Centaurea macrocephala

Here's a perennial not often seen, though why is a mystery! It's colourful, interesting flowers, insect and disease resistant, and, very low maintenance! To learn more about Centaurea macrocehala, visit our new website:

http://www.bertsbloomers.com

Clematis tangutica "Radar Love"

To read about growing Clematis tangutica Radar Love, visit our new site:


http://www.bertsbloomers.com/

We've Moved!

Bert's Bloomers has moved house! Our blog is now available at

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Mosquito Gardening

In spite of threatened thunderstorms, Misha (our dog) and I headed outside very early this morning to do some gardening. A sliver of sunshine greeted us as we walked out the back door, giving hope for a pleasant few moments of puttering while the village was still quiet and before the rains came.

Barely had our feet touched the grass when we were viciously attacked by swarming mosquitoes! Attempting to ward them off by flailing my arms around in the fashion of a very primitive dance did little to deter the biting monsters. My dance developed into an interesting blend of awkward movements that included shushing mosquitoes away from Misha while attempting to outrun them myself. This did little to help prevent either of us from being accosted. Within minutes he was standing by the door, wanted to be let in again. When Misha wants inside, you know it’s bad! In he went, but I, being ever so tough, watered plants. Bad move. Mosquitoes love water. Then I decided to trim a yew hedge. Another bad move. The mosquitoes live in that hedge I swear. So, on to weeding the herb garden. As long as I kept moving, the buzzing and biting wasn’t too bad. The very second I stopped to inspect my efforts, back they came, bringing reinforcements with them. I did eventually finish weeding the herb garden. As I made my way to the perennial gardens, dancing my mosquito dance with the scuffler in my hand adding to the ridiculous sight I made, I decided I’m not as tough as I like to think. So here I am, at the computer, calamine lotion caked on my arms, waiting for the mosquitoes to subside. In another hour or so, Misha and I will head outside and try once more to putter in the gardens. Before we do, I’ll be putting in place every effective anti-blood sucking creature repellent method I know of.



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Korean Spice Bush

As much as perennials, herbs and annuals combine to create the ambience in our gardens, in the spring, it is the flowering shrubs and trees that are the mood makers.

In keeping with the age of our house, mostly old fashioned flowering shrubs such as Forsythia, Mock Orange, Lilac and Bridal Wreath Spirea bring colour to our spring gardens. Over time, we have added Ninebark, Rhododendron, Weigela, and Korean Spice Bush. They all put on such a pretty show while we await the blooming of our herbaceous plants.

This week, it is the Korean Spice Bush (Viburnum x carlcephalum) that is stealing the show. Its fragrance alone is enough to make one stop in mid stride to inhale the soft, spicy scent of the pale pink to white flowers. After the flowers are done, the shrub will leaf out and provide privacy to the back garden.

Deciduous shrub

Height up to 10’

Width up to 3’

Heart shaped, dark green leaves with good autumn colour

Trumpet shaped flowers in ball like clusters

White flowers open from pink buds

Hardy in Zones 6 – 8

Prefers moist, well drained soil

Sun or part shade

Prune after flowering

Can tolerate hard pruning

Susceptible to Botrytis, powdery mildew and rust – provide good airflow in and around the shrub to reduce the possibility of disease

Aphids, mealybugs and scale enjoy this shrub. Ours have never been attacked, but encouraging wildlife to your gardens can control any infestations that may occur.

Spring Gardens

Is there a garden blogger out there that isn't struggling to balance the desire to garden and the desire to blog about their gardens? The pouring rain we are having today is the only reason the computer is my gardening tool of choice at the moment. Just like housework, the computer gets pushed aside during gardening season in favour of putting my hands into the soil, planting, or trimming while inhaling the fragrance that is spring. The work (and I hesitate to call it work) of preparing the gardens is usually accompanied by the sweet chorus of song birds. Today, being stuck indoors, that sweet sound is missed. But, since I am a gardener, and gardeners define the term "Eternal Optimist", I know that tomorrow I will garden again and listen to the birds as they serenade the neighbourhood.

Outside Vs Inside

Spring has definitely arrived in South Western Ontario. Unless you live in a cave, it is hard to ignore Mother Nature showing off her beauty. The other signs it is spring are:

A) I am back working full time in the landscaping industry.

