In spite of the rainy, damp and below seasonal temperatures, members of the Tweed and District Horticultural Group eagerly attended the May meeting to hear about garden layout/design and cut flowers. The speaker for the evening was Rebecca Wheatley, from Napanee who operates her own business doing garden maintenance and design.
Using a power point presentation, Rebecca highlighted the elements of design to be incorporated into gardens…
-SHAPE…. arches (bleeding heart), cascading (phlox), clump (hosta), spike (yucca), spread (thyme), mounding (perennial geranium)
-UNITY…achieved by adding focal plants, planting groups of the same plants, simplicity by using no more than 7 different plants within a garden
-LINE…can be achieved in both plants as well as hard landscaping
-TEXTURE…adds interest…plants suggested…ferns, hostas
-COLOUR AND CONTRAST…can be achieved using plants and shrubs…nine bark, coral bells
To create a garden, Rebecca mentioned the importance of good soil. Adding bone meal and water to the hole when planting is beneficial to the plants. Spring and fall are the ideal times to plant.
She suggested to lay out your plants in the space you have selected for your garden arranging from large to small. It is important to know the maximum width and height of the plants to prevent transplanting in a few years!
Several flowers were suggested for garden if looking for cut flowers…. dahlias, lilies, black eyed Susan, aster, zinnia, sunflower, aliums, salvia, cosmos, foxglove, delphinium, sweet pea.
Rebecca recommended cutting the flower stem with a clean sharp tool and placing flowers in lukewarm water. It is important to replace the water every two-three days.
COMING EVENTS…
June 4th…Container Water Gardens with Peter and Christine Gill. They will have plants for sale.
June 11…Bus Trip to Peterborough. Contact Linda Holmes for more info.
May 18…. Annual Plant Sale at Tweed Memorial Park starting at 8 am.
May 28…planting of town planters and flower beds. Meet at 5:30 at the vacant lot across from Valu-Mart.