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Bloom of the Week: Black Satin Blackberry

5/30/2017

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Bloom of the Week, Blackberry, Black Satin, Thornless
You know what I really love? Blackberries. They are awesome for fresh eating, amazing in jams and superb in pies! You know what I really hate? Blackberries. There is nothing worse than going to pick Blackberries and coming out with a scratched and bleeding arm. Those thorns are more than just annoying, they are dangerous! Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit with the word "dangerous", but I'm not kidding about the scratches, cuts and blood (it may be just a little blood though).

Well, if you would put yourself in the same boat as me (or should I say bush??), there is hope on the horizon for us. I would like to tell you about the Black Satin Blackberry, this beauty is thornless. That's right, I said thornless!
Bloom of the Week, Blackberry, Black Satin, Thornless
So now, when you think about it, you have no reason not to grow this wonderful berry. Seize the opportunity! 

Once seized, it's best to plant the Blackberry bush in a full sun location with good air circulation.

​The soil should be moisture retentive but well drained. Plant the rootball level with the soil surface with about 4-6 ft. of spacing.

One tip to keep in mind would be to avoid growing Blackberries where potatoes, grapes, tomatoes, raspberries, peppers, apples or peaches had once previously grown. These plants share similar diseases and pests with Blackberries.


For best growth, cut back immediately after planting to prevent the plant from setting fruit the first year.

This requires patience I know, but you will get much stronger growth and better harvests in years to come. A little waiting now will pay off in the years to come! Also, a little mulch with Blackberries would not be remiss!
Once you do let the fruit come in the second year, it will produce heavy crops (35-40 berries per stem) of large, golf ball sized berries. Smooth and glossy, the fruits are super-sweet with no sour bite. The berries are excellent for jams, jellies, pies and fresh eating, also they keep very well. Black Satin Blackberry bushes are self-pollinating, but are more productive when planted with another variety. 

So to recap, you can now have thornless Blackberries. It is now time to Carpe Diem! Or at least, Carpe some Blackberries!
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Growing Flowers in the Veggie Garden

5/26/2017

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You know, I've often wondered why people plant flowers in their veggie gardens. To my untrained eye, my only theory was that people wanted to make their gardens pretty. I thought it was weird, but you know, to each their own! Well, it turns out I was wrong (an uncommon occurrence, I can assure you!), and perhaps I can go so far to say I was only partially wrong. Flowers, regardless the reason they're put there, still make a veggie garden look prettier!

So the real reason is, drum roll please... companion planting! After I did some investigating, this turns out to be almost a science on it's own! Today I will only touch on the relationship between flowers and veggies, but I will be making another blog post (or maybe several) about this subject in the future that will expand past flowers.
Marigolds
Marigolds
  • French Marigolds can be used anywhere to deter Mexican bean beetles, squash bugs, thrips, tomato hornworms, and whiteflies. They are also known to repel harmful root knot nematodes (soil dwelling microscopic white worms) that attack Tomatoes, Potatoes, Roses, and Strawberries. The root of the Marigold produces a chemical that kills the nematodes as they enter the soil. If a whole area is infested, at the end of the season, turn the Marigolds under so the roots will decay in the soil. You can safely plant there again the following spring.
  • The strong aroma from the Marigolds tends to mask the smell of the vegetable plants, which can confuse garden pests.
  • For the best results, plants clumps of Marigolds throughout the garden to ensure the best coverage.
  • The one down side to including Marigolds in your garden is that they can attract spider mites, but these can be taken care of with a quick spray down with the hose.
Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums
  • Nasturtiums deters bean beetles, squash bugs, potato bugs, Cucumber beetles, whiteflies and the asparagus beetle.
  • The flowers of Nasturtiums, especially the yellow blooming varieties, act as a trap for aphids.
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Lavender
  • Lavender is an excellent general pest repellent flower to use in your garden. It repels both fleas and moths, and it can help protect other plants near it from whiteflies. 
  • Lavender’s distinctive scent can work wonders for deterring aphids, so planting Lavender around Carrots and Leeks can confuse the little blighters and send them off!
  • Lavender can also handle some of the bigger garden pests, and has been noted to be useful in repelling both mice and rabbits. 
Petunias
Petunias
  • Petunias can repel asparagus beetles, leafhoppers, aphids, tomato hornworms, and others.
  • They also trap cabbage worms. These “worms” are in fact a species of caterpillar that will eat through an entire crop if left unchecked so the best, organic method for you to control these pests is to plant Petunias in your cabbage beds.
Sunflowers
Sunflowers
  • Sunflowers might be the largest flower you have in your garden and that is what will draw those beneficial pollinators over.
  • Then for that same reason, the Sunflower will also act as a distracting decoy for aphids. The aphids will attack the Sunflowers, but they do little damage because of the Sunflowers' thick stalks and overall toughness.
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Bloom of the Week: Tuberosa Asclepias

