Tours, Tropicals and Look-alikes

The organizers of the NSAGC Convention, to be held on June 3- 5, have just announced that an additional tour has been added to the schedule. The Gimby Property in Fox Point on St Margaret's Bay, to the east of the convention venue, will be open to registrants on Sunday, June 5th, from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. The property consists of a century-old stone house and grounds that have been divided into small specialty gardens with a mix of perennials and shrubs. Walled gardens contain over 65 varieties of dwarf conifers. Directions for reaching the tour location will be available at the time of registration.

There are now four tours available to convention registrants. Three will take place on Sunday, at the end of the convention, and one on Friday afternoon at the start of the event. The Friday tour will provide a rare chance to see the well-known Risley greenhouses in East Chester. Tickets for that tour must be obtained in advance. Please see the registration form (Click on the NSAGC Convention, under Events in the sidebar of this blog) for details such as the time and cost of this tour. NSAGC members in the Chester area should check with their own garden club for additional information.

Although few of us have the opportunity to grow tropical plants in our region, we learned from Susan Davis, chief gardener of the Risley greenhouse, that we are already growing many tropical look-alikes and that, with care, we could do even more. By definition, tropical plants grow in regions that do not extend more than about 20 degrees north or south of the equator. The average temperatures in the Risley greenhouse range from a high of 72° to a low of 50° F. (24° and 10° C). Susan uses special soil (which resembles a very rich compost) and lots of humidity to maintain healthy plants.

The appeal of most tropical plants is their large size and vibrant colours. Whether it is the brilliant foliage or showy flowers, or a combination of lacy vines with the broad leaves of a sturdy shrub, the visual image makes a strong impression on us. While Susan encourages experimentation with "architectural" tropicals, which grow into a commanding presence, they need to be planted in pots so that they may be moved indoors during the winter. An easier task is to start with easy-to-grow tropicals like Ornamental sweet potato  (Ipomoea batatas), banana (Musa), Chinese hibiscus, Fiddleleaf fig (Ficus lyrata), and Ti plant (Cordyline fruticosa). These plants can be brought indoors to overwinter or simply treated as annuals in a temperate climate.

As for the tropical look-alikes, among many others Susan mentioned the familiar Coral bells (Heuchera), Heartleaf bergenia (Bergenia cordifolia), Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis),  Beard's Tongue (Penstemon digitalis), and Soapweed (Yucca glauca). Many of the tropical look-alikes are available in local nurseries and are certainly worth trying if they are not already in your own garden. Catalogues from nurseries and seed houses are making the rounds and, as we are about to turn the page on February, planning for the coming gardening season is getting underway. Why not try a tropical corner in your garden?

Convention 2011 Update: Greenhouse Tour

In mid-February we see a change in the lighting of the wintry countryside, as the sun rises a little higher in the sky and the days become a little longer. Following a recent sleet storm, tree branches coated with a silvery sheen glistened in the early morning light.

Looking ahead to many sunnier and warmer days, many NSAGC members are planning to attend the annual Convention in June. The program and registration form are available by clicking on the link under "Events", at the right-hand side of the blog.
In this posting, we hope to clear up some questions that have arisen about the procedure for attending the Risley Greenhouse Tour, as listed on the Convention 2011 Registration Form. Please note: The tour is available only to those who have registered for the Convention. Tickets for the tour will cost $5.00, and are payable at the time of registration, at the Atlantica Hotel and Marina Oak Island, in Western Shore. The tickets will include free bus transportation to and from the greenhouses in East Chester. Registrants who live in the Chester region and prefer to take their own cars must purchase their tickets in advance from Marion Daniels, who may be contacted at mariondaniels@eastlink.ca  We hope that this information is helpful. The hosting clubs are looking forward to a full and exciting Convention and hope that many gardeners from around the province will be able to attend.

Planning Ahead

After a seasonal hiatus, members of Chester Garden Club are reminded that the regular meetings will begin again this month. First up is the challenging Get That Tropical Look in Nova Scotia, a presentation by Susan Davis, an enthusiastic gardener from the Risley Greenhouses, on February 21st.

Gardeners will be encouraged to develop tactics leading to new displays at their Chester homes (not exactly as illustrated!). Whatever interesting ideas Susan presents, the meeting will be a great chance for optimistic gardeners to begin reving up for another gardening season. The first meeting of the season also provides a good opportunity to invite a friend to come along too, as a potential member of the club.

Unless otherwise notified, members can count on meetings being scheduled for the third Monday of each month, with a 6:30 for 7:00 pm start. The location for meetings is the St. Stephen Parish Community Centre, at the corner of  Queen and Regent Streets. A full calendar of meetings for the year will be published on the blog as soon as it is available.

Looking even farther ahead, it is time to plan for the NSAGC annual convention to be held on June 3-5, at the Atlantica Hotel and Marina, Oak Island. Early-bird registration - that is before March 31st - will entitle registrants for a draw that will see the winner reimbursed for the actual registration fee. For information on the program and to get a registration form, see the side-bar of this blog (under Events).

Winter White

As if on schedule, another winter storm blew into the Maritimes this week and Chester received its fair share of the white stuff. With temperatures well below freezing in the previous week, even our saltwater coves had iced over. Under a wintry sky, the snowy surface of an inlet beside a snow-covered road indicates just how far the ice has extended out toward the open water of the ocean.

As an antidote to such cold weather scenes, we are including a shot taken at the Club's Annual Flower Show last summer. While Dorothy searches for her entry ticket, Madge and Kay are persuading her to buy a packet of the Club's own note-cards.  The cards, featuring garden-inspired photos taken by Club members, were produced last year as a fund-raiser for the Club.  They have been a popular item and there are plans to create another series with new photos now that the current stock is running low. 

In February, even the hardiest gardeners are forced to admit defeat when snowy verandahs prevent easy access to the outdoors.

Members of the Chester Garden Club can, however, look forward to a temporary escape from winter's blasts when they attend the first general meeting of 2011. On February 21,  our guest speaker will be Susan Davis from Risley Gardens and her topic will be: Get that Tropical Look in Nova Scotia.

Chester gardens have never been renowned as tropical even in August but these days they are lying under about 20 centimetres of snow. The latest blast of winter coated shrubs and trees with heavy dollops of beautiful thick "frosting". Nevertheless, on a sunny day with little wind, the snow conditions encouraged even a few gardeners to don their cross-country skis and traverse neighbouring fields and orchards.