HELEN NICOLAOU The Standard
Although the end of Day Light Savings Time was over 2 weeks ago, I am still trying to adjust to the actual hours of light. Darkness by 5:30 makes for a long night and hard to shift from my time that I had spent outside to the level of indoor in-activity. The summer sunny garden once filled with beautiful bright coloured dahlias have wilted and appear dead since the light frost. By digging up the bulbs before a heavy frost you can save your favourite summer bloomers, (especially the hard to find varieties). To overwinter tropical bulbs begin with removing most of the dirt, trim back the stems to approximately 10.5cm, sprinkle with garden sulphur (to protect from fungi) and wrap in newspaper with some peat moss. The peat moss will absorb excess moisture to keep the bulbs from rotting. Pack into a cardboard box, store in a cool, dark and dry place (like a garage). It is important to keep the bulbs from freezing, temperature around 4c to 10c is best. Check twice through the winter on the condition of the bulbs and remove any that have gone mushy to prevent the healthy bulbs from spoiling. On average expect only 80% of the bulbs to be in good condition to plant the following season. Many other tropical plants that grow from bulbs, tubers, corms, or rhizomes including elephant ears, caladiums, cannas and gladiolus can also be stored in the same way.
The Tuesday, November 7th meeting at the Nestleton Community Centre was filled with the scent of fresh pine, spruce and cedar boughs. Gail Marie Cameron from Nestleton Village Florist and Gifts was on hand to provide instruction during the Holiday Swag Workshop. The room was buzzing with conversation as members worked on assembling their swags attaching various pine cones, berry sprigs and were thrilled to choose their own ribbon for bow making. The completed bows and individual accents made each swag unique. Thank-you Gail for a fun social evening. Members enjoyed refreshments of sweets and tea following our “Make and Take” Workshop.
Our 2023 Annual general meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 5th at 6:30 p.m. We will be ending another successful gardening season with our Potluck Dinner. The evening will include our year end Annual General Meeting, Election of Officers, Awards, Photo Competition Display and Door Prizes.
Pine Ridge Garden Club – Where Gardeners Come to Bloom