THE SPROUTAPRIL 2011

Volume 24 No. 4

NEXT MEETING:

April 19th , 2011

Trinity United Church

7:30 PM

Speaker:Fred Wein Sr.

from Clearview Clematiswill be speaking about

Clematis

REMEMBER:

1.Coffee Cup

2.Name Tag 3.Library Books

4.Any garden books, magazines, pots,

gardening supplies, or tools

that you no longer need for the Free Table.

5. To mark April 30th onto your calendar for our 1st

Open Garden! .

PoCo Garden Club Established July 5, 1990 by Len Cuddeford P.O. Box 631, PoCo Depot, Port Coquitlam, B.C. V3E 6H9

Blog: pocogardenclub.wordpress.com email: pocogardenclub@gmail.com

PRESIDENTS MESSAGE Our April 19th speaker will be Fred Wein Sr. from Clearview Clematis (http://clearviewhort.com/clematis.htm or http://www.homeofclematis.net/), a large local wholesaler (with onsite retail facilities) of Clematis. I tend to accumulate plant obsessions and Clematis is certainly one – I seem to be able to find a few square feet of space in which to squeeze ‘just one more’ variety. Really, at this rate I expect to, someday, reach the point where there is not a single sq. in. for a weed to find a foothold – might also have to watch where I step. I’m looking forward to hearing Fred’s presentation on this most beautiful of species.

The speaker at our May 17th meeting will be Brad Jalbert, a well known rose enthusiast and breeder from Langley; Brad operates a retail nursery, Select Roses (http://www.selectroses.ca), and we are very much looking forward to hearing his advice on the raising of roses. I fell in love early on with roses, particularly older varieties that have been neglected for decades, but which have been making a comeback in recent years.

There is some confusion related to the term ‘old garden roses (OGR)’ – technically they are roses raised before 1867, when the first Hybrid Tea, ‘La France’, was introduced but ‘La France’ was just another rose introduced to commerce at that time – it was not until some years later the term Hybrid Tea was coined to describe this class of roses that are, for the most part, hybrids of the Chinese ‘Tea’ roses and the ‘Hybrid Perpetuals’ that had reigned supreme in old gardens before the creation of Hybrid Teas. They can also contain the blood of various other classes. Seismic shifts in society are often not noted except in retrospect.

Many ‘old’ or ‘antique’ roses were raised in the decades that followed the introduction of the Hybrid Tea class – roses that aren’t, technically ‘old garden roses’ but which, to my mind, belong in the same group as their manner of growth and flower form and colouring are very similar. The once-blooming European roses that preceded the introduction of reblooming Asian roses are the true ‘OGRs’, but so too are these reblooming Asiatics as well as the hybrids between them, prior to 1867. For that matter, if you were to cross an OGR with an OGR today, the result would be an OGR raised in 2011. Confusion enough?

......cont'd on page 6.

Page 1

CLUB NEWS NOTICE BOARDClean-Up Crew for AprilMeeting:

Shirley LaroseLynne FletcherStacey Barnabe

Refreshments for April Meeting:Sharon WarnockStacey BarnabeDonna Crosby

PLANT SALE RAFFLE ! Items are needed for the

Plant Sale RaffleBig or small, new only pleasePlease bring them to the April

meeting or contact Wendy 604 469-0615

or Lynette 604 945-0906.Thanking you all.

POTS ANYONE ???If anyone needs pots for potting up plants for the plant sale, give Donna a call at 939-4064. There are all kinds of shapes and sizes, including 2 - 12" hanging baskets. I live at 1730 Bowman Ave.( near Como Lake & Poirier in Coquitlam.

