Class 13
February 21, 2010 – 10:37 pmAnother exam yesterday – the last one before our final. Good to get through it so I can concentrate on the final homework assignments that I have to complete. Katherine and Nora were the guest speakers today. Both amazing gardeners in their own right. Katherine combines her love of art with gardening. Her presentation on bulbs, tubers and corms was sprinkled with history and art stories. And Nora is not only a recently trainer arbourist but also a experienced gardener, well-known author and speaker. Lead instructor Jane again assembled another great day of learning at the zoo.
And did I mention that I won a door prize? Yup, tuberous begonia – double – Picotee Apricot-Scarlett Edge. This summer flowering plant likes the semi-shade and should grow to about 12 inches high. Right now the tuber looks like a big block of hard brown wood, tough to tell which way is up – I hate that – but I know to watch for little red buds sometime soon once I plant it – hollow side up – into soil.
Now, I’ve never grown begonias before. Always though they were a bit gaudy. But the beauty of balcony gardening is that you can easily try something new. We used Rex Begonia in class last week to demonstrate propagation by leaf cuttings and there seems to be quite a range of patterns and colours in the Rex. Not sure if I like them though. So I’m going to dedicate a wee corner of the balcony to the begonia this year and play around with the plant.
Katherine is back next week to talk to the class about vines and ground covers. We walked to an area in the zoo where Virginia Creeper vines are well established and took some photos of the little suction cups the plant uses to grab onto and climb up walls. I had a round with Virgina Creeper on in the balcony garden a few years ago. Dead easy to grow but didn’t have any success wintering it over. If I try it again I plan to take the plant and quietly tuck it into the condo landscape in order to help it see another growing season.
