Pine Ridge Garden Club news

by Helen Nicolaou

Autumn has been picture perfect with bright, cool, frosty mornings and pleasant sunny afternoons with busy times closing down the garden. A time also to gather thoughts and recording the successes and failures for the season. A time to remove perennial weeds from the garden as the root system will become established if left, tidy up over-grown plants to prevent mold growth, and remove vegetables, fruits, or foliage showing signs of blight, rust and mildew to prevent spores from over-wintering. Remember to wrap evergreen and sensitive shrubs in breathable burlap to protect them from harsh winds and damaging snow/ice. Leave the standing perennials for shelter for beneficial insects and food for wintering birds. Leaving a light layer of leaves in the garden protects plants and hibernating toads. Once the frost has darkened the top leaves of summer blooming bulbs, it’s time to dig the bulbs up and place into cool storage. Remove excess soil from the bulbs, trim off the stems to two inches, dry the bulbs and place into dry peat moss or sawdust layered loosely in a container. Clearly label the container with the type of plant and colour. Store the bulbs in a cool, dark space between 35 and 50 degrees F (2 and 10 C) for the winter. Summer bulbs include dahlias, begonias, cannas and gladiolus.

On Tuesday, October 6th, Mary-Jane Pilgrim from the Peterborough Master Gardeners gave an entertaining presentation on “The Spring Bulb Garden”. Ms. Pilgrim covered the proper time to plant autumn bulbs for spring colour and when to plant forced bulbs to enjoy early spring blooms indoors. Also, the difference between bulbs, corms, tubers and rhizomes. Key points were that proper planting will result in beautiful blooms or in the case of planting iris rhizomes too deep, will result in no bloom.

Members quickly registered for “Members Only” Holiday Centrepiece Workshop, scheduled for Tuesday, November 3rd. Members are asked to arrive by 7:15 p.m., as the meeting will begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. A reminder to bring small secateurs to cut evergreen branches, an apron and a small container to hold extra evergreen cuttings. Members who are not registered are welcome to come and watch, but there will be no regular meeting scheduled for this evening. There will be refreshments and goodies available.

Saturday, November 21st, the Pine Ridge Garden Club members will be on hand to welcome visitors, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., to the Nestleton Community Centre Holiday Craft Show. See you there to learn more about our friendly garden club.