RGC April 2019 Newsletter April 4, 2019 President’s Message We recently had two incredibly knowledgeable and passionate guest speakers - Amanda Jarrett on healthy soils and Kerry Ann Mendez (offered to us from the Vancouver Master Gardeners) speaking about the principles behind garden design. Both speakers left us inspired and even taught the gifted gardeners a new thing or two! Kerry Ann Mendez was invited to speak at the Vancouver Master Gardeners Annual Spring Affair. We were treated to a presentation a day before their major event. Kerry gave us some simple design concepts to follow: “Magical Movement in the Garden”, “Incorporate Different Flower Shapes to Elevate Drama”, “Go Vertical to Add email: [email protected]1 Mark your calendars! ✦ Sunday, April 7: Richmond Cherry Blossom Festival, Garry Point Park, 11-4pm ✦ Saturday, April 13: Master the Basics of Perennials, Phoenix Perennials, 10-11am, 3360 No 6 Rd. Learn the basics of “the right plant, right place”. To register: email: [email protected]or phone 604-270-4133 ✦ Sunday, April 21: Easter Sunday ✦ Wednesday, April 24: RGC Monthly Meeting: 7-9pm, Richmond Cultural Centre meeting room, 7700 Minoru Gate. Margaret Nakahara,guest speaker on dried flowers, herbs, fruits and veggies Richmond Garden Club Mother’s Day Plant Sale Preparation | Garden Edibles|Peeling Bark Problems
Transcript
RGC April 2019 Newsletter April 4, 2019
President’s Message We recently had two incredibly knowledgeable and passionate guest speakers - Amanda Jarrett on healthy soils and Kerry Ann Mendez (offered to us from the Vancouver Master Gardeners) speaking about the principles behind garden design. Both speakers left us inspired and even taught the gifted gardeners a new thing or two!
Kerry Ann Mendez was invited to speak at the Vancouver Master Gardeners Annual Spring Affair. We were treated to a presentation a day before their major event.
Kerry gave us some simple design concepts to follow: “Magical Movement in the Garden”, “Incorporate Different Flower Shapes to Elevate Drama”, “Go Vertical to Add
✦ Sunday, April 7: Richmond Cherry Blossom Festival, Garry Point Park, 11-4pm
✦ Saturday, April 13: Master the Basics of Perennials, Phoenix Perennials, 10-11am, 3360 No 6 Rd. Learn the basics of “the right plant, right place”. To register: email: [email protected] or phone 604-270-4133
✦ Sunday, April 21: Easter Sunday
✦ Wednesday, April 24: RGC Monthly Meeting: 7-9pm, Richmond Cultural Centre meeting room, 7700 Minoru Gate. Margaret Nakahara,guest speaker on dried flowers, herbs, fruits and veggies
Richmond Garden Club Mother’s Day Plant Sale Preparation | Garden Edibles|Peeling Bark Problems
Another Dimension, Additional Colour and Interest”, “Focal Points”, “Foliage Factor” and “Living Mulch, Weed-Smothering Ground Covers Save Money and Time.” Kerry even provided us with a list of plants she suggested for each of the design concepts. If any of you would like a copy, please email me at: [email protected]. Kerry also advised us of her regular webinars she does through her website (www.pyours.com) for $13 US which I have heard are incredibly informative and well worth the money spent.
Amanda Jarrett has an amazing website where she writes a blog on all kinds of topics key to our gardening success. Check out her website at: www.thegardenwebsite.com.
This is what the Richmond Garden Club is about - continuously learning new techniques, best practises and plant picks for gardening successes. Thank you to Jill Wright and Vidyut Aklujkar for bringing us these professional and informative speakers.
Garden edibles Now is the time to get a head-start on the edibles in your garden. Whether you have acreage or a small patio, you can grow veggies and herbs to use in your kitchen or your favourite cocktail.
It is still too chilly to plant most of our edibles. But there are some tasks you can complete so you are reading for planting season.
