- If you are adding peat moss to your acid-loving plants, soak it with warm water first. Otherwise it has a tendency to remain dry and unabsorbent. An easy method is to empty the peat moss into a wheelbarrow or bucket and pour the warm water over it until it is damp. Mix it well into the top few inches of soil so that it doesn't have the chance to dry out again.
- It is time to plant peas and beans, spinach and lettuce. Choose a shady spot for the last two: otherwise, if we get a warm spell, they'll go to seed very quickly.
- Do you have a shrub that hasn't leafed out yet? Not sure if it died over the winter? With your fingernail, scratch down the side of a stem. If you see green tissue underneath, that stem is still alive; if it looks hard and brown, it's dead.
- Have you forgotten the name of a plant in your garden? Or seen one in someone else's garden that you'd like to get for your own? Take a photo on your smartphone or netbook, and bring it to the next meeting. One of our experts will help to identify it for you.
- The annual Plant Sale at VanDusen Botanical Garden is on Sunday, April 27, 10:00 - 4:00. This is a great chance to find all kinds of plants, common or unusual, at very good prices, including the Melliodendron tree that Egan Davis spoke so enthusiastically about at our last meeting. If you are on a tight budget, there are always great bargains in the Pot Luck section. Take a cart, tray or box (your blue box works well) to carry your purchases.
- As a bonus, entry to the Garden is free on that day. Park your purchases in the Plant Hold Area and take a stroll through one of Vancouver's most beautiful gardens before you leave.
- Christine Allen
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