It’s showtime, gardeners! On Friday, August 11, you can take in the Saskatchewan Horticultural Association’s 73rd Annual Provincial Show, 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the OCC hall in Kamsack, hosted by the Kamsack Horticultural Society.
Then, here in Yorkton, remember that Tuesday, August 15 is the date of the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society Annual Fruit, Flower and Vegetable Display Show from 1:00 p.m. till 5:00 p.m. at St. Gerard’s Parish Complex, 125 Third Avenue North, Yorkton. Everyone is invited! Bring a friend and come enjoy the best that this year’s garden has to offer. You’ll see displays of vegetables and fruit, things you may want to try in next year’s garden; pretty and interesting cut flowers; stunning displays of houseplants and containers that are sure to give you inspiration for your plants at home, and unique flower arrangements and floral art. We all work hard to make it the best show that we can for our guests. Plus, your $3.00 admission includes coffee or tea and dainties. How’s that for a bargain: an afternoon of inspirational horticulture, great company, and yummy taste treats! It’s a beautiful and enjoyable way to spend a summer’s afternoon! So please join us, everyone is welcome.
It occurred to me the other day that this is an ideal time to get out our gardening notebooks and take them with us on our daily garden tour, or when we are sitting enjoying a cup of tea on our patio. Why do we need our notebooks? Because as we are out there observing our gardens, we may see something that needs doing, and it is so easy to forget!
Last week, after one of those hot, hot days, my darling hubby and I were sitting on our lawn chairs in the early evening, trying to enjoy the cool wisps of breeze. Keith noticed a clump of large leaves across the garden in a perennial patch, and wondered aloud what they were. Lo and behold, amid the jungle of growth of other plants, a brave little ligularia was struggling to get his share of the sun!
This plant went unnoticed till that moment from that particular angle, and as soon as we saw it we realized he needed a new location. Time to make a note! We didn’t have time that day to take care of the project, and it’s so easy to forget about moving this plant or trimming that one or dividing yet another. In the rush of fall clean-up work, we may not remember details like these. And in the spring, we are too caught up in planting up the garden or containers to think about this kind of maintenance work.
The notebook serves another purpose: this is an ideal time to jot down what things worked very well, and what didn’t, and what new plants were worth trying again. For us, we had some delightful combinations, all by chance. One was a small twenty four inch cedar, planted in a container with a cascading grass. The strong upright shape of the cedar looked really nice with the fine, breezy stands of grass flowing over the edge of the container. Another plant that looks really striking for its dark red leaves was amaranth “Red Threads”. It was one of the plants we used to enhance our Canada 150 red-and-white theme, and it’s a real beauty! We’ll try it again. So get those notebooks out and start noting this year’s observations!
Just a reminder, gardeners: the Gardener’s Market is now on, each Saturday from 9 a.m. till noon at the North parking lot of the Prairie Harvest Christian Life Centre (corner of Melrose and Simpson) in Yorkton. This is your chance to buy or sell fresh local produce. If you would like to register as a seller, call Glen at (306) 783-7040.
Visit us at www.yorktonhort.ca and have a great week!
