As friends were exiting my front door following a pot luck evening a few weeks ago, an answer to a garden question suddenly came to me as I observed the departing women looking above them in admiration at tree branches laden with flowers that glistened in the front porch light.
The tree with the pendulous clusters of bell-shaped white flowers is a strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) that I’ve trained to a spreading shape. The plant grows almost directly opposite my front door. The branches form a canopy over the passage from driveway to door. In the fall, that canopy is a ceiling of flowers.
The question, from a reader: What medium to small evergreen tree would be suitable for a spot opposite my front door? One possible answer lay right before me.
The form of A. unedo that is appropriate for most landscapes is ‘Compacta,’ which grows 1.8 to 2.4 metres high. The tree produces dense multi-stemmed growth, but it can also be thinned to reveal its attractive reddish bark and branches.
Strawberry tree grows in a wide range of soil conditions as long as drainage is good. Heathers are ideal for growing around the base. It’s a choice to consider for a low-maintenance, drought-tolerant (once established) small tree or large shrub with year-round interest. During the holiday season at my house, Christmas lights replace the flowers along the spreading overhead branches.
Time change and November. With the end of daylight time this weekend, late afternoons will soon become overtaken with darkness and the gardening scene will change.
At this point, I am looking back in gratitude to many glorious October afternoons gardening in brilliant sunshine, amidst the glowing and fiery colours of the season. At the same time I’m looking forward to this month and the opportunities that emerge from November’s general gloom.
Rainy days offer interludes of dreaming and planning, of taking stock of leftover seeds and absorbing the new catalogues as they arrive. Useable outdoor hours are chances to clean and tidy, streamline and simplify, repair and renew — all pathways to easier, more pleasurable and productive spring and summer seasons in the new year.
A few November projects to consider:
• Spread lime on lawns that have been raked clean of leaves and debris.
• Stir up and turn over compost piles to reduce compaction and introduce fresh air. Cover the heaps loosely with a tarp or sheet of plastic to prevent rain from leaching nutrients from the mass. Uncovering and stirring up a compost pile occasionally will keep it adequately aerated.
• Cover the bare soil of emptied plots with small or chopped leaves.
• Finish planting hardy spring-flowering bulbs. Not sure where to plant? Pot them, close together but not touching, placing the bulbs at around the mid-height level of the pot. Winter the pots outside, in shelter form the rain. Water as needed through the winter and bring the containers into their display locations as top growth appears.
• Most amaryllis bulbs need potting now for Christmas bloom. For later planting, look for bulbs specially grown to flower just four to six weeks after planting.
• House plants. Except for those in active growth or bloom, water minimally until late winter or early spring. Keep the plants clean. As darkness descends outdoors, check out garden centres for a brightly flowering house plant to cheer the atmosphere in a kitchen, bedroom or den.
GARDEN EVENTS
VRS meeting. Victoria Rhododendron Society meets Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Couvelier Pavilion at the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in Saanich.
Gordon Head meeting. The Gordon Head Garden Club meets Monday at 7 p.m. in Gordon Head United Church, 4201 Tyndall Ave. in Saanich. Darren Bricker of Southern Sun Garden Design will speak about Challenges to our Gardens within the Context of Climate Change. The evening will include a parlour show and raffle. Non-member visitors are welcome at no charge.
VHS meeting. The Victoria Horticultural Society meets Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Garth Homer Centre, 813 Darwin Ave. Agneta Roberts, landscape designer at GardenWorks, will present Landscape Design Principles: Where to start when designing your garden. Learn how to create a functional, resilient and beautiful space with a landscape plan. Drop-in fee of $5 is refundable with purchase of a membership.
