My dear gardening friends,

Another week has passed and finally the hot weather seems to have arrived.

Last week my dear friend Patricia and I went to Oshawa. We visited Patricia’s doctor and then off to the Art Gallery in Oshawa. We had lunch in their beautiful restaurant with linen tablecloths and napkins; the food was excellent, beautifully served and reasonably priced.

From there we went to visit Parkwood Gardens. After walking around in the sunshine, we needed to sit down, so we chose a place that turned out to be the Tea Room facing the Italian garden with water and fountains. A gentleman came to advise us that the tea room was not opening until the next day (June 1st) but would we care for a cup of tea? He served us himself, even pouring the tea from a beautiful teapot into china cups and saucers. The milk and sugar were also in china containers. What a delight! He informed us that on Wednesdays ladies are or will be requested to wear hats and gloves and long skirts. They are trying to restore a little elegance to the gardens. The price for the tea? No charge for two beautiful ladies!!!

However, we requested the menus and enquired as to whether or not buses are welcomed. Indeed they are, and there is even a special menu for buses. On certain days, brunch is served at very reasonable prices. What a find in the middle of a busy little town. We are of course planning a return trip some time very soon. I can almost taste those warm scones with cream and preserves!!!!

After all the flurry in Parliament and tales of wrongdoings, I loved this poem that I found in an Anthology of Verse called, “The Unknown Citizen to JS/07/M/378”:

Were We Happy? Were We Free? I am indeed Happy and Free! I have had such a rich, full and interesting life. I have few regrets other than losing my wonderful husband far too soon.

Most of you are outdoor gardeners, but there are many who are actually indoor gardeners. It will do your plants good to spend the summer outside. No matter how sun-loving a potted plant may be, or how bright that window is that it has lived in all winter, every house plant must start its holiday outside in deep shade. Immediate outdoor sun will of course scorch and disfigure its leaves. Light coming through glass bears no relationship to direct light – even greenhouse plants need protection when they first go outside. Acclimatization to outdoor light must be taken slowly and in stages. After a week in deep shade under a bush, potted plants can go into dappled shade under a high, canopied tree, then after another week of this shifting light, the sun lover can go into full morning sun. If at all possible, never keep potted plants in an exposure that faces blindingly hot afternoon sun. This is too hot for everything in pots, and calls for morning and afternoon watering which is a real bore.

Indoor plants, even when outside, should be kept in their pots, as much as the temptation is to take them out of the pot and plant in the garden, thus saving the need for all that watering. If you take them out of the pots, their roots will spread in all directions and will be impossible to cram them back into their pots when it is time to bring them back indoors in the fall. If you want to save yourself some trouble with their care, you can dig a trench and lay a plank in the bottom. Standing the pots on the plank prevents the roots from wandering through the drainage holes in the bottom and into the soil. This would of course injure the roots when you eventually remove the plants from the trench. The plank also helps to keep worms from entering the pots.

This is a big job, for not all the pots are the same size and it is work – for once they are in the trench you have to fill it all in again, then in the fall dig them out!!! House plants still need regular watering, pruning, checking for pests and removing weeds.

If you just place your plants outside and forget them they will come back indoors looking worse than when they went outside in the first place!

By contrast, the plants of gardenless gardeners receive constant care and with only a slight change in handling to accommodate the changing weather. One important change is placing the plants in a different position. In winter, the best place for all plants is a sunny window. In summer any window in full sun is too hot for year round plants, and they will do far better if you can move them to a north or east exposure. If this is not possible, pull them back so that the sun does not fall on them or place a sheer curtain between them and the window. Make sure that the plants are not in line with an air conditioner. Although they will enjoy the cool temperature, make sure they are not in a howling draft.

Potted plants should be watered when the soil feels dry to the touch. During hot weather house plants need a lot of extra misting to make up for the moisture that the heat pulls out by evaporation through the leaves. Air pollution being what it is, plants in a room with continuously open windows should have their leaves washed once a month at least. Smaller plants enjoy a shower in the sink. Make sure that you do this early in the day to allow the plants time to dry off – otherwise you will end up with mildew on the damp leaves.

If you want the plant to grow bigger but do not want to increase the size of the container, early summer is the time to fertilize to stimulate top growth. Water-soluble fertilizers are best for indoor plants, follow the directions exactly – even a little more is too much – less is much better. Stop feeding by midsummer so that the new growth has time to toughen up. If you want to have a large tubbed plant indoors, early summer is the time to transfer a strongly growing plant to a much larger container. Watering should be done carefully, especially if there is much more soil than root ball. Until new roots are actively at work spreading out into this extra space, the earth in the large container can very easily become sodden with over watering – causing root rot. All of this calls for a considerable expenditure of energy on the part of the plant, and this energy is easier for them to come by when there are long daylight hours.

For a bright sunless window try some of the various begonias. They all do well inside during the summer, with the exception of the tuberous begonias which need more air. The wax or ever blooming varieties should have some of the long stems pinched back to prevent them from getting too leggy. Try and get double varieties as they are so beautiful, need less care and less pinching back.