B) I am covered in cuts, scratches and bruises.

C) Every muscle in my body hurts.

D) My finger nails are all broken.

E) My hands are becoming calloused.

F) My nails are stained and dirty most of the time.

G) I’m sporting a rather colourful farmer’s tan, and

H) My house is a mess.

I love Spring and being outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine, working in my greenhouse or in our gardens. I deeply resent every moment I am forced to spend indoors this time of year. Which is why my house is a mess. And it will stay a mess until we receive a phone call announcing the impending arrival of family or friends, or it rains. Whichever comes first. Then, and only then, will we give the house a proper cleaning, tearing through every room in an embarrassed frenzy until it sparkles. Frankly, I’d die if anyone knew about my dirty little secret of ignoring housework in favour of gardening. Should people arrive unannounced, we attempt to confine them to the patio by waiting on them hand and foot. If we make them extremely comfortable outside, they will not want to wander indoors. That’s the theory.

While our guests are luxuriating the royal treatment they receive on the patio (quit laughing!), I usually dash inside to close the blinds (hides the dust and pet hair) and spritz spray air freshener throughout the house. Just in case they need to use the facilities you see. I believe, with all my heart I believe, I have managed to fool every person who has ever paid us a surprise visit into thinking that I am very efficient at caring for our pets, running a house, maintaining our gardens, growing plants in our greenhouse and holding down a full time job. Super Woman does not live here, but don't tell anyone!

Time for me to head out to the gardens. I have shrubs to move, gardens to edge, perennials to divide and seedlings to water. The pet hair and dust can wait.

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Climbing Plants - Part I

If you like climbing plants, here’s one for you to try. It is Mina Lobata (Ipomoea lobata), an annual that grows easily from seed. It is a very low maintenance plant.

A fast grower, it reaches 9’ – 15’ in no time at all.


The flowers are pale yellow near the stems and graduate to orange then red near the tips. It’s stunning when in full bloom, which is usually all season long.

The leaves are dark green and deeply lobed about three inches long.

It is disease and insect resistant – a real plus!

Give Mina full sun and fertilize regularly with 15-30-15 water soluble fertilizer.

A very forgiving plant, Mina will recover nicely if you occasionally forget to water it.

In our garden, with its clay and/or acidic soil, Mina doesn’t perform too well. But, planted in containers, or sandy loam, and given something to climb up, it is one of the show stoppers of the garden. It is a staple of our gardens.

I was one of those kids that needed to know how things worked. It wasn’t enough to know they did work, I had to know why they worked. It is no surprise then that when I first became interested in gardening, it was not enough for me to just purchase box plants at the greenhouse, put them in the ground and water them. I had to know how those plants got to the stage where they were ready for planting out. I began reading anything and everything that even hinted at growing plants from seed. Reading led to a hobby greenhouse in the back garden and larger gardens. Which led to horticulture courses so I could learn to push the gardening envelope to the max. Eventually, that led to full time careers in horticulture and landscaping.

Thirty years later and my enthusiasm for gardening, has not waned. I still get a thrill when the first seeds germinate, and cuttings taken from mature plants, take root. When I putter in the gardens, I feel a sense of accomplishment when I look at a flower in bloom, and remember that I started that flower from seed. Or my eye rest on a shrub and I realize that shrub started in my greenhouse as a small cutting.

Because so many of our plants began in our greenhouse, they have become a living diary of our gardening journey on this tiny plot of land we own. They are a reminder of my gardening mood the year those particular seeds were selected: Victorian, Urban, Country, Zen. They also bring back memories of past growing seasons, some good, some not.

There was the year the power went out during a late spring snow storm. We scrambled to set up folding tables in the kitchen and dining room to set all the flats of seedlings (23) on. For two days, getting to the fridge or into the cupboards, meant moving a table with ten flats on it.

One year, the cover of the greenhouse ripped, and risking our own safety, we struggled to tape the rip together, perched on ladders, in a blustery wind, to save the flats of seedlings growing inside the greenhouse.

