Dear Helen: No one I've asked has been able to identify a flower I grew from seeds gathered from plants I saw in Ontario a year ago. The plants grow around 75 centimetres high and bear trumpet-shaped flowers in the afternoon. My blooms are mostly pink with a few pink-streaked yellow ones.
The flowers and foliage seem a little like balsam or impatiens.
M.K.
Dear M.K.: I think you have Four O'clock (Marvel of Peru, Mirabilis jalapa) plants. Discovered by conquistadors in the 16th century, Four O'clocks grow between 60 and 90 cm tall depending in the variety, and open their fragrant blooms in the afternoon. Flower colours are rose, red, yellow, pink and white, with many streaked and marbled bicolours. More than one flower colour can appear on the same plant. The plants grow and flower best in full sun.
Four O'clocks seem more popular on the prairies and in Ontario than they are here. William Dam Seeds lists two mixtures.
Tea Time Formula is an early-flowering, compact variety, "excellent for large containers." Marbles Mix bears striped and streaked bicolours.
The plants are tender perennials, but they are grown here as annuals. Like dahlias, they form tuberous roots that can be stored over the winter.
Dear Helen: With the rising cost of food, my family has decided to begin preparing a site on our property to be a vegetable and fruit garden. We plan to dig up the sunny area and dig in compost and seaweed this fall, and plant in the spring.
Our question: Must the beds be defined by boards or bricks? This seems to be standard practice.
F.L.
Dear F.L.: I realize that most food gardens are set up with boxed beds, but this is not necessary. Personally, I prefer not to have my garden plots constrained in this way. I prefer the versatility of an open garden, where the space allotted for different plantings can easily be altered from year to year.
An open-plan food plot is space-efficient. Access pathways between plantings need only be the width of a steel garden rake's working end.
In preparing the soil for your new food garden, consider digging in a light dusting of dolomite lime - except where potatoes and strawberries are to be grown. Seaweed is best gathered when it is freshly washed ashore in autumn storms. Apply it only five cm deep and dig it in along with the compost and lime.
GARDEN EVENTS
Eaglecrest meeting. The Eaglecrest Garden Club will meet this evening at 7: 30 in the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre. Guest speaker Brian Minter will present Sensational Fall Containers. Plants will be available for sale and refreshments will be served. Doors open at 6: 30 with $5 admission for non-members. More information at 250-752-5315.
HCP courses. The following courses are being offered by the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in Saanich. For more information or to register phone 250-479-6162. hcp.ca.
? Basketry using Northwest Material, Saturday, Oct. 27 or Sunday, Oct. 28, 9: 30 a.m. to 4: 30 p.m. Joan Carrigan will introduce participants to the harvesting, preparation and weaving of western red cedar bark, West Coast sweetgrass, willow bark and beargrass in making baskets they will treasure. Cost including all materials is $110 for HCP members, others $154.
? There's a Mushroom in my Garden, Sunday, Oct. 28, 1 to 5 p.m. Shannon Berch will provide a basic introduction to mushrooms found in local gardens, lawns and forests. There will be two hours in a classroom and a one-hour field trip followed by one classroom hour examining collections. Cost to members $35, others $50.
Greenhouse tours. The Butchart Gardens is taking reservations now for weekend tours in November of its extensive complex of greenhouses. Staff gardeners will explain propagation methods, pest controls and cultivation practices. The one-hour tours will take place every Saturday and Sunday in November, starting at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m., with a limit of 15 persons on each tour. The tours are offered at no charge, but admission to the gardens is required. Walking is involved, on uneven terrain and in narrow spaces. To reserve call 250-652-4422, local 203, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
