Never before had I seen such glee over the prospect of a significant rainfall. Though some places on the Island were blessed with earlier summer rain, for the rest it had been drought all the way through — until the end of August.
So many plants, and more that a few gardeners, had begun to look downright weary.
Now, the kale plants are super-perky, fresh young lettuces and endive invite cutting for salads, the leeks are swelling, and pods have formed on peas, bush beans, and runner beans seeded in July. Particularly ornamental are the red and white flowers on Painted Lady, an heirloom runner bean (Seed Savers Exchange).
The intermittent rains provided perfect conditions for transplanting the last of the hardy winter greens and for seeding corn salad and miner’s lettuce.
It was a scramble to gather in the remaining tomatoes and prune plums before the rain began. Luckily, the long, hot summer meant that they were almost all ready to pick. For the first time ever, there was no need to cover the tomatoes as protection against blight, which arrives with late summer rains. I just picked the tomatoes and cut down the vines.
The onions — a wonderful crop this year — were lifted at mid-August. The Kelsae (West Coast Seeds) bulbs are huge, and Red Label, a new listing in the William Dam Seeds catalogue, produced very nice sweet red onions.
There will be an earlier than usual harvesting as well of pumpkins and winter squashes, this month. My hope is that the early harvesting of so many edibles will help to translate into an early start to the fall cleanup and the completion of traditional September tasks. A sampler:
• While they are fresh in mind, roughly sketch the positions of each main block of this year’s vegetables. Then make another sketch for the 2016 vegetable garden and begin marking in changed locations for each section of vegetables.
• September is ideal for sowing new lawns and for renovating and overseeding unsightly areas in established lawns.
• Clear away and compost spent vegetable and annual flower plantings. Keep the garden weeded.
• Dig and divide congested and overgrown perennials.
• Plant pansies for containers around doorways and at windows. Begin planting hardy spring flower bulbs.
GARDEN EVENTS
Hydrangea Day. The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in Saanich, is hosting Hydrangea Day on Sunday, 12 to 3 p.m. Carmen Varcoe will present a free lecture and slide show at noon on Growing Hydrangeas in the Pacific Northwest, to be followed by a plant sale from 12:45 to 3. hcp.ca. 250-479-6162.
VRS meeting. The Victoria Rhododendron Society will meet on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Garth Homer Centre, 813 Darwin Ave. Carmen Varcoe, current chair of the University of Victoria Finnerty Garden’s Advisory Board, will speak about “Good Companion Plants for Rhododendrons.” Visitors are warmly welcomed, with no admission fee.
Peninsula meeting. The Peninsula Garden Club will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday in the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney. Ann Nightingale of Rocky Point Bird Observatory will give an illustrated talk about the many species of birds found on Vancouver Island and where they are most likely to be found. Visitors are welcome for a non-member drop-in fee of $5.
Gordon Head meeting. The Gordon Head Garden Club will meet on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Gordon Head United Church hall, 4201 Tyndall Ave. Paul de Greef, landscape architect, will speak about Integrating Rain Water into the design of your garden.
Hardy plants. The Hardy Plant Group will meet on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Knox Presbyterian Church, 2964 Richmond Rd. in Victoria. Carmen Varcoe will speak about Favourite Woodlanders. Visitors are welcome for a $5 fee.
Rose meeting. The Mid Island Rose Society will meet on Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Nanaimo North Library, across from Green Thumb Nursery on Hammond Bay Rd. in Nanaimo.
Peninsula anniversary. The Peninsula Garden Club will celebrate its 60th anniversary on Saturday, October 3, with a Bud to Bloom event from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Mary Winspear Centre, Sidney. The event will feature flower and plant displays, vendors, a lunch prepared by Truffles catering, and Dan Hinkley speaking about Notable Plants Discovered in the Past 60 Years. Tickets at $35 are at Tanner’s Books and the Dig This stores. More details at peninsulagardenclub.ca.
