Pine Ridge Garden Club News

by Helen Nicolaou

The cool, wet weather has made it difficult to get any gardening done. That being said the cool weather has prolonged the blooming period of many spring bulbs and shrubs for us to enjoy. You may have noticed the lilac bushes are looking spectacular this spring. The cool temperatures seem to have intensified flower pigments, giving an exceptionally colourful display. Fruit trees were covered in blooms, but there were few pollinators out due to the cold, wet days and blooms may not be pollinated to produce much fruit.

With these cold and wet conditions, watch for diseases, root rot and slug damage on your plants. If your garden is in a low area which lacks drainage you will need to either move the plant to a drier location and/or replace the plant with one which prefers wet soil.

Although our hands have been idle all winter and anxious to start planting, try to resist walking on wet soil as the soil will become compacted and will affect drainage and aeration. Once the soil has reached 50F/10C the micro-organisms in the soil become active and will provide nutrients to your newly planted seedlings and annuals. Until then your plants cannot absorb the nutrients which are available even in fertile soil. Apply a soluble fertilizer to annuals and vegetables to give them a boost at planting time.

The cool spring certainly produced many lovely specimens for the May 6th "Spring Flower Show." There was a record number of entries of Narcissus blooms in the Trumpet class. Shelley B. was awarded a first for her Flowering Almond in the Flowering Shrub class, while Norma H. won first for her Munchkin entry in the Design class. Lynda B. won Best in Show Horticulture in the "Any Other Tulip" class with her bi-coloured Parrot Tulip, and Helen N. won Best in Show Design for her "Branching Out" entry.

Gini Sage spoke on "The Benefits of Companion Planting." Great information was shared on how herbs planted with vegetables ward off pests or the use of flowers such as marigolds and zinnias attract pollinators and predatory insects help to grow healthy vegetables and reduce pests naturally.

Clouds were threatening, but we had a break on the morning of Saturday, May 17th, for The Annual Plant, Bake and Yard Sale Fundraiser. Tomatoes, perennials and shrubs quickly sold out. Tasty baked goods and yard sale treasures were found and given a new purpose. Vince was a welcome vendor from Vinces Sharpening this year and was kept busy sharpening hand tools. Thank you to all our members for your time, kind donations and support from the gardening community in making the event a great success. Many thanks to Century Gardens, Foodland, Vos' and Food Basics for your lovely donations of hanging baskets, planters and gift cards for the Door Prize Table.

Coming up, Tuesday, June 3rd, at 7:30 p.m., Silvia Strobl will speak on "Invasive Species-What can Gardeners Do?" Iris will be the Star of "The June Iris Show." New and Seasoned Members are encouraged to enter the show. Please place your entry between 6:15 and 7 p.m. Judging will begin promptly at 7:15 p.m. No stress, there will be assistants to help with filling out entry tags for placement of your specimens at the Workstation Table. It's fun to get involved by sharing what you grow; we all learn from each other. Come out for an evening of Garden Information. See Shelley for Door Prizes and Carolyn to become a member. Goodies and Refreshments will be provided. Guests are Welcome, see you there.

To see what you missed, visit our website pineridgegardenclub.com