A mixed garden was an integral part of our lifestyle growing up on the prairies. In my adult life, I gravitated towards planting annual and perennial shrubs and flowers. This was partly because of space restrictions, but also because I love being surrounded by flowers and greenery. It gives me a sense of peace and calm like nothing else. The feeling of accomplishment I get when a living thing I have nurtured bursts forth into bloom fills my soul with joy.
Many gardeners, myself included, are collectors. We often don't see ourselves that way, but we are indeed, collectors. Spring finds us searching every greenhouse we can find, looking for new plants to add to our collections. There is a challenge in trying to grow something we haven't tried before. It amazes me that even after gardening for forty years, I still find something new to try every year.
It is difficult for certain plants to survive our Saskatchewan winters. I live in zone three of eleven on the plant hardiness zone map. I am reasonably confident in saying that I have lost a significant number of plants over the years to our climate. I often see a plant in a greenhouse or a seed catalogue and think that I used to have one of those and wonder what happened to it; another casualty lost from my collection.
Gardeners are notorious for nipping a slip off a plant in their travels and making it their own. I have never been overly successful at such clandestine activities, but I know individuals that can take almost anything home and get it to grow. The theory that some people have a green thumb has to be true.
When I travel, I usually return home with pictures of all kinds of random, unnamed plants. One of my sisters lives in the Okanagan in British Columbia, and I am always in awe of how early she can plant her garden and of the beautiful huge hydrangeas that grow there. She is often planting when we are still shovelling snow.
- Lilies
- Sedum
- Snow-in-Summer
- Dianthus
- Hostas
- Bleeding Heart
- Columbine
- Tulips
- Hens and Chicks
- Ferns
- Daisies
- Pulmonaria
- Phlox
- Lady’s Mantle
An established garden
A work in progress
Naturally, as spring plant buying time comes upon us, I ponder which plants to try. I like the look of variegated foliage, yellow and fuschia flowers and plants of varying heights.
I want to get more dianthus plants to continue filling in my dianthus bed. I usually purchase a new lily variety each year at Honeywood Heritage Nursery near Parkside. I have a bed of hens and chicks in a dry spot that I want to expand with different varieties.
Perennial baby’s breath also looks beautiful and I would like some fern leaf peonies. I once had a beautiful baby’s breath plant, but I got a brainwave that I should move it and realized too late that it had a taproot that I had damaged; that was the end of that.
It is best to read up on pruning, dividing and replanting before you attempt it, not after the fact. Gardening is a continual learning process.
I bought a perennial this year called a Hot Lips Salvia just because the name made me smile. The tag says it attracts butterflies, so I will see how that turns out.
Hot Lips
One must be careful though, as things that grow well on the prairies can also be invasive. Shasta daisies, flax, goutweed, catmint and lily of the valley are some of the plants that I have used that have gotten out of hand by either seeding out or spreading. It can take years to eradicate some perennial choices from your garden.
Do some research and make a list of what would work in your yard before going shopping. When you get to the greenhouse you will then proceed to choose plants not on your list that you know nothing about, simply because they catch your eye. You can never have too many plants, right?
Botchy’s Greenhouse near Leask, SK
- No sense of time - plan to go out in the garden for half an hour only to return four hours later
- Patient - plant a tiny seedling and watch it grow for years
- Curious - can't resist trying to grow new varieties
- Generous - love to swap plants as well as share the bounty of their vegetable gardens
- Determined - never give up trying, when a plant dies it is stubbornly replaced with another
Gardening is great exercise, beautifies our communities, provides an opportunity to be outdoors in nature and benefits our mental health.
I invite you to visit my garden page at Grandma G’s Garden 2019 to view my plant collection.
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Thank you for reading!
©️Copyright 2020 Norma Galambos
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