After coming home from a weekend at the coast, I took a stroll through our garden to see what had come up or had started to bloom and what needed doing. Needless to say, the second list was longer than the first. That’s why I think you may want to share both, the first for cheering you up, the second one for reminding you of the jobs you should tackle in the weeks to come.

Our major daffodil varieties are in bloom, finally, and seem to have survived the night frosts. Daffodils, like most other spring bulbs, originated in the hills and mountains around the Mediterranean, in climates like ours. So they thrive on our plentiful winter moisture in the ground and aren’t bothered by the alternate night frosts and sunny days which we get quite regularly in late April.

Magnolias, on the other hand, react quite differently. We had a chance to admire spectacular old Magnolia x soulangiana trees as well as more recently-introduced M. stellata (star magnolia) and M. x loebneri in Vancouver. Both were in full bloom, quite a sight to behold, in both white and various shades of pink. All three species have been planted increasingly in the Okanagan, mostly by risk-takers who feel that their stately beauty in good-weather years is worth the risk of having only brown balls of frost-killed bud tissue in seasons like spring 2007.

On my “what has come up list,” the first-sown vegetables are winning the price again. I had put in more seeds than necessary, but thinning them out now is a small chore compared to having to inter-seed rows that have too few plants. In another week or two, I am going to sow a second set of my favourite vegetables, salads and peas. That should stretch the harvesting season a little.

Our precious container-grown and forced small spring bulbs, such as my favourite Persian Iris (I. reticulata) and small daffodil species, have stopped blooming. Instead of yielding to a lazy temptation to leave them in their containers where they can mature, I have decided to transplant them into the rockery which needs a few more of these jewels.

The containers, meanwhile, I’ll try to plant with a set of summer flowers. Last year, having little experience along this line, I used a simple combination of showy ornamental grasses as backdrop for heliotropes that filled the patio all summer with their fragrance. This time around, I’ll try some other combinations as well. Regular watering and good drain holes in the pot seem to be major requirements for successful container growing. For hanging baskets, the regularity of watering is especially important. A little water-retaining gel in the medium should also help.

Timely Topics

c One item near the end of the to-do list are the not-to-do things: so don’t be tempted into sowing or planting any of the heat lovers that require warm soil temperatures (12 C or more): tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, bush and pole beans.

c Those gardeners who want to transplant or divide perennials had better do so right now, a long as the plants are still mostly dormant.

source : www.pentictonwesternnews.com