........Thanks, Donna

POTATOES ANYONE ???Carol Kurrusk is looking for a fellow gardener who has extra seed potatoes that she could buy (she only needs 10 for her garden), and for some rhubarb plants. Call her at 942-6074 or email at ckurrusk@shaw.ca

NEW MEMBERS:

At the February meeting, we welcomed two

new members:

Thelma Otsig Pat Parchmann

Burke Mountain Naturalists MONTHLY CLUB MEETING: Tuesday, Apr. 12 at 7:30 Guest Speaker Dr. Christine Bishop on Conservation of the Yellow-breasted Chat in BC

Walking Tour of Magnolias at Riverview: Sunday Apr. 17 1:00 pmFree Guided tour of the glorious trees which should be in full bloom if the spring weather cooperates. Dogs on leash are welcome. Info: Phone 604-290-9910, or see:http://www.bmn.bc.ca/

VanDusen Gardens Vancouver Dahlia Society Saturday & Sunday, Apr. 9 & 10 from 1:00 to 4:00pm Tuber Sale in the Floral Hall. Info: contact Evelyn Crawford at 604-437-8395 or email evelyn.crawford@shaw.ca

B.C. Fuchsia and Begonia SocietySaturday Apr. 16 from 10 am to 3 pm in Floral HallPlant, Bake and Craft Sale: Hardy Fuchsias, begonias, geraniums, home baking, crafts, jewelry, containers, pots, baskets and lots more gardening items and plants. Info: contact Fran at 604-591-3262 or Lorna at 604-929-5382.

Point Grey Chrysanthemum Association Saturday Apr 16 from 9:00 am to noon Rooted Cutting Sale in the Cedar Room. Admission free. Info: Marie Ogryzlo 604.261.9219 or email: ogryzlo@chem.ubc.ca

Vancouver African Violet & Gesneriad Society Saturday Apr 30 1:00 to-4:00 pm in Floral Hall. Annual Show & Sale – Violets for all Occasions Admission: $2 Info: Arleen Dewell 604-254-8975 or email: arleendewell@shaw ..ca

Amsterdam Nursery Basket & Planter Workshop Wednesday Apr. 6 at 2:00pm & 7:00 pmCreate your own hanging basket and/or planter in this hands-on workshop. Seminar deposit is $10.

Landscape Principles Sunday, April 10 at 2:00 pm Learn the proper steps to manage your landscape, whether you're doing a make-over or starting from scratch. Note: Registration is required for all classes.Phone: (604) 465-6614 or Email: info@amsterdamgreenhouses.com

April 2011 Page 4

SPRING EVENTS SPRING TO DO

At first glance, it looks like a giant child armed with a box of crayons has been set loose upon the

landscape. Vivid stripes of purple, yellow, red, pink, orange and green make up A glorious patchwork.

Thanks to Cheryl Dixon for sending along this picture from The Netherlands in May.

Maple Ridge Garden Club Country Garden Tour

June 26, 2011 - 9:00am to 4:00pm. We are planning this garden tour of eight gardens to raise funds for the Sunshine Foundation "Dreams for Kids". The tickets will be $15.00 each (and includes a

goody and beverage at the Picnic Gardens)

For more information or to purchase tickets please contact Gayle @ 604-467-2956 or Margaret @ 604-467-1885 or view our web site: http://mrgc.50webs.com/

Top 10 Things to do in AprilApril is off to a bit of lion start, with a bit of sun, cloud, rain, hail and wind in the mix! Temperatures are still cool but spring colour abounds and there is lots to do in the garden:

1. Plant summer blooming bulbs and corms such as lilies and gladiolas. Dahlias and calla lilies can go out in late-April. Bare root perennials, like hostas and astilbe, should go in as soon as possible.

2. It’s container do-over time! Pop out tired plants and replace them with cool spring colour: violas, stocks, alyssum, osteospermum, marguerites, primulas, nemesia, pansies, mimulas and snapdragons.

3. Prune back winter blooming trees like forsythia and witch hazel and shrubs as soon as they finish flowering. Feed with 10-15-19.

4. The very best way to organically control weeds in your lawn is to have a thick, healthy lawn to begin with! Now is a great time to overseed

5. Apply slow release lawn fertilizer to established lawns. We highly recommend Nurseryland 25-3-7 Lawn Food.

6. Fertilize your rhodos, azaleas and camellias with Nurseryland Rhodo & Azalea Food 6-12-8. Winter damaged leaves will likely be dropping off the plants now.. don’t worry, they’ll be okay!

