Hello my dear gardening friends,

Lakefield Horticultural Society held another very successful Flower and Antique show. This year the lights did flicker on and off a few times during “The Storm” what a joy it was to see the rain, although it was so hard that I think a lot of the water just ran off our flower beds. Last year the lights went off and we had to close the show early. Then came the great Peterborough Flood - we thought that we might have to have had Noah standing by – luckily he was not needed!!

I had a fast visit to Rural Routes yesterday and a lot of things are on sale – Standard Rose Trees in full bloom are half price, a few perennials are left as well as the odd annual plants, some are even free.

Always check out the reduced section, behind the doors.

Ann Griffin (highway 28, outside Lakefield) still has lots of beautiful plants. I suggest a visit there; you never know what goodies you will find! I see that the garden people are stocking ‘mums, fall is really just around the corner, you can feel it early in the mornings now, and the mist is starting to rise from the lake. But my beautiful pansies are still blooming!!

Ferns seem to be popular again and I have been asked when can one move them?

Answer: Ferns can be lifted and transplanted either in the fall or the spring. They seem to do better when moved in the spring. If you are thinking of taking them from the wild as some of you with cottages are about to do – I would suggest that you walk around and mark the spot ready for next spring. Right now they are in full foliage and easy to see.

Always take as much of the underground parts as possible. Ferns are indeed the ideal plant for those shady spots under trees, along the north side of a house, or in a bed shaded by either a wall or fence. They will grow and thrive where nothing else will – there are lots of different types of ferns for sale at Marjorie Mason’s garden at the end of Brock Road, Pickering, near Coppins Corners.

Back to growing ferns…in addition to the shaded areas, ferns do need the right kind of soil if they are going to survive. It should be similar to the forest floor: rich in leaf mould, porous and well drained. If you are taking them from the woods, be sure to include lots of the surrounding growing medium. This should be added in enormous quantities to the area in which the ferns are to grow.

Once you have the soil in proper condition, your next step is to obtain a supply of hardy fernery - the best are of course our own native ferns. These can be purchased from a commercial grower, but as some of you have pointed out there are lots growing in swampy and bush areas. Be very careful when you are digging them from the wild, they are usually growing with a good crop of poison ivy – the leaves should be turning red soon, and then falling off. Do not be deceived – poison ivy is still as lethal with only those little white berries, as it is “with leaves of three!!!!

The following species are representative of those that adapt the best:

1) The interrupted fern (Osmunda Claytoniana) is the most popular. Its two to three foot, pale-green fronds (leaves) grow erect from the crown, forming a rosette. It is easily distinguished by the fact that the leaflets in the middle of the frond produce the spores and appear to wither and turn brown.

2) The cinnamon fern (O. cinnamomea) is somewhat similar, but has special fronds (or sometimes it is the tips of the fronds) that produce the spores.

3) The lady fern (Asplemium Filix-femina) does well in dense shade where it will build up masses of foliage in early summer – a good one for filling up that empty space.

4) The marginal shield fern (Aspidium marginale) is the one that abounds in cool areas. The rounded pinnae have the spore producing structures (sori) on the lower surfaces near the edges.

5) The ostrich fern is a large species, with fine foliage and special spore bearing stalks that have the appearance of feathers. It too has a cousin (like me)! It is the sensitive fern (o. sensibilis) this is common along the roadsides and is different to the usual ferns, in that it will grow in direct sunlight.

6) The maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) and the holly fern (Polystichum Lonchites) are really very nice in the garden if you can give them their requirement, which is shade of course. They prefer a sandy sweet soil; they are normally found growing in rocky woodlands.

Queen of the Meadows or Meadowsweet, as it is commonly known, belonging to the Rosaceae family (Rosa-say) and is a cousin of Lady’s Mantle. We talked about this lovely plant earlier.
It is a tall and graceful plant, flowering from June to August all over the country – growing in marshes and damp places. It grows in abundance along the river road, from Lakefield to Peterborough. It has lovely silver backed leaves and a beautiful head of creamy frothy little flowers, which would grace any garden with pride and it verily is Queen of the Meadows. The flowers have a very strong sweet smell which can tend to be rather sickly when there are a lot of them together. The whole plant has a nice fresh smell however. Because of its sweet smell and freshness, it was much used in the old days to strew on the floors. In these early days there was no such thing as carpets and rugs, and very little sanitation, so they liked to cover the floors with rushes and sweet smelling herbs.
You will be surprised to learn that the name meadowsweet did not have anything to do with a meadow. Its old English name was Meadowort or Meadsweet as it was used for sweetening the mead. This was the popular alcoholic drink in those days which they all made.
It is also a useful medical herb which is good for all kidney troubles, rheumatism and infectious diseases. For once the treatment prescribed is rather pleasant. “Take a few handfuls of fresh cut flowers, and soak them in a litre of red wine for several hours and drink a glass with each meal. Why not?

This was taken of course from that little book “A Floral A.B.C” by Elizabeth Cameron. This little book was a special gift to her grandchildren, taking her three years to complete. Not only did she write the words, but also painted the most beautiful wildflowers in watercolours. Elizabeth was awarded a Silver Medal, Silver Gilt Medal (twice) and in 1977 a Gold medal by the Royal Horticultural Society.

We talked about cottage gardens recently - I mentioned that if one grows only one or two kinds of plants you are usually inviting all kinds of problems. The practice of planting a large area with one species is that insects and diseases build up quickly in a monoculture. Unlike the cottage garden where the plant’s genetic diversity ensures that no one pest gets much of a foothold. Even so, there is a plethora of home made remedies that the organic farmers and gardeners employ to combat any pests that do arrive. There are two that are widely available and quite safe to use on edibles and around children and pets. One is insecticidal soap, which controls a wide variety of garden insects. The other is Bordeaux mixture, which is a copper sulphate solution that is effective against a wide spectrum of plant diseases. Dormant oil and sulfur sprays are also effective in controlling many insects and disease pests on woody plant material – these are applied at the end of winter.

