The hot topic of conversation these days is the warm winter and premature spring. Most are delighted with the early flowers and thriving winter food gardens. Kale plants are flourishing and offering up more rosettes of tasty greens by the day; purple sprouting broccoli and overwintered cauliflower plants are producing far earlier than usual. Fragrance fills the garden as winter daphne opens its rosy flower clusters and carpets of sweet violets offer up their perfume.
My winter daphne (Daphne odora) began flowering almost a month ahead of its usual time. It’s been a treat to have a few blooming sprigs in the kitchen, and a delight to present small bouquets of the waxy flower clusters to friends. The sweet scent is irresistible.
There are downsides to all this delectation.
When spring arrives prematurely, with all its demands, winter work is left unfinished. As plants leaf out, the pruning of summer-flowering and fruiting trees and shrubs can’t be delayed. Old foliage remaining on perennials must be cleared away, the beds tidied and mulched. The wretched grass is growing and needing attention.
Root vegetables left in the ground began re-rooting and re-growing this month instead of in March, which meant they needed to be lifted and placed in cold storage to keep them useable.
Early outdoor demands play havoc with indoor seeding schedules and with finishing the last seed orders.
In this winter’s effort to further streamline and simplify the garden, I completed a wide path alongside the 27-metre length of the back fence. I had to narrow it slightly only for a short space at one of the corners where I didn’t want to dig out too much of a strawberry planting.
Because I almost never get around to weeding the many pathways in the large back garden, I aim to gradually make them as weed-free as possible by first clearing them and then laying down cardboard followed by thick layers of newspaper before placing a cover of wood shavings.
That back fence pathway was a big winter project that was meant to be just a beginning. Wide paths on both side areas of the back garden still need clearing and covering.
If busy hands truly do make a happy heart, then fully engaged home gardeners, this early spring, ought to be ecstatic.
Chrysanthemum anniversary. This year, the Victoria Chrysanthemum Society celebrates its 75th anniversary. To commemorate its long life, the society will be collecting photos and stories from the past and attempting to contact past members for this information.
It is hoped that a number of members from the past will be able to join the group for a special annual dinner in June. Anyone with a previous connection to the club or information on past members is asked to email [email protected].
GARDEN EVENTS
Hellebore Sunday. The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in Saanich, is hosting Hellebore Sunday, 12 to 3 p.m. The sale will highlight unusual hellebores along with information on growing them, as well as alpine plants and ferns. hcp.ca/events.
Spring Sundays. Milner Gardens, 2179 West Island Highway in Qualicum Beach, will be open every Sunday in March from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to host visitors enjoying the gardens and all the spring flowers. The tea room is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for soup and scones. milnergardens.org.
Gordon Head meeting. The Gordon Head Garden Club will meet on Monday, at 7:30 p.m. in Gordon Head United Church hall, 4201 Tyndall Ave. Charl Young, an occupational therapist from the Victoria Arthritis Centre, will discuss ways to guard wrists, knees and back from harm in Easier Gardening.
VHS meeting. The Victoria Horticultural Society will meet on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Garth Homer Centre, 813 Darwin Ave. Val Schaefer of UVic’s School of Environmental Studies will speak about Victoria’s Urban Forest — a mix of native Douglas fir and Garry oak, joined by species from around the globe planted as street trees and food sources. Val will summarize his booklet Victoria’s Urban Forest: A Walking Guide to Species of Interest, available at urbanecology.ca/publications. The pre-meeting workshop at 6:30 will feature Mildred Martens, co-ordinator of the Fruit & Vegetable Group, on the basics of Seed Sowing.