7. Add manure and compost to rev up tired soil in flower or vegetable containers.

8. If you didn’t get your dormant spraying done last season, to keep your fruit trees clean and free of insects and disease, you can spray now but use the ‘growing season’ ratio of lime Sulphur and horticultural oil 3 times: pinking stage, petal fall and 3-5 weeks later.

9. Remove finished tulip and daffodil heads but leave the foliage on to die back naturally. To help along next year’s blooms, feed with 10-15-19.

10.Start hanging baskets for summer (as long as they have somewhere warm to stay until May). To save you a bit of work, join us on April 30 for Hanging Basket Day!

*Now is a wonderful time to get your veggie garden started and we have an amazing selection of started plants and seeds to get you going.

Thanks to Brian MinterThe complete April Minter Gardens newsletter can be found here:www.mintergardens.com/

Dog Rocks : From Australia! Eco friendly and all natural, place them in your dog’s water bowl to help prevent nasty burn patches in your lawn. (also from Minter Gardens).

April 2011 Page 5

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGEPresident's Message cont'd....

The only drawback to growing these old roses (apart from the once-blooming character of many of them) would be that many, perhaps most, can reach a substantial size which can make them difficult to fit into the more modest dimensions of our modern urban gardens. The answer to that may be to grow only a few – they are too beautiful (and fragrant) to eschew completely. On the plus side, the shrub form of these roses possess a grace that is entirely missing from the Hybrid Tea and Floribunda classes that we are so familiar with – in dormancy, these two classes ore often referred to as ‘sticks’, a reference that would never be applied to the grand old ladies of the garden.

An excellent website for these old roses is http://www.rdrop.com/~paul/main.html (Paul Barden) where you can check out the various families of old roses. The Hybrid Musks would look particularly good in a middling to larger garden and they rebloom - the old Hybrid Perpetuals (more vibrant colours) would also fit well and nobody seems to be growing them any more - they were usually left to arch over until they approached the ground and were then tied down, or 'pegged', causing them to bloom all along the stem (sometimes gardeners fastened weights to the canes to cause them to reach down to the ground). They get very large but if you have the room to let them grow they would match very well the scale of the larger garden.

The Albas are quite aggressive and can manage to grow in woodlands and can take a fair bit of shade - they bloom only once, unlike the other two, but are spectacular. I grow one, 'Great Maiden's Blush', which can be very beautiful in its 5 or 6 week period of bloom. The French call it Cuisse de Nymphe émue, or Thigh of the Aroused Nymph, with quaint French panache; the French, incidentally hold the honour of being the raisers sans pareil of these old roses. I have it growing up against a fence which crowds it somewhat - allowed to sprawl any way it likes (with very little pruning) it is beautiful. They usually have a blue-green foliage that is very attractive when out of bloom. These are presumed to be spontaneous hybrids of escaped Damasks and the native European ‘Dog Rose’ (Rosa Canina). Various other possible natural hybrid combinations have been suggested so your guess is probably as good as anyone else’s.

The Damasks are also ancient shrubs and are the main class for extracting attar of roses (mostly in Bulgaria) to make perfume, and would likely perfume your garden for weeks and for many yards around - they too are once

blooming (with one delightful exception - the Autumn Damask, or Quatre Saisons).

Another once blooming family, very old European roses, are the Gallicas - they come in much more vibrant colours with flowers of amazing grace and usually sucker to enlarge the shrub over time. The Noisettes make supremely beautiful climbers, requiring a bit of a warmer spot and they rebloom. Think about planting roses to climb up into your trees - very beautiful after a few years. The 'Ramblers' are very good for this, mostly once blooming, and will also handsomely cover a fence or wall

The Rugosas are very tough plants from northern Japan, China/Korea and Siberia that have attractive pleated foliage, rebloom all summer and have a very strong fragrance - I grow 2 or 3 and they are perhaps the easiest roses to grow on the planet - they will grow right up onto the beaches, salt-spray and all, of their home range (they will drop their leaves if sprayed – but will recover fairly quickly. There is really no need to spray any of these old roses, an important consideration in this day and age).