5/23/2017

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Asclepias, Butterfly Weed, Tuberosa
There is nothing quite so poetic as watching a butterfly flit from flower to flower on a warm summer's day in the garden. If this is a scene you want to help encourage, the best thing you can do is to plant nectar producing flowers to help attract these graceful fliers to your garden.

One of the most popular choices to help attract butterflies is Tuberosa Asclepias, also known as Butterfly Weed. Not only do they provide a source of nectar for them, but they also act as a host for the eggs of Monarch butterflies.
Asclepias, Tuberosa
Tuberosa Asclepias is a perennial, native to North America. It is a welcome addition to any border, butterfly or wildflower garden as it will bloom with brightly coloured, orange flowers from early to mid-summer all the way until fall. 
​

Growing Asclepais requires very little effort. The plant, suitable for growing in zones 3-9, thrives in bright sunlight and poor, dry, sandy or gravelly soil with a slightly acidic or neutral pH. Once established, Asclepais is drought tolerant and blooms dependably from year to year. Also, keep in mind that Asclepais  has long, sturdy roots that make transplantation very difficult, so locate the plant in its permanent place in the garden. 

Trim old growth every spring to keep them neat and healthy. No fertilizer is required, and may even harm the plant. Mealybugs and aphids may cause problems during the blooming season, but both are easily controlled by applications of insecticidal soap or horticultural oil.
If you are interested in producing more than just a feeding ground for butterflies, but a sanctuary where they can grow and multiply, there are other steps you can take to help create a butterfly haven.
  • Plant your butterfly garden in a sunny location (5-6 hours each day), but sheltered from the winds. Butterflies need the sun to warm themselves, but they won't want to feed in an area where they are constantly fighting the wind to stay on the plants. It is also a good idea to place a few flat stones in your sunny location so the butterflies can take a break while warming up.
  • Butterflies need water just like we do. Keep a mud puddle damp in a sunny location, or fill a bucket with sand and enough water to make the sand moist.
  • Do not use pesticides in your garden. 
  • Butterflies use two different types of plants, those that provide nectar for the adults to eat (nectar plants: Aster, Shasta Daisies, Hollyhock, Echinacea, etc.) and those that provide food for their offspring (host plants: Digitalis, Lonicera, Parsley, etc.).

Check out the North American Butterfly Association for more information on creating a butterfly garden.
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Bloom of the Week: Canadian Shield Roses

5/15/2017

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Did you know? Have you heard? This year is the 150th anniversary of Canada becoming a country. I have to admit, that is pretty exciting. That is 150 years poutine, 150 years of hockey, 150 years of the true North strong and free, that's 150 years of everything that makes us Canadian. Can you tell I'm proud to be a Canadian?!?

To go with this event, the people at Vineyard decided to create a Rose that would help every garden join in the celebration and we have them in stock for you! Introducing the Canadian Shield Rose:
Rose, Canadian Shield
Canadian Shield is a versatile garden and landscape Rose with a 3 ft. height and width, and full, silky-textured red flowers and glossy green foliage. It’s a repeat bloomer, resistant to blackspot and winter hardy from coast to coast. Hence the name Canadian Shield!

