Dear Helen: On a recent garden tour a lovely, simple flower that captivated me was identified as 鈥減each-leaved bellflower.鈥� Where can I find plants or seeds?
A.L.
Make a few phone calls to your local garden centres to find听plants. If you have no luck, order seeds from Chiltern Seeds (chilternseeds.co.uk) or Plant World Seeds (plant-world-seeds.com) in England.
I鈥檝e had peach-leaved bellflower (Campanula persicifolia) dotted through my garden for so long I can鈥檛 recall how I acquired the original plants. It was probably from seed. The plants self-sow but not in a nuisance way, and unwanted plants pull up easily.
Peach-leaved bellflower is a charming, old-fashioned cottage garden perennial with long, slender spikes of large, nodding, bell-shaped flowers in white or blue, from late May through to the end of summer.
Your question has inspired me to try a form in the Chiltern Seeds catalogue called 鈥楾elham Beauty.鈥� It has china blue flowers, somewhat similar to another named variety of this species, called 鈥楥hettle Charm,鈥� which I听have grown from seed.
Dear Helen: Early in the month our garlic plants were looking good. Then the leaves started turning a rust colour. What should I do? The plants were getting plenty of water.
M.G.
There are several types of rust fungi that affect onion family plants. One kind, probably originating in California鈥檚 garlic fields, is now fairly widespread in听our region.
Symptoms usually begin with small speckles that turn rusty orange later. If an infection starts in early spring, it can weaken the plants and reduce the bulb size. Later infections, close to harvest time, don鈥檛 affect the bulbs much. Rust disease does not appear to be spread on the bulbs. It is a leaf disease. It鈥檚 important to destroy the foliage at harvest time. Don鈥檛 compost it. Move the next garlic planting as far away from the current location as possible.
Preventive measures for the future include watering only at ground level to keep the foliage dry. Rust develops most easily on leaves that have been wet for four hours or longer. Ensure a fertile, humus-rich, modestly but consistently moist soil and avoid over-fertilizing with nitrogen.
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Dear Helen: Why would some of my delphiniums, transplanted mid-spring, not have opened their flowers properly? The plants produced odd, curled up formations instead of blooms.
S.K.
The problem could be a reaction of the newly installed plants to the spring鈥檚 fluctuations in conditions from hot, dry periods to cool, rainy times. To settle in solidly enough for full flowering, plants need to be in the ground no later than March.
If the affected plants are large-flowered hybrids resulting from extensive breeding, they may be susceptible to diseases that can cause stunted growth or distortions in flowering.
I鈥檇 prune away all affected flower stems and observe follow-up growth. The condition may right itself. If it persists, remove the plants from the garden.
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GARDEN EVENTS
Summer show. The View Royal Garden Club will host its annual Summer Show on Saturday, 1 to 3 p.m. in Wheeley Hall听at Esquimalt United Church, 500听Admirals Rd. Admission of $5 includes refreshments and door prize ticket. Plants, garden items and baked goods will be sold.
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Hypertufa pots. The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in听Saanich, is offering make your own hypertufa pot, a two-session course on听Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and June听26, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Each participant will make a container to take home and gather ideas for plantings in the pot. Cost to HCP members $75, others $90. Call 250-479-6162 to register. hcp.ca.
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Solstice tour. The City of Victoria recreation department is offering a听Summer Solstice Peek-a-Boo Tour with听Jeff de Jong on Tuesday, 7 to 9 p.m. Take a stroll and discover great ideas from front yard gardens.听Cost is $15. To register, call 250-361-9732.
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Floral design. Join floral designers Susan Ramsey, Clare Day and Cindy Spangelo as they demonstrate flower arranging, and enjoy tea and dessert, on听Sunday, June 26, 2 to 4 p.m. at Long Meadow Farm. Buy tickets ($30) in advance at Dig This in Oak Bay and Rook and Rose Flowers, or by phone with a credit card, 250-658-6007.
