Pine Ridge Garden Club News: July 2026

by Helen Nicolaou

July marks the middle of the summer season, with garden foliage filling in open spaces and a wide assortment of flowers to admire. Although the bloom of a daylily only lasts the day, there are many blooms maturing on a scape which will last for several weeks in the garden.

It's a good idea, while walking through the garden, to assess the growth of perennials, as they have matured, and decide if some trimming back of spent blooms and over-growth will help with air circulation and keep the garden healthy and visually pleasing. Daylilies, for the most part, are self-cleaning and will eventually drop spent blooms. Although, I find it satisfying to carry a bucket and remove the spent blooms.

Moving onto the vegetable garden, I find it hard to resist snacking on fresh cherry tomatoes, peas and cucumbers. However, as I noticed after a couple days of poor air quality, from recent wildfires, there was a layer of ash particulates on my car. This made me realize, the vegetables and fruit should be washed before eaten. With this month’s rain and higher humidity, many diseases can develop in the garden, such as powdery mildew, black spot and wilt to squash family vegetables, like cucumbers, zucchini and tomatoes.

There are several natural home remedies which can keep your vegetables from falling victim to fungus. The one I have used on cucumbers is, a solution of 1 teaspoon each of dish soap, baking soda and apple cider vinegar to 1.25 litres of water. Pour into a spray bottle, shake well and spray the top and underside of the leaves. Only spray early morning and evening, during cooler temperatures, so as not to burn the plant. Re-apply every 7-10 days or after a heavy rain. If the leaves already have visible signs of fungus spots, then spray every three days, removing the affected leaves and disposing of them in the garbage, not the compost pile.

Tuesday, July 7th, Emma Murphy spoke on the Effects of Lighting on Pollinators. Emma brought to our attention, pollinators are drawn to natural light, such as the moon, as ways to travel, forage and mate. L.E.D. lighting on homes and landscape garden lighting are used for safety as well as to accentuate visual interest. However, this type of lighting can harm pollinators, causing them confusion, stimulating them to fly in a geometric spiralling pattern. Emma suggested simple helpful fixes, such as replacing the bright L.E.D. lights with warm yellow/red lighting, and using timers, motion sensors and shielded landscape lights which project the light downwards, as ways of protecting our pollinators. We thank Emma for coming and sharing this information.

There were many entries in the July Flower and Vegetable Show. A total of 68 entries filled the show tables with beautiful horticultural specimens, in the flower and vegetable classes, and several arrangements, in the design class. In the horticultural section, some first place winners were, Gail J. for Asclepias (Butterfly Milkweed), Norma H. (Shasta Daisy), Freida V. (Any Annual, Marigold), Helen D. (Rose in a Bowl), Libbi H. (Rose Hybrid Tea, Lois Wilson), Joan Z. (Rhubarb), Helen N. (Herbs Culinary, 3 Varieties). In the Design Novice Class, Sue H. entered 3 designs, winning first place in Rustic Treasure, Line Dance and Three Amigos. Best in Show in Horticultural Class was Helen N. (Lily, Lilium, Black Eye), and Best in Show Design Class (Three Amigos). Congratulations, to all members for your participation and entries this month.

Tuesday, August 4th, at 7:30 p.m., is our Registered Members Only “Fresh Flower Design Workshop.” Members will meet and enjoy instruction from Alison Hall, of Blackstock Country Garden. Alison will supply flowers from her cutting garden and a vase to complete the arrangement. A reminder, please bring small hand pruners, with which to trim stems, plus gloves, a garden smock or apron and get ready for a good time. There will be refreshments available on this evening, so please Lug-a-mug. See you there.