AMLOOPS ARDEN LUB EXECUTIVE President: Rae Wilson 374-5251 raewilson@shaw.ca Vice president: Sharon Green Secretary: Ruth Lunn Treasurer: Carolyn Demers Membership/Newsletter: Judy Villeneuve Directors, Liv Sallows, Judy Villeneuve, Roberta Marshall Flower Show Director Liv Sallows Oct. 2015 Newsletter Meeting will be at 7:00 pm, Thursday Oct.29 th. (one day later than usual) in upper level of Heritage House, 100 Lorne St. Guests are always welcome Guest Speaker: Rick Howie an expert about birds will talk about birds in winter in your back yard. Thank you to Kevin Scollon, one of the horticulture instructors from TRU, who showed us some very interesting slides of gardens and parks in Japan. He also emphasized that it was easy to find nice hotel rooms in Japan for prices between $80 and $125 a night. Fall Harvest Auction in September was a hoot thanks to Rae Wilson our president who made it so much fun with his taunting, teasing and joking around, invoking the name of Martha Stewart a few times. It was a huge success, and brought in $164 for the club. Thank you so much Rae and all the members who participated. Grocery Receipts: Just a reminder that Super Valu store is now known as the Independent Grocery Store in the North Hills Mall. They will no longer accept Super Valu receipts but will accept their own Independent store ones. It is very imperative that you bring them in soon so they can be turned in now for gift certificates to cover the Christmas turkeys and prime rib for January s pot luck. Christmas Pot luck party will be Sunday December 6 th at 6:00pm at Heritage House.
What kind of tater are you? Some People never seem motivated to participate, but are just content to watch while others do the work. They are called "Spec Taters". Some people never do anything to help, but are gifted at finding fault with the way others do the work. They are called "Comment Taters" Some people are very bossy and like to tell others what to do. They are called "Dick Taters" Some people are always looking to cause problems by asking others to agree with them. It is too hot or too cold, to sour or too sweet. They are called "Agie Taters" Some people will say they will help, but somehow just never get around to actually doing the promised help. They are called "Hesi Taters" Some people can put up a front and pretend to be someone they are not. They are called "Emma Taters" Then there are those who love others and do what they say they will. They are always prepared to stop whatever they are doing and lend a helping hand. They bring real sunshine into the lives of others. They are called "Sweet Taters" Two Sweet Taters are needed to fill in 2 director positions and one Sweet Tater to make coffee for the meetings. A Pin Oak tree has been purchased to be planted in Centennial Park in honor of our departed long term member Inga Algaier, the planting date to be announced. Autumn is the delightful season that runs from the disposal of the last zucchini to the arrival of the first catalog. Zucchini: the only garden vegetable with its own area code. (millions of zucchini). Crows: Canny birds that are rarely frightened either by dummies in the garden or dummies of dummies in the garden.
Fall Garden Cleanup: some plants that do better if foliage is left on till spring. Artemisia: need their foliage cover for winter protection, to avoid severe dieback or death. Asters, Balloon flower, leave old foliage as a marker, Blue Mist shrub (Caryopterist), Butterfly Bush, Campanula, Cardinal Flower Cushion Spurge (Euphorbia), Delphinium foliage only, Dianthus, Foamflower (Tiarella), Foxglove are pruned back after flowering and produce a rosette of basal growth which should be left on. Fringed leaf Bleeding Heart, Gas Plant has irritating sap that is less pronounced in spring dormancy, Geum can remain semi-evergreen in mild winters, Globe Thistle will respond well to a pruning in July, producing more flowers and sturdier plants that will stand for the winter and feed the birds. Winter survival is improved if not cut back hard in the fall, Heartleaf Bergenia The shiny round leaves can remain evergreen in mild winters and even cold damaged leaves can remain an attractive bronze color. Clean-up in spring, only as needed. Hosta: Although the foliage gets ugly over winter, some Hosta varieties can be damaged by spring frosts and benefit from the protection of the collapsed foliage. Lamb s Ear: There s no point in trying to clean up for the winter. Let it be and remove winter damage when the leaves perk up in the spring. Lavender: Many areas have a hard time over-wintering lavender. The problem is more often moisture than cold, but cold is a factor. Don t prune lavender late in the season, as new growth is extremely cold sensitive. Wait until new growth appears in the spring before removing winter die back. Lupines are temperamental, short-lived perennials and they do not enjoy winter. Leave the foliage on for protection and hope for the best come spring. Sea Holly (Eryngium) often gets a flush of new growth in the fall and cutting it back can cause unnecessary winter die-back. Mums (Chrysanthemum) need the foliage intact to protect the plant s crown, better to let the flowers bloom well into the fall. Oriental Poppies appear to be ephemeral, disappearing or declining after the blooms fade. However a new flush of foliage should emerge and can be left on the plants over winter, to act as mulch.
Pincushion Flower (Scabiosa) Remove the old flower stems, but this plant is so temperamental, leaving the old foliage may be the only way you will know where the plant was. In warmer areas, where it is hardier, the foliage may be evergreen. Red-Hot Poker (Kniphofia): trim back the foliage as it begins to decline, but don t cut it back entirely. The crown is very sensitive to cold and leaving a clump of foliage will help protect it. Trimming by ½ will keep the foliage from completely flopping. Russian Sage doesn t like to be trimmed back in that fall, because its tender growth is too sensitive to cold. Wait until new growth appears in the spring and then cut back to about 6-8". If the only new growth is from the base of the plant, the entire top woody section has died back and it can be pruned to the ground. Sea Lavender: The flowers are held so high on this airy plant that it s easy to forget the cluster of leaves at the base. Go ahead and forget them. Let them be for the winter and clean-up any die back in the spring. Sea Holly (Eryngium) It's the rare Eryngium that isn't cut back for drying, but a good deadheading in late summer will encourage a flush of basal growth that will carry the plants through winter. No further fall pruning should be done. Sedum: Many of the tall Sedums can remain attractive throughout the winter, even holding caps of snow on their flower heads. Autumn Joy, in particular, holds up very well. The basal foliage appears very early in spring, so Sedum can be one of the first plants you prune then. Last November I spayed several large seed heads with red paint and it lasted till spring and brightened up the garden. They can also be used in outdoor foliage arrangements. Tickseed (Coreopsis) seem to fare better if allowed to stand during the winter and cleaned-up in the spring. Turtlehead: Keeping the foliage on until spring seems to improve Chelone s winter survival. Valarian, Jupiter s Beard (Centranthus ruber) cutting it back to about 6-8 inches in late summer and then leaving that new growth over winter, increase the plant s chance of survival. Wand Flower (Guara) is such a short-lived perennial that allowing the flowers to remain and possibly self-seed may be the only way you ll see another Guara pop up in the garden next spring. Willow Amsonia (Bluestar) holds its shape better if sheared by about 1/3 after flowering. You ll lose the seed pods, but you ll prevent rampant self- seeding. However after this initial shearing, Amsonia responds better to being cut back in the spring, rather than the fall. Spring pruning seems to rejuvenate it.
Gardening hint Storing Dahlias for winter: I tried dry peat moss, which sucked out all the moisture room the tubers and left them shriveled up, with many dead. I tried wet peat moss that got full of mildew. I tried storing them with nothing which left them all shriveled up and mostly dead. Last year, I put a large bowl of water with a metal rack on top, and put the dahlia on top of the rack not touching the water, in my cold room, and they came out like new. If you don t have a cold room, use a cool basement but check once a month to make sure the water has not all evaporated. See you at the meeting Judy Villeneuve