Successful vegetable gardening has always come from planning ahead and knowing what you want to plant. If you don’t kale, don’t plant it.
Seed catalogues show up in our doorstep in the winter causing serious daydreaming. You need to be realistic at how many seeds you need. The old rule of never grocery shopping when you are hungry applies here. Just think
Little over a month from now, we will be hosting our annual Mother’s Day plant sale. This is a major fundraiser to help us bring in amazing speakers like Amanda Jarrett to help us improve our ‘green thumbs’.
You should be well underway with potting up divided plants, propagated plants, tubers, bulbs and seedlings.
Remember that vegetable and herb seedlings are very popular at the sale. Tomatoes, beans, squashes, pumpkins, peppers and other edibles go like ‘hotcakes’.
If you need more pots, there are plenty at the tool storage shed in Paulik Park behind the caretaker house on 7611 Ash Street. Help yourself.
More information will be available about bringing the plants to the sale on event day.
about how much you and your family want to eat and how much time you to devote to gardening.
Many of us have already started our seeds indoors. It is recommended that you sow them inside 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost.
Prepare your soil by removing cool weather weeds before they seed. After clearing the weeds, feed your soil with some good organic matter - manure, leaf hummus and yard compost help create healthy soil.
Transplant your cool weather seedlings. This is a great time for arugula, chard, beet greens and other cool weather plants. We have raised garden beds in our yard with cold frames that can be lowered to protect the tender plants until our weather warms up.
Thank you Gary Lewis, Phoenix Perennials Gary donated a $50 gift certificate for our BC Council of Garden Clubs meeting Saturday, April 6th.
Join Gary and his team at Phoenix Perennials for the “Great Easter Plant Hunt” 10am Easter Sunday, April 21st., 3380 No 6 Road, Richmond
Bring and brag! Remember to bring your prized plants (flowers, houseplants, veggies, herbs, floral arrangements) to our April 24th Garden Club meeting for a chance to win tickets for a movie night out for two at Silvercity including popcorn and two soft drinks.
We will display your masterpieces to the members and have you answer any questions they may have. Bring and brag will give us an opportunity to learn something new about gardening. Should be fun for everyone!
Who is stripping bark from the cedar trees in Paulik Park? Wander through the forest and the gardens in Paulik Park where tall cedar trees stand proud. You will notice that most of them have some evidence of something has pulled the bark off the trees. Of course, we are very concerned as volunteers in the Park that this continuous activity could kill our trees.
There are a number of animals that sometimes remove bark from trees in the wild, ranging from black bears, to porcupines, beavers, rabbits and squirrels. Only squirrels can reach up high in tree which is the type of peeling we are seeing in the Park.
Squirrels remove cedar bark for their nests. They also like to do it when their bored - kind of like popping bubble wrap for people!
Squirrels tend to strip bark in the late winter. The stripped areas usually measure 1/2 inch wide and 3 to 6 inches long. It is usually on the horizontal branch rather than the trunk. (Most of the damage on the trees in Paulik are on the trunk.)
Trees can generally survive some stripping damage but if the trunk is girdled by more than 50%, the tree may die.
Sounds like we might need a game cam to spy on the culprits!
Dwight Young attended our March meeting. He is representing Growers Delight and has a product that he has donated to try out to see if we can improve the growing conditions in the rooftop garden. In exchange for providing us with 4 lbs of his Soil Booster Plus product we will be providing him with three months advertising in our newsletter and website.
www.organicdirtsupplements.ca10% off with code: RGC2019
Promoting Soil Health Naturally
For more information go to:
Our blend can help fix your CHAFER BEETLE PROBLEM
Our Soil Booster Plus (with 70 trace minerals) will contain the Penergetic K & P. This is a unique proprietary technology available which works with the biological processes in nature.
Create a greater source of energy which is beneficial for soil organisms, which would influence both the soil fertility & plant health?
All of our products are non-toxic and safe for use around Humans and Animals.
