Hurricane Earl Let Us Off Easy

Despite making landfall in Lunenburg County as a Category 1 Hurricane, Earl was soon downgraded to a tropical storm and Chester residents escaped the worst of his fury. Having experienced the widespread devastation caused by hurricane Juan in 2003, however, most Nova Scotians had taken extra precautions this time around, which undoubtedly helped minimize the damage to gardens and boats.

As a gardener, your blogger was among those busy stowing lawn furniture, garden sculptures and container plants out of harm's way in advance of the storm, but it seemed prudent too to bring some of the blooms indoors rather than see them destroyed by the storm. Rudbeckias, gladioli and a few annuals brightened up a hall table.


Several spears of gladioli and a few snapdragons were among the other blooms rescued before the winds beat down neighbouring plants. Except for a few fallen trees and branches that blocked roads temporarily, there was actually little damage in the Chester area. In fact, two days after the storm had passed, and we were restoring all the items that had been trucked inside for safety, I was delighted to see a number of day lilies, roses and dahlias blooming in my own garden.

And now that September is here, the Chester Garden Club is gearing up for its regular monthly meetings, the first of which will take place on Monday, September 20th at St. Stephen's Parish Community Centre. The speaker will be Laurie Lacey and his topic will be Plants with Medicinal Properties. The doors open at 6:30 pm and the meeting will begin promptly at 7:00 pm. Annual dues ($20) are payable as of September 1st.