Wild Bed

Nature does not have straight lines or square corners, which is why I love the Better-Half's wild perennial bed. The Fern Leaf Peonys (Paeonia tenuifolia) have just finished blooming (lower left).

The big orange Poppies (Papaver orientalis 'Brilliant') are now putting on their annual show. Of course, not to be out done the pink and red Painted Daisies (Tanacetum coccineum) are trying to compete for their share of attention.

Soon the loud spring colours will fade into the soft cool blues and violets of summer, then the Speedwells (Veronica longifolia) and Geraniums (Cranesbill)
   --- will begin demanding our attention!

Canada Day

It's Canada's "Official Birthday" and we are prepared to celebrate the event quite properly,

• Our flag is flying beautifully,
• We started shorter work hours today,
• There are two CFL football games going to be televised,
• A long time friend is back in-country, and arriving tonight,
• And the beer is cold.

Hey what more could we want, Happy Canada Day,
   --- to all you fellow Canucks!

People Win?

Today hopefully marks the beginning of the end of the EU's left wing food lunacy. Yep, today instead of of 20% of the vegetables being scraped, you now can buy a crooked cucumber, a misshapen carrot and 24 other vegetables/fruits with 'non-regulated shapes'.

"The changes also mean that consumers will be able to choose from the widest range of products possible. It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they are the 'wrong' size and shape," she said. The rules were introduced to ensure common EU standards, but are regarded by critics as examples of Euro-madness.

Of course the consumer hasn't won completely, there is a gaggle of bureaucrats who still have jobs, regulating the size and shape of 75% of the fruit and veggies sold.

The rules will remain unchanged for 10 types of produce, which account for 75% of EU fruit and vegetable trade: apples, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces, peaches and nectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes.

Ya, the great lefty Euro example that we should all follow, where pigs eat better than people, oh wait,
   --- they are in the process of being banned too!

Ht/ To "CV"

Smart Plants

So apparently researchers have found that plants decide when to change their flower colour from one shade to another.

For example, North American native plants may have changed their bloom colour five times already.

When a plant population shifts from being predominantly hummingbird-pollinated where flowers are red, to hawkmoth-pollinated, natural selection works to change the flower color to white or yellow, he explained.

"OK" you ask, "Just what does this prove?"

Well for starters, they know what colour attracts what pollinator, and then change to attract which ever pollinator is presently in large supply.

Hey, changing that old hair colour, just to attract a new partner, who would have thought that could work,
   --- Oh, just a minute!

Long Year

Chris Beytes, Editor & Publisher of Ball's 'GrowerTalks' and 'Green Profit', has emailed us a reminder that 2009 is not a normal year. No, I don't mean 'the recession etc', I mean 2009 has an extra week.

Normal years have 52 weeks, but 2009 has 53. Why is this important, hey if I want rooted geranium cuttings arriving on week ten (second week of March). Well week 10, when using a normal 52 week calender, brings them in a week earlier than I want.

Chris says, "A tip for figuring this out: Week 1 of any year has to have a Thursday in it. Our next 53-week year will be 2015".

Just to be sure I checked Ball's 2010 calender, yes it starts week 1 correctly,
   ---  right after 2009's week 53!

Zinnias Now

Compact Zinnias are back in demand, possibly due to their usage in container gardening. The most requested zinnias are the shorter 22-38cm (8-14 inches) types. (Zinnias are actually available up to 1M (39") tall.)

This year we tried the new Zahara Series, they were a disappointment, yep, small flowers with less show than our normal Short Stuff Series. So next year we are dropping the Zaharas and returning to the Short Stuff Mix.

Zone: Treat as an Annual
Height: 20-25cm (8-10") [Short Stuff]
Spread: 25-30cm (10-12") [Short Stuff]
Habit: Upright
Exposure: Full Sun
Moisture: Just Moist

Zinnias grow best in the hottest area of your garden. So full sun and well drained soil are needed for best results. Water regularly, but zinnias aren't heavy feeders.

They will bloom well into fall. Anyone who hasn't grown zinnias for a while will be surprised, until recently powdery mildew caused many zinnias to look ratty by mid-summer, fortunately,
   --- most of the new hybrids are disease resistance!