My dear gardening friends,

It has been a week of great sorrow, for last Tuesday my dear friend John died. I was with him until the last few minutes, not knowing that he was actually dying. I left so that his loving wife and children could enjoy those last few minutes together. He was gone in less than two minutes. His funeral was on Friday, in Toronto. We will miss him so very much – sleep well my friend, I know that you and Jack are more than likely fishing somewhere in the heavens!

From Shakespeare’s Cymbeline

Fear no more the heat o’ the sun
Nor the furious winter’s rages;
Thou thy wordly task is done,
Home art thou gone, and ta’en thy wages;
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney sweepers, come to dust.

Fear no more the frown o’ the great,
Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke;
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To thee the reed is as the oak;
The Sceptre, Learning Phisic, must
All follow this, and come to dust.

Fear no more the lightning flash,
Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone;
Thou hast finish’d joy and moan;
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee, and come to dust.

No exorciser harm thee!
Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
Nothing ill come near thee!
Quiet consummation have;
And renowned be thy grave!

William Shakespeare

Once more I quote from my little book of Old Wives Lore for Gardeners:

Dry weather

However foretold, when the dry weather comes we must water.

Sages advise us to water only in the mornings between mid-September and May; even when watering in new plants, it should not be done late in the day lest, icy at night – it damages the roots! (This was obviously not written for Canadians!!!!)

We read that when planting a peach stone you should sink a pipe an inch and a half or more in diameter and a couple of feet long, upright beside it, with its tops just above the surface. If you pour water into this pipe during hot weather, it will encourage the roots to go down and also supply them with enough moisture. Those huge roses and clematis that are sometimes grown up trees also need this treatment for they will have to be planted close to the trunks of the trees, where the soil is always dry. Although technically speaking, water from a water barrel should always be used – for it is at the correct outside temperature, but as this is such a long process – I must confess that I would turn on the hose, put the end down the pipe and leave it to trickle for as long as a quarter to half an hour.

The gardener in the palazzo in Rome is responsible for the staggering display of plants in great earthen ware containers on the terraces. He amazed us when he said that he only watered them twice a week even during the hottest days of the summer. Each container had two or three holes at the bottom of the front surface; these would be stopped with bungs, and the container watered until two inches of water stood on the surface of the soil for a quarter of an hour; then the bungs would be removed. Any tendency for the soil to leach out was combated by frequent top dressing with mulches, and the removal of some of the soil every autumn and digging in quantities of manure – usually a mixture of sheep dung and a leaf-bark compost. Certainly huge azaleas and oleanders flourished under this treatment as well as geraniums, plumbago, etc. even fuchsias seemed to thrive! So try it with your containers.

Would that we knew why and where and in what weather was the anonymous poet when he wrote, “O western wind, when will thou blow, that the small rain down shall rain Christ, that my love were in my arms, and I in my bed again!”

In the country calendar or the Shepherd of Banbury’s Rules, of the late seventeenth century, there is a pleasing variant, given in three languages, of the old adage, “Red sky at night, Shepherd’s delight, Red in the morning, Shepherd’s warning.” Giving us a pleasing picture of the pilgrim trudging across Europe in older times.

John Claridge writes:

“A red evening and a grey morning, Sets the Pilgrim a Walking.”

In French thus:

“Le rouge Soir, et blanc matin, Fontrejouir le Pelerin.”

The Italians say the same thing;

“Sera rosa, & nigro Matino, Allegro il Peregrino.”

He also quotes an English proverb:

“In the decay of the moon, A cloudy morning bodes a fair afternoon.”

Again,

“When clouds appear like Rocks and Towers, The Earth’s refreshed by frequent showers.”

He says that his own observation has confirmed the saying that a general mist before sunrise near the full moon denotes fair weather for a fortnight (two weeks). If this is seen in the new moon, there will be wet weather in the last fortnight as it grows old, but he warns us not to predict from the first night of the new moon but from a couple of nights later on.

In hot weather, when the wind has been southerly for two or three days, and clouds are piled like towers on one another with black on the nether side, there will be thunder and rain quite suddenly. If two such castles arise one on either hand, it is time to take shelter hastily. If clouds look dusky or of a tarnish silver colour, and move very slowly, it is a sign of Hail, which if there be a mixture of blue in the clouds will be small but if very yellow, large. Above all things he tells us, watch the bees, for if it is going to rain they will not leave the hives, or fly only very short distances from them.

I am making no apology for quoting proverbs for as Bacon said, “They are the philosophy of the common people.” Here is a verified collection of some taken from the New Book of Knowledge published in 1758:

If ducks and drakes their wings do flutter high, Or tender colts upon their backs do lie;
If the sheep do bleat or play and skip about, Or swine hide by straw bearing on their snout;
If oxen lick themselves against the hair, or grazing kine feed apace appear;
If cattle bellow, gazing from below, Or if dog’s entrails rumble to and fro etc,
Look for rain.
If gnats at sunset play up and down in the open air, they presage heat; but if they
altogether sting those that pass by, then cold weather and much rain.