Do not be too hard on yourself if you need to bring out the heavies. I used round up or killex on poison ivy. I have a grandson that is extremely allergic to it – the wind only has to blow and David is covered. The trouble with chemical sprays is that they are non-selective and will kill everything that they hit. I use a large fruit juice can with the bottom removed to place over the plant to be killed and spray into the can – be careful to do this on a day without any wind. Remember that all beneficial insects are very susceptible to sprays, even organic ones, so you must make a decision early in the season as to which it will be: sprays or beneficials.
Many beneficials will be attracted to your garden simply by what you have planted there. One of the best plant families to invite into your cottage garden if you want to attract the good guys are the Umbellifera or members of the parsley family. Queen Anne’s Lace or wild carrot (Daucus carota) is a good example of what a typical flower in this genus looks like. Members of this family all have hundreds of white minute or pale green flowers arranged on umbels, (think umbrella) whose nectar is very attractive to many beneficial insects. Try planting some masterwort and sea holly, or let some lovage and bronze fennel plants flower and go to seed. You will be amazed to discover the numbers of fascinating creatures in your garden for which these plants provide an ideal habitant.

I must put in a word about companion planting: What is companion planting and how do we use it???
Briefly, it is placing plants in close proximity so that they can help each other grow, or repel their enemies, which may be insects or even other plants. It may be succession planting; for instance, corn which needs nitrogen may follow an early crop of peas, which of course restores nitrogen to the soil by drawing it out of the air. Because of its high saponin content, spinach is useful as a pre-crop and does especially well when planted with strawberries. The solanine in tomatoes will protect asparagus against asparagus beetles. In turn a chemical derived from asparagus juice has been effective when used on tomato plants as a killer of nematodes.

Companion Planting may take the form of Barrier Plants:

• Chives or garlic between rows pf peas and lettuce should control aphids (I plant lots of garlic around my roses, never have aphids nor black spot)
• Marigolds between hills of cucumbers, squashes or melons should keep cucumber beetle down
• Nasturtiums between rows of broccoli should keep aphids down and help to control harlequin bugs
• Rosemary, thyme, sage, Catmint, hyssop or preferably mixtures of these between rows of cabbage should keep away the white or imported cabbage butterfly
• Tansy (a very useful but little used herb) between cabbages should control cabbage worms and cutworms (I still like the little collars around my plants). Plant tansy around your door openings and it will keep ants out of the house. If you have ants coming in from below, cucumbers will repel them
• Tomatoes near asparagus should keep down asparagus beetle. Parsley is also good planted with asparagus
• Chives between roses will reduce the incidence of aphids, especially when planted with garlic
• Other plants that have been used and found to be an effective repellent against a broad spectrum of insects are marigolds, asters, chrysanthemums, pyrethrum daisy, and such herbs as anise, coriander and basil.

What might help you:

If you are afflicted with rheumatism, backaches, arthritis or chills you should carry three horse chestnuts (Aeschulus).

If you want to attract love, draw money or ensure sexual potency, carry the root of ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). Now I know what I have been doing wrong!!!!

Marigolds (Calendula officinalis) picked at noon when the Sun is hottest, will strengthen and comfort the heart. It does not say what one does with it - I suspect it is rather like the fact that I signed up for an exercise group, did not lose any weight, then someone said that I was actually supposed to go to the classes!!!

Someone asked for a recipe for Elderberry Wine so here goes…

Let stand for 12 hours, stirring every now and again. Strain well pressing out all the juice.

Add:
-3 pounds of sugar to 4 quarts of juice
-1 ounce powdered cinnamon
-½ (half ounce powdered cloves)

Boil 5 minutes, and then set away to ferment in a stone jar, lightly covered with cheesecloth. When fermentation is finished, rack it off (draw it off) carefully so as not to disturb the lees (sediment or dregs) bottle and cork down lightly. If it continues to ferment it will not explode all over the place. I prefer to put the fermentation process in a glass bottle and insert a bubbler which you can purchase at any wine making store. When it stops bubbling then I rack it into its bottles.

For those of us who find it so easy to either run or drive to the nearest drug store for cosmetics and medicines, think about centuries ago when every home of importance had its own “stillroom” where the mistress mixed formulas. These were often carefully copied by hand, not computer, and handed down from generation to generation for beauty preparations, herbal teas, medicines, wine and beer, and even cleaning products. Some of us are still trying to emulate our grandmothers’ talents.

Weather Sign: If the corn shucks are thick and tougher than ordinary, there’s a tough winter ahead!!!

“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night And let them before signs, and for seasons, and for days and years “ Genesis 1:14

Thanks to everyone who came and made our show such a huge success, whether you worked (and you did), brought flowers for the show table, came to buy, or just enjoyed the flowers - thank you - for without you there would be no show, and then no flowers for Lakefield’s parks Thanks to all of you!!

Time to say Good Gardening, hats, sunscreen, insect repellent, gloves, a light jacket for the evenings and early morning hats of course, maybe a red one with purple veiling!!!!

Lovingly, Beryl

P.S. Had a glitch with my computer and I accidentally wiped out my gardening column addresses, so if you have requested to be removed from my list and you have received this – please do not be angry, rather let me know and I will remove your name yet again – if your friend has been left off please let me know too - sorry about this – accidents do happen.