There were funny moments too; Losing a boot and my balance, in a mud puddle while attempting to close the ventilation flaps on the outside of the greenhouse. Opening a bale of potting mix only to end up wearing and/or eating a goodly portion of it. Neighbourhood cats hopping on the benches and chowing down on the catnip transplants.

The 2008 growing season has begun. It is on a much smaller scale this year. The enthusiasm is still present, but lack of time has forced a cut back on production. Instead of starting several hundred plants, I’ll only grow a few hundred.

Seed Sowing At My House

It’s time to quit pouting about winter, and the snow, and the cold, and put some springtime in the air. Best way to do that is to start sowing seeds. It will be done this weekend.

But first, the seeding mix and flats have to be brought in from the greenhouse. That means bundling up, trudging through the snow, chipping away the ice in front of the greenhouse door, crawling under the benches to pull the bags of seeding mix out. Easy if they aren’t frozen in place. Then, shifting I don’t know how many pieces of patio furniture, a bicycle, three bales of potting mix and an old cupboard awaiting refinishing, to get at the seeding flats. Hopefully the covers are in the same spot as the flats. If not, more shifting and rummaging about will be necessary. Then, after jamming the greenhouse door closed, I somehow have to lug all those things through the snow and into the house.

Once I get to the house, all the seeding stuff and myself have to make it past one very curious dog and two very curious cats. They will all feel it is necessary to check everything out thoroughly before I can get in the door and get it closed. There goes the heating bill. If the Curious George’s we live with approve, the soil, flats, covers and myself can come into the house.

Then the flats will need washing and sterilizing. The Curious Ones don’t feel they need to supervise that. They do however like to help with the seeding process. All the little envelopes, labels, and pens are quite fascinating to them for some reason. The cats seem to prefer the seeding process to take place on the floor. At least I assume that’s what they prefer since they make a point of batting the envelopes, labels and pens onto the floor every chance they get. The dog just wants to eat the seeding mix and thinks the flats make great chew toys.

Once the seeding sowing is completed with the assistance of a spray bottle of water (for the pets, not the seed flats), they newly sown treasures will be placed gently in the plant stand. The trip to the plant stand is not so gentle when someone decides it will be fun to race Mum up the stairs while her hands are full with the flats she’s trying not to upset. The other two pets want in on that game too, so they join the race.

Finally, I will make it to the plant stand, flats and seed intact. Sort of. But, the plant stand is full of “things”. Like Christmas ornaments, pot-size trellises, a wire rack, a wooden sign and a large, engraved stone. And, a watering can! So, the seed flat must be put somewhere so I can clear the plant stand. Aha! The bathtub! No, the dog sleeps in there (seriously!). On my desk? No, the cats sleep there. The floor is definitely out of the question. So is the computer desk that I haven’t seen the top of in months. Okay, the floor of the closet, and I’ll close the door. Brilliant! Wait a minute, I see the dog and only one cat. Where is the other cat? Sure enough, in the closet lying on the seed flat.

I think I’ll buy my bedding plants this year!

African Violets & Tulips & Dogs

White tulips, so simple and yet so elegant.

If you love flowers and plant, you have to love the post St Valentine’s Day sales! What other time of the year can you purchase an African Violet for $ .99? Or a pot of tulips for $3.00? What cheer they bring to the house on a cold winter’s day! Well, the African violet will, once it blooms, but until then, it’s the potted tulips that are blooming their little hearts out! Next fall, those little guys will end up planted in the garden.


After many years of avoiding African violets (long story), I have found myself once again being lured by their lovely little flowers and fuzzy leaves. There are only four African violets in the plant stand, but I can easily see many more creeping into the house before long. Hopefully they won’t number the violets I had long ago. That was perhaps a bit too many (but is there really such a thing as too many?).

Why are African violets making a comeback in our house? Here’s part of the long story.

My previous dog, (and very best friend) Eb, loved African violets so much, he could often be found attempting to lie amongst them. Cute, right? Well, not so cute. While romping in the collection of violets, he often he’d work up an appetite. You guessed it! He ate the violets. Maybe they were like gourmet food to him, I don’t know. All the scoldings in the world, did not prevent him from snacking on violets the minute my back was turned. Moving them out of his reach failed as Eb learned he could climb on the furniture to get to them. If he had to knock over a few things to get to the violets, so be it! He would! He just wanted those violets so badly, nothing would deter him! Out of sheer frustration, I abandoned African violet collecting.

