Every year at this time, a听profound urge toward renewal surges through me. Surely this is the rightful beginning of a new year, the natural time for starting over.
Though daylight hours rapidly shorten, temperatures cool to single digits and growth slows, early autumn still feels like a time of great regeneration, an emptying out and a making way for new beginnings 鈥� on many levels.
The start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a quietly contemplative time to assess the year that has passed and to plan for an improved future. These goals take hold of me as summer ends, in the form of an urge to clean up, thin out, get rid of the unnecessary 鈥� in possessions, lifestyle and the garden.
Early autumn can easily be perceived as a new year begun. It鈥檚 a natural time to think about the past year鈥檚 gardening sins and omissions, and perhaps its excesses. And it鈥檚 ideal timing, with these fresh in mind, to start mapping out as clear a path as possible to a more perfect, pleasing and perhaps simpler garden.
One personal paramount resolution is to become imbued with a greater humility in regard to heavy physical work, in particular the ridiculous carting about and meticulous positioning of oversized, weighty boulders in the garden. Even just one badly pulled tendon can too easily translate into months-long misery. Not worth it.
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And the triumphs. Not to dwell solely on the less-than-ideal aspects of the past growing year, take time as well to bask in all that was beautiful and sweet. Think about the riotously excessive flowering in听the spring鈥檚 rhododendrons, and bushes and trees crowded with delicious fruits 鈥� strawberries and blueberries, figs, plums and apples in super-abundance.
There is special satisfaction to be had from perennials and shrubs grown from seed when they begin to flower. I was thrilled in late spring to see a Cistus (rock rose) called Pink Silk had opened its first blooms in rose pink fading to a lighter shade toward the centre and punctuated with a bright yellow, tufted eye. The small evergreen shrub is neat and compact.
My seed source, Plant World Seeds (PWS) in England, did not list Pink Silk in its 2016 catalogue, but Chiltern Seeds list three Cistus species and a mixture.
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A seed-grown Phacelia bolanderi (PWS) has enchanted me with its pale lavender-blue flowers. One plant has already established a broad, low-growing clump of soft, longish-oval, shallowly lobed leaves in the front garden. After a spring transplanting and summer flowering, I cut the plant back and mulched with fish compost. It expanded some more and began sending up new flowering stems around mid-September.
One of the photos in Lori Weidenhammer鈥檚 Victory Gardens for Bees (Douglas & McIntyre, 2016) is of a green sweat bee in "Bolander鈥檚 phacelia." In the book鈥檚 extensive chart of bee plants, Phacelia bolanderi is described as suited for sites in dry shade or in sun if watered. "Larger bees sip the nectar and smaller bees perform acrobatics to collect pollen."
It won鈥檛 be long now before the first 2017 seed catalogues begin arriving. Consider sending for a few as sources of adventure into the new and unusual.
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GARDEN EVENTS
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Gordon Head meeting. The Gordon Head Garden Club will meet on Monday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. in Gordon Head United Church Hall, 4201 Tyndall Ave. The Habitat Acquisition Trust will present "Habitat stewardship and nature-scaping with native plants."
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VHS meeting. The Victoria Horticultural Society will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the Garth Homer Centre, 813 Darwin Ave. Summer Joy and Jim Webb, avid gardeners originally from England, will explore The Royal Horticultural Society鈥檚 Malvern Autumn Show, focussed on seasonal flowers and produce and packed with competitions and vendors. Giant vegetables are a highlight of the show. The pre-meeting workshop at 6:30 will feature Lindsay Lewis, bulb expert with GardenWorks, presenting "How to Choose Your Spring Bulbs." This will include tips on planting times and care of bulb plantings.
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A gathering for heather enthusiasts. The Vancouver Island Heather Society will meet on Wednesday, Oct. 5, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Sylvan United Church, 985 Shawnigan Mill Bay Rd. in Mill Bay. Guest speaker Jeff DeJong will speak about Companion Plants for Heathers. There will be heather displays, door prizes and refreshments. Admission cost is $5.
