Plethora of plants soon looking for new gardens

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be welcoming spring in one of my favorite ways: visiting plant sales. I’m looking to add a couple of perennials to my north-facing container garden and possibly something house-plant related too. Even if I don’t see anything that screams out, “Take me to Chateau Gina, take me to Chateau Gina”, it’s a pleasure to not only browse but chat with fellow gardeners. I always come away from plant-related events having learned something.

The first of the events, the annual Plant, Jumble Sale and Auction  is this Saturday, April 12 at the Community Centre on 11th Ave. Be there for the 9am start time for the best selection. It finishes at noon. Not only is this an excellent opportunity to add to your garden inventory but you can shop for garden accessories as well as homemade baking and crafts. And don’t forget the “jumble” portion of the day - there will be lots of miscellaneous to choose from too.  I particularly look forward to this event every year as a way to keep myself supplied in comfy handknit slippers since my knitting skills go no further than scarves.  By this time, last year’s slippers are pretty worn out and sad looking.

Another event worth making time for is the Campbell River Garden Club’s sale on Saturday, April 24, from 9am to noon at the Bethany Lutheran church. That’s at the corner of Birch Street and 2nd Avenue.

I’ve got my spiffy new gardening gloves ready and I’m looking forward to putting them to good use after both events. See you there!

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Kit Pearson’s imagination intensifies Words on the Water

Campbell River bookies (those who read, not those who take bets) congregated in droves at the Maritime Heritage Centre on the weekend for the ninth annual Words on the Water literary festival.

The line up, as usual, was stellar: Andreas Schroeder (thanks for signing Renovating Heaven, which I’ve started reading, and Shaking it Rough, which I haven’t), Annabel Lyon, Susan Musgrave, Gabor Mate, Ronald Wright, Colin Angus, Kit Pearson, and current Haig-Brown writer in residence Harry Thurston, whose poetry left me breathless.

Every year there’s at least one author who I particularly look forward to seeing. This year it was Kit Pearson. Her talk on Saturday afternoon focused on imagination, something I got an extra dose of when it was being doled out. For Kit, playing pretend was a huge part of her after school life, especially the Knights of the Round Table, a theme that made its way into her book A Perfect Gentle Knight.

She also spoke about the positive aspects of imagination – how it can fuel characters and plot in later life – but also how it can overshadow your life if taken to an extreme. This is shown in clear relief in Gentle Knight, particularly in the character of 14 year old Sebastian…

The world of make believe is one Kit knows first hand. When she was 12, the family returned to Kit’s birth place of Edmonton after several years in Vancouver. Leaving her friends and a city she loved was tough on the young girl. Her way of coping with the changes was to retreat into a world of fantasy and reading even more – an escape from reality when the real world was too overwhelming.

I was enchanted to hear Kit read from her Guests of War trilogy. It’s a perfect example of high quality kid’s lit. Set throughout WW II, the books trace the experiences of brother and sister Gavin (and his elephant friend, Creature, who my sock monkies now want to meet) and Norah as they are sent from their home in Kent, England, to live with the well-to-do Ogilive sisters in Toronto. They are beautifully developed characters set against an era I’ve always been interested in. I first read the series some years ago when I borrowed them from the library. I’m now the owner of all three – The Sky is Falling, Looking at the Moon, and The Lights Go On Again – and only two days after the end of this year’s event, they’ve all been read again. But not for the last time.

Scope out Kit’s website at www.kitpearson.com.

“I write because I like to make things up”. What a wonderful reason, Kit. I know the feeling.

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Plant passions take root at annual Garden Tour

One of the perks of being a gardener is checking out other people’s gardens. The upcoming Campbell River Art Gallery Tour gives you the perfect chance to do just that.

This year’s two day event, on Saturday, July 4 and Sunday, July 5, from 10:00am to 4:00pm, is the fourteenth year, and showcases 12 gardens, eight of which are making their debut as part of this self-guided tour.

The event allows you to visit the gardens on either the Saturday or Sunday or both. Do them all on Saturday and go back to your favorites the next day or divide them up (like irises!) and tour some on both days. It’s up to you.  All gardens are open both days and the tour runs rain or shine. Sunscreen and water are wise things to bring along.

Wondering how to incorporate into your garden that plant you inherited from a family member, the one you’re not even sure the name of? Curious to see how others use a specific color scheme? Or are you simply wanting a chance to wander through a variety of local gardens that show off their owner’s personaliites?

Don’t miss this highlight of a Campbell River summer. As an added attraction, some gardens will feature at-work local artists. 

As in years past, this year’s gardens run the gamut from small city-sized to sprawling acreages, with water elements, gazebos, and the array of shrubs, trees, and flowering wonders we’re so fortunate to be able to grow successfully here in our corner of paradise.

 Keep an eye out for a series of articles on the various gardens featured this year in current issues of The Mirror. The first article appeared on Friday, June 12.

Can’t tell periwinkle from peonies? No worries. This popular event has something for everyone – from the novice gardener starting to develop his or her own style to those who have indulged their green passion for years. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or a more seasoned gardener – all that matters is enthusiasm and curiosity. Bring both and you’ll be in good company.

Tickets are only $15 for both Saturday and Sunday. Get yours at the Art Gallery or Visitor Information Centre, located side by side in Tyee Plaza, at Serendipity in the Garden on Shoppers Row, in Willow Point at the Willows Farm Market and Garden Centre and also in Courtenay at the Comox Valley Art Gallery.

Proceeds from this event go towards on-going children’s programs at the Campbell River Art Gallery.

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Gardening Course a Joy

I’ve always loved ferns. Even as a kid, walking through the forest that surrounded the house I grew up in, they attracted my attention as nothing else did. That’s still the case, as witnessed by the multitude of pictures of them in my collection.  This one particularly caught my eye on Sunday during the walk about we did during the Native Plant Gardening course I attended at the Campbell River Museum.

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Oregon Grape here I come

Here’s hoping the weather forecast for Sunday sun is accurate. Between 9am and 1pm I’ll be at the Museum at Campbell River learning about plants native to BC. I’ve always had a soft spot for Oregon Grape (Mahonia for those Latin lovers amongst us). There is something untamed about it and yet the welcoming yellow flowers at this time of year are a sight to behold.

This day long session is taught by Pat Johnston from Victoria. She’s a Native Plant Gardening Consultant (now that sounds like the Best Job in the World to me) who has nine year’s experience helping a variety of gardeners how to successfully use native plants in their unique gardens.

I’m particularly interested in learning more about which native plants I can grow on my north-facing patio. So far I’ve got Wintergreen, the previously mentioned Oregon Grape, Lavender, Heather, a Japonica, and my newest addition, the Hosta I named Harrington. He’s of the Patriot variety. I also have a lovely Japanese Red Painted Fern that survived The Long and Cold Winter of 2008-2009. Heather certainly isn’t native to BC, and neither is the Lavender, so I’m eager to find out my other options.

Any opportunity to be outside and learn about plants – I’m so there. Gardening books are useful but they simply don’t take the place of seeing the plants outside, mainly because the pictures rarely bear much resemblance to the real thing.

To find out if there’s still space available, call Campbell River Parks and Rec at 250-286-1161. The cost is $18.00 – a real bargain for four hours of new knowledge.

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