Now we have another dog, Misha and he does not eat houseplants. So far. We’ll see what happens when he gets a sniff of the African violets.

Enough already! As I write this it is -16C. With the wind chill, it is -30C. The sun is quickly setting, and the warmth from the sun that has been pouring through the windows is fading as well. Frankly I am tired of the frost on the windows, pretty as it is. I am tired of bundling up in every piece of outerwear I own just to take the garbage out! I want spring! A petition calling for the return of spring, or the banning of winter occured to me, but who would I send it to? Parliament? Hardly! Mother Nature? Perhaps, but who has her address? Anyone?

So, as I contemplated this week's blog instalment, putting up more pictures of snow, ice and desolation depressed me so much, I couldn't bring myself to do it! Going through all the photos on the computer, I saw the irises and was immediately transported to spring. I thought of their sweet fragrance, their lovely flowers and all thoughts of winter disappeared. Hopefully the photos help will bring some spring to your mind too.

Winter Blahs

Well, here we are in the middle of winter. Yuk! Not being a fan of cold and snow, a self imposed confinement to the indoors is in effect. Hours spent reading gardening books, magazines, blogs and websites make me anxious for the arrival of spring. The thoughts of warm days, the smell of the earth warming up, the site of the first blooms of spring, keep me inspired as the snow swirls outside the window. Wiarton Willie and his counterparts have predicted an early arrival of my favourite season and I do so hope they are right!

It has been too long since I was able to put my hands in the soil, curse at weeds, smell the flowers and feel the excitement of succeeding at growing something exotic or different.

The seeds for this year have been ordered. Now comes the long wait for their arrival. When the seeds get here, my mood will improve dramatically. As the seed sowing begins, I’ll be able to forget about the weather outside. Waiting and watching for seeds to germinate will rejuvenate my enthusiasm for gardening. It always does as it means the new gardening season is almost here. Another opportunity to try new plants, push the envelope some more. There will be new gardens to build, new colours, new scents. New pests, But it will be wonderful.

Friends

One of our seven (very full) book cases. No wonder our house seems small!!!

This winter I have been spending a lot of time with some old friends. Their personalities are regaling me with stories of garden lives lived from Eden onward. They have been sharing the photographs, artwork, experiences and knowledge, collected over many years. Every one of them has a unique story to tell, but always on the same subject, which is gardening. These dear friends are books. Some of them are reference books, some technical manuals, some are “How To” books, some are biographies of great gardeners. Whatever the genre, they all inspire and inform.
The evolution of my own gardening life can be traced by merely reading the titles on our library shelves. I still have the very first gardening related book I purchased, on houseplants. Little did I know that purchase was the first step towards a career in horticulture. As my interest in plants grew, so too did my library. The book on houseplants was soon followed by an encyclopaedia of gardening, then a book on herbs, then roses, and annuals, and perennials. Before long, bookcases were being built to house all of the wonderfully inspirational friends I insisted on bringing home.

I have best friends, good friends, friends, and some that are mere acquaintances. Some I know well, but not by choice. Rather like a co-worker you must spend forty hours a week with. Even though you do not click, you foster a relationship for the good of the ultimate goal. Most of those books are the technical manuals and text books. (If anyone can stay awake while reading a five hundred page text on soil, then you know they have the passion for gardening.) The best friends are the books I return time and again. Over the years they have become rather dog-eared, but they still continue to delight. The good friends I visit with less often, though they remain an important part of my library. The remaining books, the friends and acquaintances, are like the friends from elementary school you have outgrown. Someone you see once every couple of years, usually by accident. You don’t really have anything in common anymore except that small thread of a shared experience long ago. Some books are more eye candy than anything else. Their words do not do justice to the photographs of plants, gardens or landscapes that their pages contain.

This horticultural library, compiled over thirty years is something of a time capsule. One can trace the trends and fads by title and content, see the evolution of gardening by the technical advice available thirty years ago and today. Often the oldest of the books have the best information. Tried and true methods of long ago, before technology crept into the garden and complicated it. And written proof that Grandmama, with all her strange gardening advice is not quite as senile as we think.

