Dear Helen: I would like to grow a few flowers in my vegetable plots this spring. What annual flowers are most appropriate for this?
B.L.
My favourite flowers for the vegetable garden are alyssum, calendula, marigold, nasturtium and cilantro.
Sweet alyssum is one of the best flowers for attracting and feeding the beneficial insects that help to control pests in our gardens. It is easily grown from seeds or transplants and is deliciously fragrant. I often grow white alyssum along the outside base of the wire fencing I use to support staked tomatoes.
Cilantro blooms quickly to form a froth of white flowers that provide a rich food supply to beneficials such as lady beetles and hover floes. For a continuous summer supply of cilantro leaves and flowers, let the plants self-sow.
Calendula (pot marigold) also self-sows to perpetuate itself freely. The colourful orange and yellow flowers are pollen-rich and bear edible petals.
I like clumps of signet marigold (Tagetes tenuifolia) such as Lemon Gem and Golden Gem in the vegetable garden. These lacy-leaved, citrus-scented plants bear crowds of small blooms with tasty petals. The flowers attract many beneficials including hover flies and lady beetles.
Nasturtiums attract beneficial insects and are easy to grow. Just poke the seeds into the soil here and there among the vegetables. The blooms and young leaves are edible.
Dear Helen: Last summer, I was given a plant that bloomed prolifically and proved to be very attractive to hummingbirds. I was told it was called Friendship sage. What can you tell me about the plant and its care?
C.P.
Salvia Amistad is commonly known as Friendship sage. The plant is a tender perennial with blooms that open from dark purple buds into deep purple, tubular flowers, each with an almost black calyx at the base. The flower spikes are 90 to 120 cm tall. The bloom period lasts from early summer through early fall, if faded spikes are kept trimmed off. As you have observed, the flowers are favourites of hummingbirds. The plants are well suited for growing in containers, or in flower beds.
Though frost tender, plants grown in pots can survive to regrow in the spring, if they are kept sheltered over the winter. If not, new plants should be available at some garden centres. Friendship sage is grown by Heritage Perennials (perennials.com), a major wholesale supplier to our local garden centres.
One of my local centres tells me that the plants don鈥檛 usually arrive to be placed on sale until mid-to-late May. The person I spoke with added a comment about everything being late this year because of the prolonged chilly, wet weather.
Garden Events
View Royal meeting. The View Royal Garden Club will meet this evening at 7:30 in Wheeley Hall, 500 Admirals Rd., in Esquimalt. Bruce Carter, owner of Wes-Tech Irrigation Systems, will describe techniques for keeping watering systems working efficiently. A judged mini show will feature exhibits from members鈥� gardens, and there will be a sale of plants and garden items. Non-member drop-in fee $5.
Sooke meeting. The Sooke Garden Club will meet this evening at 7 in St. Rose of Lima Church, 2191 Townsend Rd. Guest speaker will be Lori Weidenhammer, author of Victory Garden for Bees. Non-member drop-in fee is $5.
Plant sale. The Mid Island Rose Society will host its annual plant sale for local charities on Saturday, April 28, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1502 Lantzville Rd. in Lantzville, across from the Del Norte Kennels. A wide variety of perennials and annuals will be available.
Comox sale. The Comox Valley Horticultural Society is holding a Spring Plant Sale on Saturday, April 28, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. There will be a diverse collection of locally grown plants, including unique varieties. Come early for the best selection and bring a tote to carry your treasures away. Cash, credit and debit cards are welcome. .
Milner Gardens sale. Vancouver Island University鈥檚 Milner Gardens will host its 17th Annual Spring Plant Sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, April 28 and 29, at Milner Gardens and Woodland, 2179 West Island Highway, in Qualicum Beach. Heritage trees, shrubs and perennials propagated from historic plants in the gardens. Master gardeners on hand to help. Admission to the gardens on the plant sale weekend is $6, youth $4. Tea room opens at 11:30 a.m. .
