Although the weather has in fact been frightful, it hasn't stopped Winnipeggers from planning their Prairie gardens. Here's a couple of timely questions from readers.
I love your column! I moved to a condo with an outdoor balcony and find it's extremely windy. Could you recommend some hardy annuals? I love gardening but am having difficulty with the wind conditions.
Thank you for your help.
-- Elaine Charlat
I have the same problem now that I am a balcony gardener. You don't say which direction your balcony faces, so I have to guess whether you get a lot of sun or mostly shade. My balcony is windy and shady, which severely limits the choice of plants I can successfully grow. (Last year the banana plant I had out there shredded itself beyond recognition and the begonias, with their weak, watery stems, suffered a lot of damage daily.)
You could construct a wind screen, but that may not be practical or attractive, or you could splurge on a couple of potted cedars or hardy shrub roses to serve as a partial barrier. How your place your furniture could provide some shelter from the wind. Best would be to group your pots so the taller ones on the windy side will shelter the shorter ones in front. Any tall or climbing plants should be anchored using stakes or tomato cages. (Sweet peas can tolerate wind once their stems are firmly entwined around a support.)
Choose plants with spiky or small leaves and strong stems. Spiky plants such as draceana and phormium fared well for me last year as did the ornamental grasses. Plants with leathery leaves (such as succulents or bromeliads) or waxy foliage will tolerate windy conditions better, as will anything with needle-like leaves such as heathers or dwarf conifers. But, you probably want to grow something with flowers. Most annual bedding plants can be pinched back to keep them short and compact.
Colourful, easy-to grow petunias and marigolds, two rather pedestrian annuals, can be combined with other compact plants for some texture and added interest. Wax begonias and short salvias or asters grow fairly close to the ground and therefore out of the way of the worst of the wind. Gazania and some shorter poppies are found naturally in windy habitats.
Don't dismiss tropicals, such as pepperomia or snake plant. English ivy, in all its variations, makes a lovely trailing plant that is strong and sturdy. Any tender tropicals can be potted up separately in the fall and kept as houseplants.
I am in the proces of cutting down a diseased Schubert Chokecherry tree in my yard. I want to replace it with a similar looking tree but one that is less prone to disease. Any suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks.
Bob Corkal.
I've always been fond of Amur Cherry for its beautiful bark and Linden for its large leaves ... They both grow to about 20 ft. The ash has great berries and vibrant fall colour. None of these trees have the purple foliage of the Shubert chokecherry however.
AMUR CHERRY (Prunus Maackii) has bronze, papery, peeling bark. The white flowers are attractive, formal in drooping dense clusters, and followed by dark chokecherry-like fruit. The leaves turn a soft, golden yellow in the fall. This is a good tree for winter effect.
LITTLE LEAF LINDEN (Tilia cordata) The leaves are heart-shaped, shiny, and leathery, and the bark a glossy, reddish-brown. The creamy yellow flowers are both attractive and fragrant and are attached by a stem below the leaves.
AMERICAN MOUNTAIN ASH (Sorbus americana). It grows to about 7.6 m (25 ft) with smooth, orange bark and dark green, compound leaves which turn bright orange in mid-September. Small white flowers are produced in spring, followed by bright-red fruit which lasts late in the season, providing winter interest and food for birds.
Manitoba's First Annual Tulip Festival
LAST fall the Dutch Canadian Society of Manitoba planted the seeds -- or more accurately, the bulbs -- for Manitoba's First Annual Tulip Festival, an event they hope will one day rival Ottawa's.
The gift of 10,000 tulip bulbs was given to Assiniboine Park's horticulturist Ken Beattie, for planting at the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden. Future plans include fund-raising for additional bulbs each year.
Other DCSM Tulip Festival events celebrating Dutch culture and heritage in Manitoba scheduled for May 29 and 30 include:
The official opening and reception Friday, May 29, 5:30 p.m. with a small parade to the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden and official ribbon cutting.
Later that evening a formal reception held in the Conservatory from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Musical entertainment by Anna Sekura and Rudy Fiselier. and Dutch ethnic foods will be served.
On Saturday, May 30, at 10:30 a.m. a Bike-a-Thon titled Go Green Go Dutch Go Bike! Every enthusiastic cyclist is invited to participate in a Dutch bicycle tour through the Assiniboine Park. Start and finish is at the Assiniboine Park Conservatory covering a distance of 8.5 kilometres. The fee is $15 for participants 13 years and older, which includes a t-shirt and a snack. Kids under 13 free (no t-shirt included). Participants are encouraged to decorate their bikes and join the parade. The proceeds will be spent on more tulip bulbs and bikes for needy children.
A free open air stage at the Conservatory, with three shows at 1, 3 and 5 p.m. The cabaret-style performance includes a creative blend of humour and song, a mixture of Dutch Folkdances performed by a Philippino group of dancers in Dutch costume and a unique performance of a "Poppenkast" puppet show for the children. The show is called The Magic Tulip and is created by and voiced by local student Breanne van Linge. The Poppenkast will only perform in the afternoon shows. The last show, an evening show, will start at 7.00 pm, and will be geared more toward adults.
Please make sure you bring your lawn chairs as this is an open air event.
Inside a large tent a traditional Dutch street market with 17 vendors, featuring souvenirs and snacks, handcrafted works and of course....tulips and tulip bulbs. Open Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Inside the Conservatory are cultural artifact displays while the Star Conservatory Restaurant will be featuring Dutch and Indonesian culinary favourites. You can also have your photo taken in a traditional costume with a beautiful Dutch landscape and windmill backdrop. A Draaiorgel De Boomstam (street pipe organ) will also add to the festival's Dutch ambience.
linda.stilkowski@freepress.mb.ca