A few years ago, I attempted to catalogue my library. That ambitious endeavour was abandoned when the number of gardening books we have became embarrassing. I have also attempted to sort them into some logical arrangement. How wonderful it would be, I thought, if I needed information on roses for example, to go to one section and have all the books on that subject in one area. That failed too because I am notorious for pulling a book out, then getting too busy to put it back. Until, piles of books on the floor become an obstacle course and, tripping hazard. Only then will I attempt to find a spot, any spot, on the shelves for all the books that have been holding down the rug.

Books have always been an important part of my life thanks to my father. He used to read to me all the time. Seldom would he return from a trip without a book for us to share. When I was a child, I was ill for a long time. During the years it took to recover, I was unable to participate in the most the activities my friends could. Forced to lead a quiet and somewhat solitary life, reading became my hobby, and books my friends. They still are even though the story books have been replaced mostly with gardening books and the odd murder mystery. One thing that has not changed? I still like looking at the pictures!

Recyling Christmas Trees

Imagine a Christmas without the pleasure of a real tree. Think of all the delightful experiences that would be missed:

- The trail of snow and needles in every room as the Christmas tree is wrestled into the house.

- The balancing act of straightening the tree

- The six inch spikes pounded into the wall and the mooring line that lassoes the tree to the spikes to prevent it from falling over

- The back breaking task of wriggling under the tree every morning to water it while being viciously attacked by needled branches.

- Keeping an eye on the dog who is contemplating the advisability of claiming the tree as his property.

- Preventing the cats from climbing it.

- The sheer joy of still vacuuming up needles in July.

But, when I awaken each morning to the scent of a fresh Christmas tree, I am taken back to my childhood when Christmas trees were at least thirty feet tall and Christmas never came fast enough. And the trials of having a real tree are worth it.

With the arrival of the New Year, the tree comes down and I can usually be found outside, in the garden, pruning shears in hand, cutting branches off the tree. Those branches are then placed over and around the roses and tender plants that need winter protection. The rest of the tree is set aside in a corner of the garden. Many years, we find birds have made their winter homes in amongst its branches, keeping them warm, dry and protected from the bitter winds of winter.

Tips of the branches are snipped off, dried, and will be used for potpourri later in the year.

In the spring when the annual clean up is in progress, the branches of the Christmas tree go through the chipper-shredder to become mulch and be returned to the earth. The trunk becomes part of Trevor’s twig creations – an arbour, a trellis, a gate, or furniture.

Virtually every part of our Christmas tree gets recycled. Not only do we help the environment by recycling our real tree, we get our money’s worth out of it. Win-win!

The seed catalogues have arrived en masse. You know what that means? The 2008 gardening season has begun!!

The annual mind boggling task of making up seed orders is underway. As expected, the list has grown wild and a severe trimming will be required to get it under control. There just isn’t enough room in the greenhouse or the yard to start all of the seeds that are currently on the list.

Plants for our container gardens (thirty-seven last season) dominate the order list, with herbs a close second. This year I’m toying with the idea of growing drying flowers again. Vegetables, shamefully, are few (who has time to can and freeze anymore?). A couple of houseplant varieties have even made it onto the list.

Every year I promise not to order so many seeds .Every year, I break that promise and don’t doubt the same scenario will be played out again this year. The next couple of weeks will be a frustrating, hair pulling time.

When the seeds orders begin arriving, I’ll be kicking myself for the seeds I did not order. Once the seeding has begun and the greenhouse fills up, I’ll be kicking myself for ordering order so many seeds. As the planting out starts, I’ll be questioning my sanity. But, come June, when everything is planted and growing and blooming like crazy, I’ll be reminded why this obsession with gardening is worth it.

After The Storm

In case you haven't heard, Ontario got a taste of a good old fashioned winter storm last weekend. It snowed steadily from Saturday evening until late Sunday night. At times, the snowfall was so heavy, we could not see across the road. And the wind picked up, just to make it more interesting. We actually found it exciting watching the storm from safe inside our little home. for a while I was transported back to my youth in Eastern Ontario when this kind of a snow fall was the norm.

