outside your door! And tuck in a few onion bulbs among your flowering containers: you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the size they will grow into, and in the fall you’ll end up with a nice “bonus” dish of onions!
If your garden space is limited, consider planting veggies into your flower beds among your flowers. Have you heard the term “edible landscaping?” When you have a few minutes to spare, type “edible landscaping” into your computer. You’ll find all kinds of suggestions on how to make the most of your space. There is a book called “Edible Landscaping” by Rosalind Creasy. She is a gardener who pioneered this concept decades ago, and what a wonderful idea it is! If you see this book in a bookstore, it would be an invaluable reference to add to your garden library.
Further to this, I read a great article by Rosalind Creasy in Mother Earth News talking about the amazing amount of produce she grew in a 100 square foot garden. She kept track of what she harvested, and this would be an interesting exercise for any of us. The most astonishing part is when she priced out what she grew, and realized that she had saved over six hundred dollars by growing a garden in what used to be a very small patch of lawn.
So just because you don’t have all kinds of space to work with, you can still grow a delicious and productive “garden”. It may not be the traditional garden grown in the traditional way, but it can still be very satisfying! Keep going, gardeners!
With that taste of hot weather that we had last week, it’s time to be careful of the sun. Be sure to use sunscreen. And always wear a hat!
Visit our website at www.yorktonhort.ca; you’ll find the latest news on the group’s activities, as well as useful information on a variety of topics. Have a great week!
