Blessed with a beautiful Saturday, good company and nine special gardens to stroll through a couple of weekends ago, Nature Manitoba's 10th anniversary Natural Garden Tour was indeed a treat.
These were South Winnipeg havens created by folks as passionate about horticulture as they are about birds, butterflies and other wildlife. And considering the challenging weather conditions this year, I really had to appreciate the efforts the homeowners had gone to in welcoming and wowing visitors during the sold-out fundraising event.
While the gardens were truly unique, each emphasized the use of native prairie species woven with popular annuals, perennial cultivars, exotic tropicals, herbs and edibles to some degree. For anyone who thinks it's an easy task creating a diverse habitat, one homeowner had documented a list of more than 250 separate plant species and cultivars in her cottage-style urban refuge.
Of particular interest to me were some of the specimen trees I had not seen before, and a delightful rock garden brimming with hardy native cacti and a huge assortment of sempervivum, affectionately known as hens and chicks.
The many water features reflected the owner's tastes, from simple bubbling pots to rushing waterfalls and tranquil ponds. There was also some truly spectacular stonework that must have resulted in some seriously sore backs during the installation.
And it's always great to see gardeners growing their own food.
QUESTION: I bought Magic Planter Soil to use for all of my indoor plants. But there are lots of small black flying insects coming from the soil, and now they are everywhere in my house. What are they? Would you please help me to kill them and stop this nuisance once and for all.
-- Thanks a lot, AP
ANSWER: What you have is an infestation of fungus gnats. The small black flying insects have a life cycle (from egg, larva, pupa to adult) of about 28 days with the adults living for about a week of that. They reproduce in dark, damp decaying organic matter. Females can lay from 100 to 300 eggs each, usually near the surface of the soil. If they are coming from the bag of soil, throw it out. If the gnats are coming from your houseplants you should repot the plants in fresh, new soil after removing or washing off as much of the old soil as possible.
Apply a natural pest control spray containing Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies Israelensis (BTI) that will kill the larvae when they ingest it or a product containing Pyrethin. Combine that with some yellow sticky traps (cards you stick in the soil that attract the flying adults) attached to sticks that come in the kit into the soil of your plants. Finally, sprinkle some fresh cinnamon on the surface of your newly-planted specimens and don't over-water.
linda.stilkowski@freepress.mb.ca
EVENTS
The Brandon Garden Club Flower Show and Tea will be held Monday, Aug. 10 at Seniors for Seniors, 311 Park Ave. E, (please use north door) Show: 12 noon - 7 p.m, teas: 1 - 4 p.m. featuring tea, coffee, dainties, raffle. Cost: $2 at the door. Come and see the most interesting garden art people plant up.
St. Vital Agricultural Society's 100th Annual Fair and Display, Aug. 19, 4 - 9 p.m. and Aug. 20, 4 - 8 p.m., St. Vital Centennial Arena, 580 St. Anne's Rd., featuring horticulture, baking, handicrafts and photography displays, pork barbecue, music by Angela Nespiak, Costume Museum of Canada fashion show, unveiling of centennial plaque, and Gateway Express -- a bluegrass band. Entry night is Aug. 18, 6 - 9 p.m. For more info and barbecue tickets, call Brenda at 257-6372.
