Good bugs, bad bugs...

Now, what would you do if you saw this Insect crawling along the lawn or on the trunk of a tree? Please note that this insect's body is about 3 inches and the ovipositor, the long thing at the back is sometimes up to 5 inches long! We probably all would have the same reaction...squish it! Spray it with a nasty chemical! Get it out of here!

But that is the wrong reaction... this is an ichneumon wasp, and the ovipositor, or egg-laying structure - is long so the wasp can get deep into lawns or tree trunks where this parasitic wasp lays eggs on nasty larvae or insects. It is one of the 'good' bugs.

So, remember, do some research before squishing or spraying. You might be doing great harm to lots of beneficial insects in your garden if you consider everything to be a bad bug...

The Flower Parade Continues....

But way too fast! They are coming and going too quickly, now that the warmer weather has arrived. I can't keep up... in a few hours one day last week, it went from spring into summer right before our eyes. The leaves on the trees exploded, and all of a sudden, we were taking out our sandals and short sleeved shirts, and dying to buy a few plants for our containers. We could allow ourselves to dream again, to plan for tomorrow and beyond...for a short while, at least.

A brief and partial listing of what's happening in our garden these days...

Magnolias

When we first moved to Ottawa from Toronto 32 years ago now. you could not really even think about growing a magnolia here…But now we seem to have changed zones and hardier Magnolias are to be had, so it is not unusual to see very large trees festooned with pink, white, and even yellow flowers at this time of year…

Daffodils

Daffydowndillies, Jonquils, Narcissus, Daffodils....which do I use?

Are you as confused as I am? Between the botanical names and the common names of this group of bulbs, it is hard to figure out what refers to what!

Daffodils are a complicated bunch..I've read that there are 13, 000 unique types of daffodils, and counting, as hybridizers produce more and more of these simple, but stunning blooms.

So, let's straighten this out...or try, at least, as there are differing opinions still as to which name refers to which type of daffodil...

Frost!

What to do when the temps fall in early spring?

Ten years ago, this is what I did about a heavy frost one night when the tree peony buds were threatened. My son’s orphaned socks made perfect covers for the buds! People thought I was nuts, but it worked!! Some plants withstand cold temperatures by having a high sugar content in winter, almost like an antifreeze, but these peonies don’t have that so the cells would have been damaged as the water in them froze and the cell walls burst.

Plant ID Winners!

We have four winners who identified the red shoots as peonies. I should have asked them to figure out which one it is!

It is, in fact, a very special one, a yellow herbaceous peony affectionately called 'Molly the Witch', but known botanically as Paeonia mlokosewitschii. It has this beautiful reddish purple in the spring leaves, beautiful powdery blue/pink early on, a single pale yellow flower early in peony time, and red and blue seeds in the fall....a true star over many months.

Fall seeds of the Paeonia mlokosewitschii. The red seeds are infertile, the blue, fertile

May 4th parade....

Things are ramping up in the garden…four varieties of daffodils, purple Muscari, Mertensia, Pulmonaria, and bluish pink Magnolia bud.

Plant ID...

Who knows what this is? The red plant…

The parade of blooms continues!

This week in the garden the long border is overrun with Corydalis, species name unknown. All I know is that it is terribly invasive, but the bees and other critters LOVE it. At this time of the year there is little in bloom, so a huge swath of Corydalis is like a long buffet table for our little buzzing friends out there.

Pruning Shrubs

You either love pruning, or you hate it! No inbetween... you either look at that tangle of branches in your old lilac as something to which you can easily bring order (ahhhh), or ...as a snakes and ladders type of puzzle which leaves you wondering...where do I start??!!

Well let’s try to be methodical about this. Pruning really is quite easy and satisfying when done properly. First thing to do is to take a really good look at the plant you want to prune so you have a plan. Look at it often, imagining what it will look like with various branches removed. It is best to do this when there are no leaves, but the actual time of pruning you choose depends on the flowering time of the plant. Let's use an old lilac (spring bloom) and a PG Hydrangea (fall flowers) as examples. Now let's apply the three D's (and the C) of pruning.

You want to prune out the Dead, Damaged and Diseased wood.

The parade of flowers continues...

Sitting at my window looking out over the sunny garden as the geese fly overhead. Ah...spring.....

First flowers to bloom in my garden were the Galanthus (snowdrops); then Eranthis (winter aconites); now Chionodoxa (glory of the snow) in three different colours; Iris reticulata, a small bulbous iris; Puschkinia (striped squill); Scilla, which make up the beautiful blue carpet in the lawns around here, and ,finally, hellebores in many colours....

Worm Farms for Kids

Our son and his wife have asked each of their son’s grandparents to spend a little time with him each week on FaceTime during this crazy time. It works like this: Each grandparent chooses a skill or activity to teach him, and my suggestion of teaching him about nature was accepted. Whew! Glad they approved!

I have lots of ideas, but the first one which sprang to mind after seeing a photo of our grandson after a rain last week, is to make a worm farm with my little guy....not too hard to do with a little help on the other end. Our grandson will learn the importance of worms in our gardens , and if a child learns to treat worms well, they will treat other creatures carefully and gently. Sounds win-win to me!

Flower industry in trouble because of COVID 19

Some of you might have heard of millions of flower stems been destroyed by their producers because no one is either selling or buying blooms this year.

Well, I am reading just now about a hashtag, buyflowersnottoiletpaper

Clever indeed! Take a look at the article - photos and video included.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/03/dutch-scheme-to-boost-wilting-flower-industry-takes-root-coronavirus

My Love Affair with British Gardens by Mary Pratte

You will find I will often sing the praises of British gardens in this blog. I guess there are two reasons for that.

One, because I lived there, in the North East for seven years as a child, so played amongst plants all of the time. I saw how they grew, how they looked together, what their needs were, all as I cavorted around under the apple trees, heavy with fruit; watched the peony blooms cascade onto the ground during a summer rain; tiptoed through the carpet of alpine plants between the paving stones on the upper terrace; marvelled at how tall the sweet peas grew on their 'ladder' and the sublime fragrance they produced. All of this left the sights and smells of the garden filling my head with beauty and everlasting memories.

Rain?

What? It's raining? And dreary? Every day until June? No, no, no... it just seems that way when looking at the long range forecast this morning.

While we bemoan the fact that it is pouring, remember that the plants, insects and animals are all doing a happy dance for this life-giving rain! The roots, which feed our plants are actively growing, and have been for a while. You can almost hear them moving through the soil.

How Does Your Garden Grow? By Mary Pratte

The OGC has put out a call to its members to keep in touch with each other and to share our gardening stories through the summer. To that end, I have offered to put together a bit of a garden blog...not sure if it will be useful or interesting...but I am open to write about anything and everything that is gardens, if you would like. I will not be writing on a regular basis, although there is always something happening out there, so I might not be at a loss for words when all is said and done! I will try to answer any questions sent to me, but, again, I am not the most reliable these days, so you will need to be patient!