Those impossible Gardenias (I have told Deborah not to let me buy anymore - I kill them)! Gardenias are an excellent summer flowering plant for a bright sunless window; too much sun will yellow their leaves. They will only accept some sun in very early morning. Gardenias and ferns must always have a very deep layer of pebbles in the saucers underneath them from which surplus water can evaporate at all times. All the many echeverias are also willing visitors to a summer windowsill. Actually the choice is very large for indoor plants so have fun with it!!!

Now for some Questions you have asked me...

You asked: What is a rose chafer?
Answer: The rose chafer is actually a critter that I hope you never meet because he means trouble! Grown up, he is a beetle half an inch long with a tan coloured body and red legs. He hatches in the soil where the grubs feed on grass roots. When the soil gets warm during the hot weather this bug suddenly appears in tremendous numbers eating every leaf in sight . You will find him on roses, hollyhocks, peonies and other flowers. Use rose dust or a liquid rose spray. Apply it to all plants that are affected. You can also try a soapy water wash – add a dash of ammonia – be careful not to breathe it in. I think that this was what was in smelling salts that women with the “vapours” used to use, they came to with a great start!!!

You asked: When is the right time to prune a climbing hydrangea?
Answer: Once the plant has finished flowering cut back the lateral branches immediately.

You asked: When do I prune back my lilac bushes?
Answer: You have 10 days to prune back your bushes. After the flowers fade – after 10 days, the next year’s flowers start forming.

You asked: What is the proper procedure to care for an Iris?
Answer: When the flowering season is over cut back the flowering spikes before the seedpods start to swell. Do not remove any leaves as they are feeding those corms until late fall. Just before winter sets in, cut all foliage back to about three inches from the ground. Remove and burn all the dead leaves and debris.

You asked: My roses where starting to come back to life after their winter sleep when suddenly whole branches started withering – help!
Answer: There are several cane cancer fungi. These fungi usually permeate the cane just below the leaf buds. This disease needs action at once! Severely prune well below the infected areas spreads. Spray with lime sulpher.

You asked: When do I put out my moon flower plants that I started indoors?
Answer: Your moon flowers can be set out any time now. It is a bit late to try starting them from seeds – but you can give it a go!!!

You asked: Some of the leaves on my rose bushes have developed black spots, what should I do?
Answer: My very simple answer is to plant a lot and I mean a lot of garlic all around your plants. I have not had any problems with my roses for years not since I started this practice. However, the first thing you must do is pick off all those infected leaves and burn them or put them into a plastic bag and into the garbage. Then get a good brand name Rose Dust or Rose Spray (Loblaws carries a good non-toxic one). A home made spray for you to make is: to a liter bottle of water add 2 tablespoons vinegar, and a dash of dish soap. Spray the daylights out of the plant. If the infection gets very serious and all the leaves fall off, you must clean up all the leaves. In the fall remove the top inch of soil around your roses, replace with fresh soil. Make sure that you purchase this soil, do not take it from your own garden, otherwise the infection will winter over and attack again next year. When you see the black spots, the infection actually started weeks earlier so start your spray program as soon as the leaves start to appear.

Remember during this hot weather to not cut your grass any shorter than one and a half to two and a half inches. The extra length helps to see the grass through the summer drought season. I have been saying get your lawn off grass – there are so many ornamental grasses that you can grow in clumps, but think about more flower beds – they cost less than a lawn in time, energy and money – plus they look wonderful!

Well my dears, I have spent a couple of days in Toronto. Yesterday I worked in my friend’s garden for 10 hours in that heat! It looked wonderful at the end of that time so it was worth it! I not only put in a couple of flower beds but also made a small wasted area by the front door into a sitting space. It has a small wall in front and the house forming a three sided walled area with a table and a couple of chairs, it makes a very nice reading space where you can watch the passing people and traffic. It reminded me that so many people have a little area that they are not using. So look around and see what you can do – a few window boxes, pots of flowers or ferns will give you an area that you will find yourself using over and over. Take your coffee and newspaper outside, look in your garden, make yourself a small enclosed space with lattice - I know that you will love it!

I made several trips to the Loblaw’s store in Toronto. I was appalled! Deborah has created an environment where we take pride in the look of her garden centre. We sweep regularly throughout the day, keep the plants well watered, it is tidy, the plants are condensed and picked up off the floor where our customers have placed them not knowing quite what to do with them. Yes we do have pride in our work and workplace. What I saw was: dead and drying out plants, the place was a mess, no caring or pride and I could not see any supervision of the young “people” running the centre. We have another great person in Janie, she works hard at keeping the place neat and tidy. Deborah, thank you – you do a tremendous job and it shows! I didn’t realize how much until I went to Toronto. I am proud to be associated with you.

That’s it for today. Good Gardening to us all – enjoy the heat – but make sure that you wear your hat, and drink lots of water. I didn’t yesterday and got a touch of sunstroke. Sunscreen, insect repellent (West Nile Virus is around) – I haven’t seen any Blue Jays this summer – hats, gloves, sunscreen, and your hat – that sun is HOT!

Lovingly, Beryl