Spring has sprung, the grass has riz , I wonder where the lettuce is…
For gardeners this is the most exciting and active time of year. Whether you are considering your cottage garden annual flowers or your vegetable garden greens, this is the time when things get started. If I could grow nothing else in my veggie garden, it would have to be lettuces and other salad greens: arugula, cress, giant red mustard, komatsuna… When debating lettuces, have a look seed catalogues and choose a variety of types. There are early, somewhat frost-hardy varieties like Marvel of Four Seasons, there are leaf lettuces in a multitude of colours: light green Simpson...
Read MoreWinter Food for birds
Our wildlife depends on Native plants for the food. Whether it is Native bees which depend on Native plants or birds that depend on fruit or seeds, we can lend a helping hand by supplying a food source. Many of you readers will put out bird seed in the winter to feed the hungry birds, but recently we have heard about a number of infectious diseases killing birds where feeders were not meticulously maintained. You can lend a hand by growing berries that help some of our birds survive the winter. Snowberries fall into that category. I am sure you are all familiar with snowberry or wax berry or...
Read MoreHelp your bees and butterflies!
We have all heard about the worrisome reduction in native bee and butterfly world-wide. But we can help a little on a local basis. BC is known to have about 400 different Native bees and many varieties of butterflies that depend on our Native plants. By planting Native plants in your garden you will provide a food source suitable to those bees and butterflies (especially their caterpillars) and can enjoy the beauty of our local flora and fauna. When the Saskatoon bush blooms in April-May they are covered in white flower, a great attraction to bees, then in July-August they have...
Read More