They will help you says Mouffet in the seventeenth century, to find water in times of drought, where after sunrise, “they whirl round an obelisk”.

We are all enjoying these lanquid days of summer heat – but my children there is still work to be done. I know that one is overcome by that irresistible urge to continue sitting in a chair especially if it is by the lake, just enjoying the pleasant outdoors. If the temptation is too strong then wait until the evening when it is cooler, the only problem with this is, the mosquitoes will get you!

I know that you are busy gathering in your harvest those luscious beans and peas, why not plant a second crop? You will be extending your harvesting, maybe ready for storing for the winter!

String beans, radishes, carrots (especially for those of you who have not had them “bulb up”), lettuce and beets can be planted now. You can speed up the germination time by watering the area well before you cover the seeds. When the tender young leaves appear, of say the lettuce, you must keep them well watered and try and provide some protection from the hot sun. Old umbrella’s work very well.

Whilst many seeds require a rest period before they will grow, aquilegia, dianthus, delphinium and hollyhocks can be gathered as soon as the seeds are ripe and sown at once.

So that you do not cover them too deeply, work up the soil first, level, and rake it lightly, then scatter the seeds on the surface of the soil. Press them into the ground either by using your feet, or raking very, very lightly and carefully.

Oriental poppies, iris and many other herbaceous perennials may be moved now that their flowering is over. When you are transplanting, this is a good time to split them up, for by dividing your perennials every few years and adding compost will give you bigger and healthier plants. The soil does become depleted of nutrients and additional compost works wonders.

If you are dividing Iris, they have a thick, horizontal rootstock, which bear buds along its length. If you take a piece of this underground stem with three or more “toes” long, it will develop a new plant. If it still has leaves attached they should be reduced by cutting away one-half of those leaves.

If you have moved your flowering begonias, coleus, geraniums and other similar houseplants outdoors, place them in window boxes and other containers. You should be giving some thought about increasing your stock of indoor plants for next winter.

Stem cuttings of about 4 inches long and with at least three nodes will root easily, if their lower ends are stuck firmly in the soil in a shaded part of the garden. An inverted glass jar placed over the cuttings will prevent them from drying out and will trap the moisture and heat that will speed up the root production process. Keep your eye on the “greenhouse” to make sure that it is not too wet and going mouldy.

With only a minimum amount of care you will have small plants in about six to eight weeks, and heaven knows we all need more plants to bring indoors! I understand that Loblaws Garden Centre is closing this weekend – do go in and say goodbye to Deborah (you will find her in her regular job as Manager of the Flower department next week). Janie will be inside along with Lindsay and Shaun (where IS Shaun?) – they have all done such a wonderful job of helping to make your gardens spectacular once again. They work so very hard, keeping the plants in tip top condition and the centre is always a delight, clean, and tidy with the plants looking as though they are already planted in the garden, not an easy task especially during this very hot weather!! Yes the overhead sprinklers helped- especially for the customers! The children loved running through the water. But the organisation and happy atmosphere is created by Deborah – congratulations my dear friend for an excellent job, done so very well.

There was a slight clitch – a mother robin decided to make her nest under the tent in the garden centre, she hatched out the first brood and they flew away, and she decided this was a great place to be and had a second hatching. Hopefully they all flew away. One was stubborn and when I was there he did not want to leave the safety of the flowers!

So until next season, good gardening to all the customers, and thank you for stopping by, if only to say hello and get a hug!

“Had we never loved so kindly,
Had we never loved so blindly,
Never met nor never parted,
We had ne’er been broken hearted."

We are all blind when it comes to plants for the garden – we have to have them all. And we are broken hearted when they die (sob).

I loved this poem:

What Do You Do in a House All Alone?

What do you do in a house all alone, when you cough?
Do you cover your mouth,
Say, “Excuse me” and “Please” and “Be there in a minute”
When no one has asked you to come?

What do you do with those 4,000 words? Do you talk to yourself and then
Get in a fight, hold a grudge and make up with yourself again?
What do you do in a house all alone when you cry?
Do you say “You’re o.k.”
Put your arms around yourself hold on tight and wait for a better day?
What do you do with those bumps in the night
And you wake up wanting to cling?
Do you wonder if bumps in dreams sound as loud
‘Cause awakened you can’t hear a thing?

Well you talk to your kids, clean out the garage, (the basement)
Fix the plumbing too
And you work so hard when you go to bed
You can’t help but sleep clear through
There’s time for a friend, for reading a book
Time to start a task, and finish that task without putting
The pieces away
There’s time to think and time to grow and time
To look back and reflect
That life is good and no matter what state
I can truly say I’m content.

They missed out “I garden, weed, prune, plant and discard.” No matter how many aches and pains it incurs we look ahead for the “what to do next year”.

So my dear friends time to say bye for now. Hats, gloves, sunscreen (stay in the shade as much as possible), drink lots of water, hats and insect repellent. Good gardening to us all.

Lovingly, Beryl