Most of these old roses require very little pruning and are healthy and easy to care for. The ones that are once blooming put on a fabulous show, unequalled by reblooming roses, and aren't around long enough to become boring. Many others rebloom and, aside from the Gallicas, are often of soft colouring that would go well with a natural woodland environment. Once you try growing some of these older roses you will never feel tempted to return to Hybrid Teas or Floribundas. The website above (http://www.rdrop.com/~paul/main.html) is very good for sorting out the differences between the classes of old roses - another good site for finding any type of rose: http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/index.php .

We are very lucky to have access to speakers of the quality of Mr’s. Wein and Jalbert at our club and, at this time of year, can anticipate that their sermons on these two genera of plants will arouse longing in Poco’s gardeners to cram a few more specimens of both into their gardens.

Jim Thorleifson.

Tulipa turkestanica - one of my favourite tulips - very early andlike most species tulips it closes up at night or in overcast weather

April 2011 Page 6

ANNUAL PLANT SALE

Thank you to all the club members who have signed up as a volunteer for the plant sale. We have 30 members signed up so far – that’s a great achievement and thank you.

Set-Up: So far 20 members have signed up to set up; a lot of work with the pricing and setting up of everything. This year we are aiming to put some of the larger plants outside (not till Saturday am obviously) and to have our bake sale outside under an awning. We have a wonderful donation of coffee and will tantalize everyone with our array of baking. Box drinks will be available for the kids. A massive amount of work. Many hands make light work so if you can stop by even

for a short while we would really appreciate it.

Plants: Serena and her team have ordered some wonderful plants: hellebores, lavender, lilacs, azaleas and hydrangeas. All within the budget of $299.00. Wonderful plants, great prices. A great selection of heirloom and other tomatoes has been selected;

many are early varieties to ensure you get a good harvest.

Ever wondered what to do with these little wonders? Some of the top chefs in our trendier local restaurants buy these wild greens for their salads from local organic suppliers. A spicy Pesto would be tastier!

Dandelion Pesto 12 oz.(350g) washed,clean dandelion leaves 1 cup (250ml) olive oil 4 cloves garlic, peeled 6 tablespoons (40g) pine nuts, lightly toasted 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt 2 1/2 ounces (70g) Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated

Talking of veggies we have purchased a selection of plants from Red Barn. This will provide our gardens with an excellent start on our summer produce.Not least of all is all the plants coming from members gardens. If you require potting up or digging up please contact me asap. Time is passing very quickly and once again we are happy to help you get ready for the plant sale.

Bake Sale:The Bake Sale Table is growing day by day. Does anyone have a desire to make cupcakes (large and small would be very acceptable)? Another request which I have received is for Rice Crispie Squares (for the children mainly). I will have a supply of paper plates and bags at the meeting.

Clean-Up:Oh the dreaded clean up, tired feet, ready to go home. We have 10 people only signed up so far. If you can help that would be much appreciated, then we can all go home and enjoy a beverage on the patio

(hopefully) and finally put our feet up. Anyone willing to undertake any of these requests please see me at the next meeting, e-mail coopersw@telus.net or call me at: 604 461 5011. ....Susan Cooper

1. Put about one-third of the dandelion greens in the food processor or blender with the olive oil and chop for a minute, scraping down the sides. Add the remaining dandelion greens in two batches, until they’re all finely chopped up.2. Add the garlic cloves, pine nuts, salt, and Parmesan, and process until everything is a smooth puree.3. Taste, and add more salt if necessary. If it’s too

thick, you can thin it with more olive oil or water. Makes two cups (500g). You can freeze whatever you don't use. Try this on a pizza, toasted crostini, or potato salad.

April 2011 Page 7

PoCo Garden Club 21st Annual

PLANT SALE

May 14, 201110:00am – 1:00 pm

TRINITY UNITED CHURCHPrairie and Shaughnessy, Port Coquitlam

PERENNIALS, ANNUALS, TREES, SHRUBS, VEGETABLE AND HERB

PLANTS, BAKED GOODS, RAFFLE Gardening advice available