Gardening with Gail
by Gail McIlroy
It’s funny as we look back over the last few months, I am thinking, did we really have winter? There was not a lot of covering from the snow. Have you noticed any difference with the perennial plants or shrubs?
A favourite spring moment for us here while playing in the dirt is the sounds from the birds building nests and chirping happily.
It’s now the time to get an early start for spinach, arugula and green onions. Just pop their seeds into your garden and they will catch and grow. Adding healthy mature compost is important for the best results. It’s also important to use healthy soil.
Preparing and making your own vegetable garden is so valuable as prices continue to escalate. A visit to Lakehead’s Orillia campus, where they have a wonderful community garden and seed library, will also give you some extra advice.
There are a million combinations of plants that want to grow together and many that don’t like to grow side by side. It’s beneficial to your success to pay attention to this when planning. Peas and carrots are natural neighbours, just like they are on your plate. By the way, peas fix nitrogen in the soil which in turn help carrots to grow.
Now to flowers: pansies, daffodils, crocus, tulips, love this time of the year and flourish. When their bloom time is over, leave the leaves to collect more sun which in turn will feed the bulb for next year.
Here is a list of plants to enrich the colours in your garden once you’re certain the frost is over with:
Versatile vines can provide flowers, fruit and privacy as trellis plants. By this time of the year there will be a great variety to choose from at the local nursery. People have favourites so just investigate what your personal wishes are, and what you want the vibe to do for you.
Many people like to plant climbing roses, both for beauty and privacy. Keep in mind most roses need a lot of sun and a dry soil to grow in.
As I always stress it’s important to love what you do. Gardening isn’t for everyone but it sure is gratifying if it is for you!
Happy spring!
Oro-Medonte Horticultural Society Updates for April May
Way Down Yonder in the Pawpaw Patch
by Lynne Melnyk
I’m taking part (unofficially) in a scientific experiment called assisted migration. This is ‘moving seed sources or populations to a location far outside the historical species range, beyond locations accessible by natural dispersal’. For me, it is also pushing the hardiness zones.
Pawpaws are native to Ontario but only in the far south, being Carolinian plants. The Carolinian Zone extends from the Carolinas in the southern US north to Southwestern Ontario. I have a tulip tree, which is a Carolinian species and it has done very well in our climate, so I am hopeful that the pawpaws will thrive also.
I had grown one pawpaw plant from seed but knew that I needed at least two for cross pollination. So, in 2022 I ordered three more from Ontario Native Plants www.onplants.ca/product-category/wildflowers. I planted all four in a large pot in the fall of 2022, as recommended.
Pawpaws are the closest we have to a tropical fruit, being related to the custard apple. I have never tried them, but they are described as banana/pineapple/mango/berry flavour. The leaves can be up to 12 inches long, giving the tree a tropical appearance. The flowers are very showy and the fruit ripens in September. Pawpaws are an understory tree, growing up to 25 feet, and like part sun and wind protection.
An interesting note is that flies or beetles pollinate the brown flowers, not bees.
It can take five to eight years before the trees bear fruit, so I may never have the opportunity to taste a fruit from my trees, but the fun is in the trying.
Wish me luck and Happy Gardening!
NOTICE:
April Meeting: Carlos Moniz will present 2023 Highlights from Butchart Gardens, BC.
May Meeting: Lynn Holden, Garden Travel Photography
Both meetings take place at 7:30 at the Oro-Medonte Community Arena & Banquet Hall, 71 Line 4 North (Corner of Highway 11 S and 4th Line N) . Visitors are welcome.
The Oro-Medonte Horticultural Society annual plant sale is taking place again this year at the Oro Fairgrounds on May 25th starting at 10:00 am.
Details for all events can be found on our website: www.oromedontehorticulturalsociety.ca.
Audobon image: By 2_Yellow-billed_Cuckoo.jpg: *2_Yellow-billed_Cuckoo.jpg:John James Audubon(1785–1851)
Cut pawpaw image :Copyrighted free use, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61639
Pawpaw orchard: By Cbarlow – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=116575577
