Dear Helen: Our garden club is having a seed-growing contest this year and we are thinking of choosing nasturtiums as the plant to grow. Could you suggest an exceptional variety that would do well in most garden conditions?

A. Of all the beautiful nasturtium varieties I've grown, I'd choose as my favourite the heirloom Glorious Gleam, a 1953 AllAmerica Selections winner.

These are semi-trailing plants to about one metre in a lively colour blend of fragrant, semi-double flowers. I've grown Glorious Gleam in the brick planter across the lightly shaded front of my house, where the plants cascade down in a floral curtain to the ground. In a mild year, there can be flowers into December.

Glorious Gleam is suitable for hanging baskets (not in hot sun) and other containers and for planting to tumble over a low wall or cover a patch of ground.

Seeds are usually available in the original colour blend and the red-flowered Scarlet Gleam.

If club members prefer growing a compact, mounded nasturtium, Alaska is interesting for its cream-splashed green leaves and bright, single flowers in yellow, orange and red. It is nice in hanging baskets.

All these varieties are commonly available on seed racks, but because various strains of these flowers exist, for contest purposes you'll probably want all the members to grow from a single source.

The Butchart Gardens probably has the best price on the Gleam nasturtiums at $1.35 a packet. Go to butchartgardens.ca. The Online Shopping button will lead you to the seeds.

Alaska can be found on seed racks or ordered from West Coast Seeds, Stokes, or T&T Seeds.

Dear Helen: I am having a difficult time getting rid of liverwort in my garden.

In some areas it has made dense, flat mats. When I remove the growth, it comes back.

A. Liverworts form green, flattened, plate-like mats on the surface of the soil. They will continue to regrow until the conditions that foster them change.

Compacted soil, poor drainage, acid conditions and shade all promote growth of liverworts. They can form only on moist soil surfaces.

Liverwort regrowth can be prevented. A shaded area against my back fence used to harbour solid carpets of them. When I went out at the time of writing this column to find some to photograph, I could find none.

After raking or hoeing away the liverworts, loosen the soil well to maintain a slightly rough, well-drained surface. If the soil is very compacted, scratch or dig in some organic matter such as compost for enhanced aeration.

Unless acid-loving plants like rhododendrons are growing in the area, scratch in a light dusting of lime. A soil close to neutral on the acid-alkaline scale works well to discourage liverwort growth, and most plants grow best in this range.

Where there is dense shade from trees, consider removing a few lower limbs to let in more light.

GARDEN EVENTS

View Royal meeting. The View Royal Garden Club will meet this evening at 7: 30 in the Shoreline Community School, 2750 Shoreline Dr. Rachelle McElroy from the Invasive Plant Council of B.C. will speak about the Grow Me Instead program with a slide show and discussion on alternatives to invasive plants in our gardens. A judged mini-show will feature exhibits from members' gardens and a sales table will have plants and garden items. Visitors and new members are welcome. More information at 250-220-5212.

Chrysanthemum meeting. The Victoria Chrysanthemum Society will meet Thursday at 7: 30 p.m. in the St. Matthias Church Hall, 600 Richmond (at Richardson). Dwight Pennell of Integrity Sales in Saanich will talk about soil.

Pruning workshop. The B.C. Fruit Testers Association is hosting a winter pruning workshop on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the old orchard at Hatley Park, Royal Roads University. Follow the signs from the main gate at 2005 Sooke Rd. in Colwood, and park in Lot 7 (pay parking). This free, hands-on event is open to the public. Pruning experts will demonstrate dormant-season pruning techniques on fruit trees and grape vines. Participants are encouraged to bring their pruners to practise what they learn.

Spring Sundays. Milner Gardens and Woodland, 2179 West Island Hwy. in Qualicum Beach, invites visitors to drop in and enjoy the early spring bulbs between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Sundays through February and March. Admission is by donation.

hchesnut@bcsupernet.com