Somewhere under the snow are the water and perennial and herb gardens. In the background, the lonely greenhouse.

Garden Thoughts

There is a winter storm watch currently in effect for our corner of the province. I can understand why – the sun is shining brightly, the sky is a brilliant blue and the few clouds are white and fluffy. Winter storm weather for sure!

The six inches of snow on the ground that started the week have melted, leaving the lawn looking much as it does after a summer rain.

Believe it or not, we actually have a few flowers still blooming in the gardens! Malva, marigold and alyssum are valiantly hanging on. The cardoons finally succumbed to the cold this week. The rest of the plants are well on their ways to winter dormancy. Sad, but it is the natural progression. Sadder still is there is no longer any reason to put off the housework. No more legitimate excuses such watering, weeding, planting, transplanting or deadheading. The rake has been replaced by a mop, the pruners by a dust cloth, the shovel has been traded for a vacuum cleaner. Somehow, indoors tools don’t fit the hands quite so well as gardening tools, nor are they as much fun as garden tools.

The first of the seeds catalogues has arrived. You know what that means? The2008 gardening season has begun!! It will be several weeks before an acceptable seed order has been completed and several more before seeds go into the planting mix, but the planning and dreaming part of gardening is underway. Every year, the same performance is played out – vows of not ordering too many seeds, not starting too many plants, not planning elaborate gardens and containers, will be thrown out the window with every seed catalogue appears in the mailbox. Next spring as the planting out gets under way, I’ll curse my obsession and swear it will not happen ever again! Then, next summer when the gardens are in full bloom, this gardening obsession will not seem such a bad thing after all.

The Plant Killer

As a horticulturalist, it is assumed that I have the knowledge and skill to grow anything. Well, I have a confession to make. I can’t. I am a plant killer. Let me clarify that a little. I am a cardamom killer.

Back in the days of running a retail greenhouse operation, we had one greenhouse dedicated strictly to herbs. One of the herbs we grew and grew well, was cardamom. A friend, purchased a cardamom plant from us. Nearly ten years later, she has that same plant growing happily in her home. A year or so after I left the greenhouse industry, she gifted me with a division of her cardamom. It died. The next year, she again presented me with a cardamom division. It died too. The year after that, the same thing happened. And the year after that, and the year after that and, you get the picture. Once again, this summer, a cardamom took up residence in my greenhouse. It was dead within a week. Two weeks ago, I was presented with yet another cardamom plant. So far, it is still alive, but my conversations with this friend now begin something like “How are you? Is the cardamom dead yet?” No, it isn’t! Is the cardamom jinx over? Not likely. It’s probably just biding its time, lying in wait, ready to strike my plant, destroy my confidence and give my friend the last laugh, again. Excuse me, but am I not the one who spent thousands of hours, not to mention dollars, becoming a horticulturalist? Am I not the one who’s supposed to be able to excel at growing the most difficult of plants? Are my fingers not supposed to be the greenest of the green? So why does my friend succeed at growing cardamom while I fail at it miserably? Where is the justice? I keep reading all the information on growing cardamom indoors and scratching my head. I am doing and have done everything as directed in the growers’ manuals. But, the cardamoms keep dying. I wonder how long it will take this latest victim of mine to succumb here in the House of Cardamom Death?

This friend of mine is successful with goldfish too. Hers lived for years and years and years. I killed seven of them in two weeks. Maybe it’s in the water? Maybe that’s why I can’t grow cardamom? Or goldfish. If I tell myself that often enough……..no, I still won’t believe it. Though that would make sense. But I’ve tested the water, so it doesn’t make sense. Aaaggghhhh!

SAM

Sam and Tansy, October 2007

We lost a member of our family this week. Sam, our beloved grand-dog left us on November 19 at the age of seventeen. Sam was a lively personality, full of spirit. who loved adventure and travelling. He was born in England in 1990, and lived in Scotland for a while before moving to Canada. Once here, he travelled Canada from coast to coast, seeing more of this country than most people have. We had the privilege of having Sam spend many of his vacations with us. Sam stole our hearts, and became Misha’s best bud, and a cuddle mate for our cats. We will miss you Sam.