​You can trust in its hardiness as this beauty was started right next door in Morden, MB as a federal breeding program to create rose varieties that could cope with our extreme Canadian temperatures. 
Vineyland Research Station (located in Ontario) took over the program and helped finish bringing this Rose to market.
When you bring your Canadian Shield Roses home, plant them in a place that gets at least six hours of direct sun daily and well-drained soil of any type. For best results in poorly drained clay soils, make a raised planting area. Spread 2-4 in. of compost or peat over the area to be planted and mix it in well. Dig a hole twice as wide and approximately 8 in. deeper than the container.
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Roses should be watered regularly through the summer, every few days if there is no rain. They should be watered in the morning at ground level and not overhead. You want to avoid wetting the leaves as this promotes disease.

​Work in some slow release fertilizer around each Rose bush as soon as the winter protection is removed in spring. Fertilize again after the first flush of bloom early in July, and once more in early August. Do not fertilize after mid-August as this allows the Roses to harden off properly before winter.
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The only reason to prune back a hardy Rose is that it has grown extremely tall (over 3 ft.). In this case, it should have their branches cut back to 3 ft. in the fall to prevent ice damage. 

Canadian Shield Roses are such a unique way to commemorate Canada's sesquicentennial. That's right, I said sesquicentennial... Well maybe I just typed it! So pop by the greenhouse and have a look at these brilliant, red blooms for yourself. Add a little patriotism to your garden this summer!
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Bloom of the Week: Dracula Celosia

5/2/2017

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Celosia, Dracula
Let's just get it out in the open, right from the beginning... I'm not a big fan of Celosia. There I said it. This has to be one of the most unique looking "flowers" out there. I did put the quotation marks around the word flower on purpose. This "flower" doesn't have petals, depending on the variety, it will have spires or cockscombs.

Celosia flowers, with their unusual blooms, can "flower" up to 10 weeks. When many of these "flowers" are next to each other, they collectively resemble fire, which is why the name Celosia, meaning burning in Greek, was chosen.

Perhaps I'm a traditionalist, I expect my flowers to have petals. But then, Dracula Celosia arrived in the greenhouse. I have to admit, the name alone intrigued me enough to take a closer look and I'm glad I did! I may be a Celosia convert. Perhaps my flowers don't need to have petals, perhaps they can have spires, perhaps I would like a cockscomb in my garden!

Dracula, a novelty Celosia, is new for 2017. It is the first of its kind, with one large 6-7 in. "flower" on top of each plant. In the greenhouse, the combs are red and the foliage is green with some red, but once you take this lovely beauty home and plant it in your own garden, the foliage will get darker and change to purple tones. The come will also start to change to a darker purple colour. With its unusual shape and eye-catching colour, Dracula Celosia will add drama to your landscapes, gardens and containers.

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To grow your Dracula Celosia, make sure to plant in full sun. They need rich soil with lots of compost to produce their big, dramatic plumes ('cause you know I can't call them blooms or petals!). Make sure the soil is moist, but not wet and that it drains well. Water them regularly during the dry periods. Add a general purpose fertilizer one or twice a month. To produce more plumes, pinch back the first one. This may make you nervous for those first bright cockscombs, but have faith! This will promote more branching and reward you later.

Create a little excitement with this show-stopper, pair with an African Marigold such as Lady Orange or a Snapdragon; the Merlot Mix from the Snapshot series would be lovely with the Dracula Celosia. So why not take a chance this spring and try something new and different? ​​

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    Author

    Hello! My name is Lee Ann and I am the daughter-in-law to the Giesbrechts. I have learnt much about gardening from helping out in the greenhouse, but I hope that through writing this blog, I will learn more and be able to share the things I have learnt with you!

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