“The Passionate Gardener”
We are always delighted to have the Botanus ladies, Pam, Elke and Wendy, to speak to the club. Botanus had been in existence for 22 years and is the largest bulb supplier in Canada. The company has two catalogues each year, one for fall planting which comes out in June for fall shipping, and one which comes out in the spring, each containing a colourful selection of bulbs, plants and garden accessories.
Experienced speakers with a passion for gardening, Pam, Elke and Wendy give regular presentations throughout the year which have included such prestigious stages as Canada Blooms and the BC Home & Garden Show as well as many local gardening clubs and horticultural societies.
Their image-rich presentations are not only informative but fun and engaging to watch. They have tips and inspiration for everyone from the experienced to the novice.
Elke pointed out that sometimes TOO much choice is overwhelming. How do we decide?
She recommends: start with “Who am I?”
A suggestion of how to choose your style, colours, design is to use the interior of your house as inspiration.
Colours and styles you are passionate about, can easily be translated into your garden. Look at fabrics, artwork, even your wardrobe can as a potential garden colour palette.
This was something which I can relate to as my closet contains predominantly, blue and white or cream with touches of black, burgundy, purple – as does my garden – no orange or pink! Elke and Wendy showed slides of interiors and artwork illustrating this idea.
Speaking of black, Elke recommends black fences as a good backdrop.
The team went on to show examples of using bulbs in the garden borders, and containers and the importance of using light-coloured ground covers as a background particularly for darker flowers.
- When using containers pack the bulbs tight and when planting in the borders.
- Don’t plant in a row and don’t spread out too thinly, plant in groupings of 5 or 10, or more to draw the eye.
- Bulbsneed good drainage, possibly using berms. Nno moisture or they will rot
- When planting Fritillaria imperialis turn them sideways
- Toss your bulbs in a paper bag with baby powder before planting to deter rodents which are scent driven. The baby powder will mask the scent
- Don’t leave bulb skins around after planting, they will also attract rodents
- Plant bulbs 2” deeper than recommended to discourage squirrels.
Elke, Pam and Wendy had brought bulbs for sale which were snapped up by members after the presentation.